2020 election case: Georgia appeals court disqualifies District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting Trump

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the case against President-elect Donald Trump and his alleged co-conspirators over charges related to the 2020 election subversion.

According to a CNN report, the long-awaited ruling, which comes after the case had been paused, casts doubt on whether the case can proceed in court.

The appeals court determined that Willis’ office is unable to handle the prosecution, meaning a new special prosecutor must be appointed for the case to move forward, added the report.

The appeals court determined that a “significant appearance of impropriety” could undermine the public perception of the case. However, the court decided not to dismiss the extensive racketeering conspiracy case entirely.

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“While we recognise that an appearance of impropriety generally is not enough to support disqualification, this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings,” CNN quoted the court as writing in Thursday’s opinion.

“We cannot conclude that the record also supports the imposition of the extreme sanction of dismissal of the indictment,” the court added.

Trump and some co-defendants sought to disqualify Willis due to her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired. They claimed Willis benefited financially from the relationship, with Wade covering several vacations.

Willis’ office may still appeal, according to the CNN report.

In their 2-1 opinion, Judges Brown and Markle said Judge McAfee’s March ruling allowed Willis to remain on the case despite the appearance of impropriety.

Judge Land dissented, arguing the majority overstepped its authority. The panel could only review McAfee’s ruling, not the allegations about Willis’ relationship or financial gain, which she denies influenced her prosecution decisions.

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“It is not our job to second guess trial judges or to substitute our judgement for theirs," CNN quoted Land as writing in his dissent.

“We should resist the temptation to interfere with that discretion, including its chosen remedy, just because we happen to see things differently,” he added.

“Doing otherwise violates well-established precedent, threatens the discretion given to trial courts, and blurs the distinction between our respective courts.”

Ashleigh Merchant, a defence attorney whose original court filing seeking to disqualify Willis set this chain of events in motion, praised the appeals court’s decision and said that Willis should have voluntarily recused herself months ago.

“Failing to do so put Judge McAfee in an untenable position," CNN quoted Merchant, who represents Mike Roman, a former Trump 2020 campaign official, as saying.

“This failure of judgment is the exact reason Mr. Roman was forced to move to disqualify her in the first place, so we are thankful that the court agreed she should not be allowed to prosecute this case any further,” Merchant added.

Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesman, said in a statement, “In granting President Trump an overwhelming mandate, the American People have demanded an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all the Witch Hunts against him. We look forward to uniting our country as President Trump Makes America Great Again”.

With inputs from agencies