Legal expert says appeals court’s abrupt hearing cancelation in Trump case ‘doesn’t mean anything’

ATLANTA — We’re getting new insight into the Georgia Court of Appeals’ decision to abruptly cancel a hearing in the case to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis disqualified from the election interference case

The election interference case involving President-elect Donald Trump and the other defendants is huge and the documents surrounding the attorneys’ attempt to have Willis disqualified are also huge, so the judges may not need to hear oral arguments after all.

On Monday, an abrupt notice was filed from the Georgia Court of Appeals canceling the Dec. 5 hearing “until further notice of this court.”

Attorneys for Trump and the other election interference defendants want Willis disqualified from the criminal case because they claim she had an inappropriate relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

A lower court ruled Willis could remain on the case if Wade left, which he did. But Trump’s attorney appealed that decision.

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The court would not say why they canceled oral arguments, but court administrator Christina Smith told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that “the court is working its way through the 1,000 plus pages of briefing in these related appeals, and that canceling the argument will not delay the opinion.”

Elliot also spoke with former DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James about the notice.

“It doesn’t mean anything. No one should assume victory from one side or the other,” James said.

He said the judges may have simply decided that because they had so many documents and briefings already, oral arguments in this case simply were not necessary.

“If it’s a situation where they’re not permitting oral arguments, it usually means there’s record sufficient and the court doesn’t need any more documentation and or need any more transcript, and they can make their decision based on what they have,” James said.

Most legal experts believe the criminal trial against Trump will have to be postponed until after he leaves office, but the case against the other defendants can move forward.

This decision by the Court of Appeals could have a big impact on that case.

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