Fani Willis' fate in Trump case to be decided by judges appointed by GOP governors

A three-judge panel appointed by Republicans will decide whether Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis will remain on Donald Trump's election interference case in Georgia.

The Georgia Court of Appeals tentatively set an Oct. 4 date for arguments in an effort by Trump and his allies to have Willis and her office removed from the case, and all three judges randomly selected to hear the case – Trenton Brown, Benjamin Land and Todd Markle – were appointed by GOP governors, reported Newsweek.

Republicans have held the governor's mansion since 2003, when Sonny Perdue defeated Democratic incumbent Roy Barnes to become the first Republican to be elected Georgia governor since the Reconstruction era.

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The former president and eight of his co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case have called for Willis to be disqualified over her personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who resigned after judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the case, ruled that only one of them could remain.

The appellate court agreed last month to hear Trump's appeal of McAfee's ruling, but the October hearing date means the case would likely not make it to trial before the November election.

Brown and Markle were appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2018 by Gov. Nathan Deal, while Land was appointed in 2022 by Gov. Brian Kemp.