By Canadian Press

Appeals court removes prosecutor Fani Willis from Georgia election case against Trump and others

Dec 19, 2024 | 7:11 AM

ATLANTA (AP) — A state appeals court on Thursday removed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others but did not dismiss the indictment, leaving the future of the prosecution uncertain.

The case against Trump and more than a dozen others had already been largely stalled for months while the Georgia Court of Appeals considered the pretrial appeal.

The new ruling means it will be up to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia to find another prosecutor to take over the case and to decide whether to continue to pursue it, though that could be delayed if Willis decides to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

But whether it is ultimately Willis or another prosecutor in charge, it seems unlikely that a prosecution against Trump could continue while he’s president for the next four years. But there are 14 other defendants who still face charges.

Two federal criminal cases against Trump have already been abandoned after the Republican won the presidency in November. Meanwhile, a judge in New York has refused throw out his hush money conviction from earlier this year, though the future of that case is uncertain.

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A grand jury in Atlanta indicted Trump and 18 others in August 2023, accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to overturn Trump’s narrow 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the state. Four of them have since pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.

Trump and some of the remaining defendants tried to get Willis and her office removed from the case and to have the case dismissed. They argued that her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest and that she made improper public statements about the case.

Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March that no conflict of interest existed that should force Willis off the case. Trump and the others appealed that ruling.

Kate Brumback, The Associated Press