'Wholly failed': Fani Willis fires back at Trump in appeals court filing

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed a motion Monday against a review of Judge Scott McAfee's ruling on an ethics complaint related to the case against Donald Trump and others.

Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and others sought a review of the superior court's decision not to dismiss an indictment and to disqualify the district attorney based on a romantic relationship with a member of her staff.

However, in a 19-page motion responding to Trump, Willis argued that the application for review merely shows the former president's dissatisfaction with the trial court's decision.

Willis said the trial court applied the law correctly to the facts.

"Because the applicants have wholly failed to carry their burden of persuasion, this Court should decline interlocutory review," she stated.

Willis emphasized that the trial court found no actual prejudice to the defendants' case or violation of their due process rights. She argued that public comments made by the District Attorney do not constitute forensic misconduct requiring disqualification.

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She concluded by asserting that the defendants had not shown prosecutorial misconduct. She noted that the trial court could not determine that the relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade had any bearing on the case.

"But the trial court went even a step further, finding that it could not determine, based on the evidence, when the relationship between the District Attorney and Wade evolved into a romantic one.... Even assuming ... that Wade’s continued involvement in the prosecution would have produced an appearance of impropriety, the trial court allowed for his withdrawal... This Court has sanctioned this same remedy as a cure for the potential appearance of impropriety."

"Setting aside whether Wade’s removal from the case was, in fact, necessary, he withdrew from representation hours after the trial court issued its order, and the District Attorney accepted the resignation... Accordingly, the trial court properly exercised its discretion and inherent authority in denying the motion to disqualify based on the appearance of impropriety, and there is no basis to grant interlocutory review on this ground," Willis wrote.

"The applicants having failed to carry their burden as to their request for interlocutory review, the State of Georgia submits this Honorable Court should DENY this application."

Trump asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to review the case last month.