'Nothing-burger': Legal experts blow up new claims that judge is biased against Trump

A new claim of judicial bias against Donald Trump in a criminal case arose and was smacked down on the same day on Wednesday.

A Breitbart reporter earlier in the day stated that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee is biased against Trump in the criminal case alleging a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election in the state. Wendell Husebø reported that the judge "donated to Fani Willis," the prosecutor who is charging that case.

"The donation of $150, though small, appears to present a conflict of interest for Judge McAfee," he wrote. "Judges are supposed to be impartial and avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. The judge donated to Willis in June 2020, while working for Joe Biden's DOJ."

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A conservative account responded to the report in the comments.

"So citizens should not donate to politians[sic] just in case they get appointed to the bench in the future?" the X user asked. "Is that the new rule?"

Georgia State law professor Anthony Michael Kreis took a moment to respond to the new allegation.

"This is non-news," he wrote Wednesday. "Sincerely, Anyone familiar with Georgia law and politics."

When asked to elaborate further, the professor told Raw Story that "exceptionally small donations do not constitute a conflict of interest. This stuff has been litigated extensively."

Anna Bower of Lawfare also claimed that "this is a nothingburger."

"Judge McAfee donated a small sum to Fani Willis's campaign in 2020—*before* he was appointed to the bench," Bower said. "And Georgia courts have held that nominal campaign contributions are an insufficient basis for judicial recusal. There's no conflict of interest."

She added:

"And, yes, Judge McAfee used to work under Fani Willis when he was an assistant prosecutor in Fulton County. (This was long before Willis ran for DA.) Again, not a sufficient basis for judicial recusal, as the Georgia Supreme Court has held."