ATLANTA — A judge has ruled that either Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis or her special prosecutor must be removed from the election interference case against former President Donald Trump, a judge ruled Friday, according to reports.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said Nathan Wade or Willis and her office should leave the case due to the appearance of impropriety due to the pair’s romantic relationship, NBC News reported.
Either Willis or Wade must be removed from the case before the case can proceed, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The judge said there was no “actual conflict” due to their relationship, which would have disqualified Willis.
“Without sufficient evidence that the District Attorney acquired a personal stake in the prosecution, or that her financial arrangements had any impact on the case, the Defendants’ claims of an actual conflict must be denied,” the judge wrote, according to NBC News.
McAfee, who is overseeing the Georgia 2020 election interference case, on Wednesday dismissed some of the charges against Trump and others, but the rest of the sweeping racketeering indictment remained intact.
McAfee quashed six counts in the indictment, including three against Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee. But the judge left in place other counts — including 10 facing Trump — and said prosecutors could seek a new indictment to try to reinstate the ones he dismissed.
The nearly 100-page Georgia indictment details dozens of alleged acts by Trump or his allies to undo his defeat, including harassing an election worker, who faced false claims of fraud, and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of Electoral College electors favorable to Trump.
Of the 19 people originally charged in the indictment, four have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. They include prominent Trump allies and attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth…
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