Donald Trump's attorneys raised the possibility they might ask a judge for permission to appeal his ruling that allows Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the election interference case against the former president.
Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday that Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade did not have a conflict of interest despite a romantic relationship, but he ordered the district attorney to decide whether she or Wade would remain on the case, saying the relationship gave significant appearance of impropriety.
Trump's attorneys are not happy with the decision.
“While respecting the Court’s decision, we believe that the Court did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade, including the financial benefits, testifying untruthfully about when their personal relationship began, as well as Willis’ extrajudicial MLK ‘church speech,’ where she played the race card and falsely accused the defendants and their counsel of racism,” said Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead defense counsel in the case, in a statement.
Former U.S. attorney and MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance said she believes the former president's lawyers will ask McAfee for permission to appeal the ruling in hopes of still getting Willis disqualified from the case, which would effectively end the prosecution.
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“We will use all legal options available as we continue to fight to end this case," Sadow wrote, "which should never have been brought in the first place."
Trump and 18 co-defendants have been charged with racketeering and other crimes related to their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia, but co-defendant Mike Roman's attorney called for Willis and Wade to be disqualified over allegations that they had carried on a personal relationship during the investigation.
Roman's attorney Ashleigh Merchant argued that the pair prosecuted the case to obtain meals and travel at taxpayer expense, and McAfee found that Willis and Wade had not put the defendants' concerns to rest. But he said defense attorneys had not proven impropriety.
