'Very definition of an own goal': Experts admonish Fani Willis for losing Trump case

Legal experts reacted in shock to a Georgia appeals court ruling that disqualified Fulton County district attorney from the election subversion case against Donald Trump and his alleged co-conspirators.

The appeals court found that a “significant appearance of impropriety" was enough to potentially taint the case, which would require the appointment of a special prosecutor to move forward, but the court also ruled that the indictments would stand.

"There are a lot of things Fani Willis could have done differently, I think, to avoid this ruling," said CNN legal analyst Elie Honig. "No. 1, she could have stepped aside way earlier, as you said. No. 2, obviously, I mean, she has acknowledged it was a mistake to have an affair with the lead prosecutor on the case, have a relationship with the lead prosecutor on this case."

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"The D.A. [also] made statements outside of court that the trial judge found were, quote, 'legally improper,'" Honig added. "For example, she went in front of a church while this case was pending and she said, essentially, the reason these defendants have brought these motions, standard legal motions is because they're playing the race card, and the defendants, Donald Trump and other defense lawyers, argued that violated the responsibilities and ethics of a prosecutor, and the trial judge oddly said those statements that Fani Willis made out of court were, quote, legally improper, and then he did nothing about it. He said, essentially, too bad, there's no remedy. So still going through this court of appeals opinion, I'm interested to see if they also opine on that, as well."

Dave Aronberg, the state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida, said the appeals court ruling likely spelled the end to the case against the president-elect, who was convicted in Manhattan of falsifying business records but saw two other indictments in federal court go away with the help of a friendly judge and then with his re-election.

"It's not shocking," Aronberg told MSNBC. "It was shocking when we found out there was this relationship, and you just said it was an unforced error, but usually appellate courts defer to the lower court. The trial judge who fashioned this, he said [prosecutor] Nathan Wade, the man she was having an affair with, had to leave so the [district attorney's] office could stay, and this court has said nope. This court said that judge [Scott] McAfee did not preach that her decision-making wasn't just the indictment, it was who to charge, how to charge it, and that's at the time when this alleged romantic relationship was going on, and they said, that also was one of the reasons why they think it's more than an appearance of impropriety. It's a conflict of interest, and not just her, the entire office is disqualified. So this is another Trump indictment that sort of will disappear."

Other legal experts castigated Willis for jeopardizing the case against the president-elect, who's accused of illegally attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss with the help of elected officials and local Republican leaders.

"JFC, Fani Willis," posted Rutgers law professor Leonore Carpenter. "This is the very definition of an own goal."

"Georgia’s Court of Appeals disqualified Fani Willis, the Atlanta prosecutor who brought an election interference case against Trump and his allies -- a surprise move that threw the entire case into disarray," said Trump biographer Tim O'Brien.

"I’m just gonna say it," added Claude Taylor, a former White House staffer for Bill Clinton. "Fani Willis f----- this up royally."

"The fact that I know more about Fani Willis’ and Nathan Wade’s relationship than I do about the crimes committed by Ginni Thomas and Clarence Thomas shows exactly what is terribly wrong with today’s political mainstream media," said X user Andrea Junker.

"The disqualification of Fani Willis is totally unfounded," posted CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen. "Bipartisan experts agree. BUT there is a bright side: the indictment stands. Now it should be pursued—vigorously. Like in NY case Trump is NOT immune."

"I've said since the very first case that the United States simply does not have a legal system capable of putting a president or former president on trial," said Democratic strategist Max Burns. "Not in a real way. It was never built to hold accountable that level of power, and never could."

"If you know Fani Willis from her time charging #StopCopCity protesters as domestic terrorists, you shouldn't be surprised how stupidly she bungled this case up," added Chase Oliver, the 2024 Libertarian presidential nominee. "The county needs a new DA for sure. For many reasons."

"Realistically, it will be quite difficult to find another prosecutor who would be willing to take on this case," said Anna Bower, senior editor for Lawfare. "If the appeals court decision is not overturned by the GA Supreme Court, this likely spells the end of the prosecution against Trump and others in Fulton County."

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