Atlanta

More co-defendants file appeals to have Fani Willis removed from GA election interference case

Fani Willis Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (Alex Slitz/Pool/Getty Images, File)

ATLANTA — Several other co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case have filed their own appeals over the ruling that allowed the Fulton County District Attorney to stay on the case and are asking that Fani Willis be removed from the case.

Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, Cathy Latham, and Michael Roman all filed appeals Monday in the case. They now join former President Donald Trump and former Georgia GOP head David Shafer in appealing the ruling.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Willis could stay on the case if former special prosecutor Nathan Wade stepped down after several hearings were held over accusations that the two were having a romantic relationship.

Willis and Wade acknowledged the relationship, which they said ended last summer, but they have argued it does not create any sort of conflict and has no bearing on the case.

Wade resigned the same day as McAfee’s ruling.

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Trump and his attorneys later submitted an appeal arguing the indictment should have been dismissed, and that Willis and her team should have been disqualified from the case. Now, several others are doing the same.

The Georgia Court of Appeals said it would look at the ruling last week.

Former DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that he thinks the appeals court should review the case since there’s very little legal precedent surrounding it.

“It’s uncharted territory,” James said.

But the bottom line is he thinks the review could take months and a trial against Trump and others won’t happen before the November election.

“I don’t see how that’s possible. Now, stranger things have happened, right? But just don’t see how that’s possible,” James said.

Last year, a grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others on charges that they conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Four people — bail bondsman Scott Hall and attorneys Sidney PowellKenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis — have pleaded guilty to charges. The remaining defendants, including Trump, have denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.

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