Fani Willis isn't out of the woods yet: Trump's attorney seeks to appeal judge's disqualification ruling



Judge Scott McAfee decided against disqualifying Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis last week from former President Donald Trump's election interference case in Georgia. Instead, he required that either the Democrat or her lover, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, step down.

Wade ultimately fell on his sword, resigning just hours after the Fulton County Superior Court judge's decision. This may have satisfied the judge, but the defense figured Willis still deserved the boot.

Signaling a potential continuation of Willis' disqualification saga, Steve Sadow filed a motion on behalf of Trump and his codefendants Monday, requesting that McAfee grant a certificate of immediate review of the court's March 15 order to the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Background

Blaze News previously reported that while McAfee did not ultimately disqualify Willis on March 15, he did suggest that when confronted with the details of her affair with Wade, as alleged by the defendants, "a prima facie argument arises of financial enrichment and improper motivations which inevitably and unsurprisingly invites a motion such as this."

McAfee ultimately found that there was insufficient evidence that Willis "acquired a personal stake in the prosecution, or that her financial arrangements had any impact on the case."

He did, however, suggest that the lack of a "confirmed financial split [between Willis and Wade] creates the possibility and appearance that the District Attorney benefited — albeit non-materially — from a contract whose award lay solely within her purview and policing."

McAfee also blasted Willis for her "tremendous lapse in judgment," the "unprofessional manner of [her] testimony during the evidentiary hearing," her "bad choices," and her "legally improper" remarks at an Atlanta-area church in January.

Motion to appeal

Sadow, lead counsel for Trump, noted Monday, in the joint motion requesting the Fulton County Superior Court to grant a certificate of immediate review of its order, that the disqualification ruling "is of exceptionally great importance to this case, substantially impacting Defendants' rights to due process."

"Additionally, given the lack of guidance from the appellate courts on key issues, and the fact that any errors in the March 15 Order could be structural errors that would necessitate retrial(s), the grant of a certificate of immediate review is both prudent and warranted," added Sadow.

Sadow highlighted McAfee's stated sense that Willis' action "had created an appearance of impropriety and an 'odor of mendacity' that lingers in this case, as well as the continuing possibility that 'an outsider could reasonably think that District Attorney Willis is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences.'"

Sadow also seized upon McAfee's claim that Willis' racially charged Jan. 14 speech was "legally improper," noting that the Georgia appellate courts would likely go so far as to recognize it as a contributing instance of forensic misconduct requiring the Democrat's disqualification.

The defense attorney noted the "resignation of Mr. Wade is insufficient to cure the appearance of impropriety the Court has determined exists." According to Sadow, relevant case law would dictate the case be altogether dismissed but that Willis should at the very least be disqualified.

Sadow wrote that it is important to have the appellate courts weigh in on the matter prior to the trials, stressing there is precedent for doing so and a risk of otherwise spiking the trial's results in a manner requiring retrials.

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NBC News noted that there is not an automatic right to appeal at this stage and that McAfee would have to grant permission to do so within 10 days of his March 15 ruling. Furthermore, the Georgia appeals court would have to agree to hear the case.

If, however, the stars align and the defendants are able to appeal the ruling, then the already unscheduled trial will likely be kicked back a great deal further. Even without the appeal, it is highly unlikely the trial will occur prior to the 2024 election, and if Trump is re-elected, then he could request that the U.S. Supreme Court have the case delayed until he leaves office.

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'Systematic misconduct': Defense torches Democrat DA in closing arguments of Fani Willis' ethics hearing



Defense attorneys for former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case pulled out all the stops during closing arguments Friday in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' ethics hearing, torching the Black Panther's daughter for her various alleged improprieties, abuses of power, and case-compromising public remarks.

Revisiting the chief claims raised in their previous motions to disqualify, defense attorneys stressed that Willis personally benefited from her clandestine romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the man she ultimately appointed special prosecutor and whose fat checks she ultimately approved. They argued further that she prejudiced potential jurors against the defendants and perpetrated a "fraud on this court."

Craig Gillen, a defense attorney for Trump co-defendant David Shafer, echoed Trump lawyer Steve Sadow's suggestion that Willis injected race into the case through her remarks at the Bethel AME Church in Atlanta. Gillen also accused Willis and Wade of "systematic misconduct," stressing "they need to go."

Willis arrived in time to watch Adam Abbate, an attorney for the DA's office, downplay her racially-charged attacks and argue that disqualification requires proof of a conflict of interest, not just the appearance of a conflict of interest.

On the conflict of interest theme, John Merchant, defense attorney for Michael Roman, indicated Friday that $9,247 ultimately could not be accounted for in Willis and Wade's testimonies, suggesting that amounted to a personal benefit the Fulton County DA received while prosecuting the case.

Merchant argued that even the appearance of a conflict of interest justified Willis' removal as, at the very least, it undermined public confidence in the prosecution.

"They did this, they knew it was wrong, and they hid it," said Merchant.

Sadow stressed the lovers concealed their relationship from everyone. "Even daddy didn't know," he said, referencing Willis' father, who apparently had been left in the dark.

Trump's lawyer suggested that this secrecy is what prompted the lovers to go to the condo belonging to Willis' old friend and employee, Robin Yeartie, in the lead-up to Wade's appointment.

Abbate tried to cast doubt on the credibility of Yeartie's testimony. Yeartie previously told the court that it was her understanding that Wade and Willis were romantically involved as early as 2019. This claim contradicted the timeline advanced by Willis and Wade whereby the affair did not start until after Wade's appointment in November 2021.

The defense sought to enter into evidence data collected from Wade's cellphone, which reportedly reveals Wade visited Willis' residence between January and November 2021 at least 35 times, usually in the evening for "an extended period of time."

Blaze News previously reported that the data appears to indicate Wade and Willis also exchanged over 2,000 phone calls and roughly 10,000 text messages in 2021 prior to his appointment.

While Abbate argued that the phone data was inadmissible on account of foundational concerns, he suggested the records confirm that Wade never visited what was technically Willis' home prior to April 2021. The state also suggested the number of phone communications "has no validity as to it relates them being in a relationship" and may be a miscount to begin with.

McAfee said he would give the matter the consideration it deserves and provide an answer on Willis' fate sometime in the next two weeks.

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Judge overseeing Fani Willis' misconduct hearing says her disqualification is 'possible'



Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may soon rue the day she appointed her married lover as top prosecutor on former President Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case.

This week, the Fulton County Superior Court will take up misconduct allegations, including the claim that Willis financially benefited from hiring her ostensibly underqualified lover, Nathan Wade. Despite her best efforts, Willis may even have to testify under oath with Trump in the room watching.

The judge overseeing the case has made clear that the Democratic DA could ultimately be disqualified, although that may be the least of Willis' concerns. After all, if it is found that Willis and her lover misled the court in their Feb. 2 court filing, which suggested their affair did not begin until after Wade's appointment, then the Fulton County DA could possibly face legal ramifications.

Even if the Black Panther's daughter enjoys a good day in court on Feb. 15, that may not ultimately spare her from consequence, as House Republicans are looking into whether Willis' office misused federal funds; the Georgia Senate is investigating possible wrongdoing on her part; Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis is pressing Willis for information concerning her office's financials and prosecutors; and she is being sued for allegedly failing to turn over records in compliance with the Georgia Open Records Act.

The accusations

The walls began to close in on Willis on Jan. 8 when Georgia lawyer Ashleigh Merchant filed a 127-page court motion on behalf of Trump co-defendant Michael Roman requesting that Willis be disqualified and the charges against Roman be dismissed "on the grounds that the entire prosecution is invalid and unconstitutional."

"The district attorney and the special prosecutor have violated laws regulating the use of public monies, suffer from irreparable conflicts of interest, and have violated their oaths of office under the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct and should be disqualified from prosecuting this matter," said the filing.

In addition to suggesting Willis and Wade were involved in a relationship prior to his 2021 appointment, the filing intimated that Wade received preferential treatment from the DA's office and was underqualified.

In the weeks since, additional motions have been filed or adopted — on behalf of Trump, Bob Cheeley, former Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer, and ex-Coffee County GOP Chairwoman Cathy Latham.

While recent motions to disqualify Willis largely conform to the outlines of the Jan. 8 filing, they have also suggested that the DA tainted the case against Trump and his co-defendants by fomenting "racial animus and prejudice against the defendants."

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has indicated that the Feb. 15 hearing will largely focus on whether Willis materially benefited from hiring Wade and the timeline of their romantic involvement, reported the ABC News.

The Washington Post noted, however, that McAfee will not hear testimony concerning Wade's alleged lack of qualifications, as Willis was within her rights to hire anyone with "a heartbeat and a bar card."

The stakes

Judge McAfee said during a hearing Monday, "I think it's clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one."

"The state has admitted a relationship existed. And so what remains to be proven is the existence and extent of any financial benefit, again if there was one," continued McAfee.

Willis admitted earlier this month in a 176-page court filing that she was romantically involved with Wade but claimed there "was no personal relationship between them in November 2021 at the time of Special Prosecutor Wade's appointment."

The filing submitted by Willis' legal team claimed further that the "personal relationship between Special Prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis" and that "Willis has no personal conflict of interest that justifies her disqualification personally or that of the Fulton County District Attorney' Office."

A lawyer for Trump's co-defendant Michael Roman filed a new complaint Friday casting doubt on whether the lovers were honest with the court about the timeline of their relationship.

The filing notes that attorney Terrence Bradley, a former friend and business associate of Wade's, has "non-privileged, personal knowledge that the romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began prior to Willis being sworn as the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia in January 2021."

"Thus, Bradley can confirm that Willis contracted with Wade after Wade and Willis began a romantic relationship, thus rebutting Wade's claim in his affidavit that they did not start dating until 2022," continues the filing.

Bradley will apparently confirm that Willis and Wade occasionally lived together in a residence previously occupied in part by Robin Yeartie, a former employee of the Fulton County District Attorney's Office and a friend of Willis.

"I think the issues at point here are whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it formed, and whether it continues," McAfee said Monday. "And that's only relevant because it's in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of their relationship."

Wade and Willis have desperately attempted to have the Thursday hearing canceled, but it appears their protest has fallen on deaf ears.

McAfee said the defense successfully established a "good faith basis for relevance" for the Democratic DA's testimony and that of her lover.

Anna Cross, a lawyer for the DA's office, nevertheless argued that the "defense is not bringing you facts, the defense is not bringing you law, the defense is bringing you gossip, and the court should not condone that practice."

Trump apparently intends to show up in hopes of seeing Willis raked over the coals.

Citing indications from anonymous individuals "with knowledge of the possible trip," the Washington Post reported that Trump may join David Shafer in attending the misconduct hearing, which would draw more attention to the case and to the claims made therein about Willis.

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Democratic DA Fani Willis slapped with yet another disqualification request



A 229-page court motion filed Monday alleges Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis "has engaged in a pattern of prosecutorial, forensic misconduct" requiring her disqualification from overseeing the Georgia case against Trump co-defendant and former Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer.

The Feb. 5 motion, which has been adopted by ex-Coffee County GOP Chairwoman Cathy Latham, another Trump co-defendant, also requests the disqualification of Willis' entire office and prosecution staff.

The latest filing on Shafer's behalf came just days after Willis admitted to having an affair with Nathan Wade, the married and ostensibly unqualified man she tapped to run lead on the Georgia case. It is the fourth motion filed since Jan. 8 to disqualify the Black Panther's daughter.

Latham's adoption means a total of five defendants in the Georgia case are now seeking Willis' ouster. The other three are former President Donald Trump, Michael Roman, and Bob Cheeley.

The Feb. 5 motion to disqualify Willis rehashes many of the claims originally made in Roman's Jan. 8 motion to disqualify concerning possible criminal wrongdoing and misconduct on the Democrat's part, stressing that "all of the causes for the disqualification are self-inflicted blows."

"The District Attorney's employment of Mr. Wade to investigate and prosecute the defendants and payments to Mr. Wade of over a half a million dollars from the Fulton County treasury while allowing Mr. Wade to pay for vacations for the District Attorney and other personal expenses constitutes a disqualifying conflict of interest as well as a violation of ethical rules applicable to attorneys and Fulton County employees, and potentially criminal laws," wrote Shafer's lawyer, Craig A. Gillen.

Willis' lawyers claimed Friday in the state's response to previous motions to dismiss and disqualify that she has no financial conflict of interest or personal conflict of interest that would justify her removal.

Whereas Wade said in an affidavit attached to Willis' Friday response that expenses for their romantic getaways "were roughly divided equally between us," Shafer's motion suggested otherwise — claiming receipts shared publicly show they "are not remotely 'roughly' equal," reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Receipts in Wade's divorce case revealed that the special counsel apparently blew $7,200 on airline tickets, hotels, and cruise reservations for trips he took with Willis. The Democratic DA, on the other hand, appears to have spent only $697 on airline tickets for their trip to Miami.

Wade has apparently been in a good position to pay more, having secured a higher hourly rate with Willis' office than at least one other special counsel and billed the county for over $728,000 in legal fees, which the DA conveniently signed off on.

Like the Trump's motion to disqualify, the Feb. 5 filing also suggests that Willis' publicized statements "have been severely prejudicial to the defense."

"Straying wildly from the legal guardrails which are designed to protect the accused from improper, extrajudicial comments by a prosecutor, the District Attorney, for over a year-and-a-half, has given multiple interviews where she has improperly labeled some of the defendants as 'Fake Electors' and commented on the righteousness of her investigation and prosecution," said the motion.

According to the filing, Willis' speech to a church congregation on Jan. 14 — where she characterized herself as a victim and intimated her critics were racists — was a tipping point.

The motion alleges that in addition to prejudicing possible jurors, violating her oath of office, and breaking ethics rules, Willis' conduct constituted a breach of Georgia law concerning the employment of assistant district attorneys.

The Journal-Constitution indicated that Shafer has requested that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee change the venue for his case's later stages to a county that is not overwhelmingly Democratic to "ensure an impartial and less politically partisan jury."

After all, the supermajority of Fulton County voters supported Joe Biden in 2020.

Blaze News previously reported that McAfee, who is overseeing The State v. Donald John Trump, has scheduled a Feb. 15 evidentiary hearing to take up the misconduct allegations.

Extra to all the requests for her removal, Willis also faces a Georgia Senate inquiry, pressing questions about possible improprieties from the county's audit committee chair, an impeachment push in the state legislature, and a congressional investigation.

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Fani Willis appears to have fibbed in church when contesting preferential treatment of her alleged lover



Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has begun to reap the whirlwind over a number of improprieties she is alleged to have committed in recent months and years. Willis went to church Sunday, but rather than confess to sin, she stressed her virtue in a dramatized back-and-forth with God.

The trouble about Willis' testimonial before God is that it does not appear to have been entirely honest.

During her remarks at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta Sunday, Willis claimed that she paid all three special counsels on the Trump election interference case in Georgia at the same rate. Documents reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation appear to indicate otherwise.

What's the background?

A motion to disqualify Willis and her appointee, Trump prosecutor Nathan Wade, was filed on behalf of Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the Trump case, on Jan. 8. The motion accused Willis of being embroiled in "an improper, clandestine personal relationship" with Wade, a married attorney she later hired without the approval of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.

Wade — whose apparent lack of relevant experience and past failures to become a Cobb County Superior Court judge evidently did not deter Willis from appointing him — filed for divorce the day after starting his contract as a prosecutor on the Georgia case, which has since reportedly earned him nearly $700,000.

The motion further claims that Wade, whose payments Willis authorizes, paid for his lover's luxurious international and domestic vacations, possibly running afoul of the federal racketeering statute.

The author of the motion, Roman's defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, recently indicated she has "multiple sources to corroborate" the claims, specifically those concerning Willis' affair with Wade.

Extra to the affair, the motion highlighted how Willis and Wade met with elements of the Biden White House and Jan. 6 committee while building their case against former President Donald Trump — suggestive of possible politically motivated coordination between the Fulton County District Attorney's Office and top Democrats seeking to incarcerate their leading rival.

The judge overseeing Trump's election interference case in Georgia indicated there could be a hearing in February to examine the allegations brought against Willis, reported Just the News.

Tall tales and victimhood

Following days of silence concerning the motion to disqualify and the damning allegations therein, Willis took the podium Sunday at a church in Atlanta and issued a 35-minute screed. Blaze News previously reported that she ultimately cast herself as the victim of racial animus and denounced her critics as "race card"-playing bigots.

Willis did not explicitly deny the allegations recently leveled against her. Instead, the Democrat defended against alternate accusations she appears to have fabricated from whole cloth.

"I'm a little confused. I appointed three special counselors. It's my right to do. Paid them all the same hourly rate. They only attacked one," said Willis. "I hired one white woman, a good personal friend and a great lawyer; a superstar, I tell you. I hired one white man — brilliant — my friend and a great lawyer. And I hired one Black man, another superstar, a great friend and a great lawyer."

Merchant said of Willis' speech, "Nothing she said today changes any of the important arguments raised in our motion and does not change the unfortunate facts surrounding her appointment of Wade," reported the New York Times.

After all, the key contention in the motion to disqualify was not that Wade was paid more or less than his peers, but that he allegedly bedded his would-be boss, then, once under her employ, used taxpayer funds to take her on extravagant vacations. Nevertheless, Willis' rebuke to the phantasmal accusation exposed her to additional scrutiny — granted she did ostensibly pay Wade more than one of the other special counsels.

The lover's premium

The Daily Caller obtained the professional services agreements between Willis' office and two of her special counsels: Wade, previously a middling associate municipal court judge in Marietta, and John Floyd, one of Georgia's top experts on federal and state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statutes.

Floyd entered into a contract with Willis' office on March 10, 2021, at an hourly rate of $150 per hour.

Wade entered into a contract with Willis' office in Nov. 1, 2021, at an hourly rate of $250 per hour.

This additional $100 per hour would likely go a long way on the Norweigan and Royal Carribean cruise lines, in New York City, Napa Valley, Florida, and other destinations Wade is alleged to have taken his supposed lover.

The third special counsel, Anna Cross, who entered into a contract with Fulton County at an hourly rate of $250 on July 15, 2022, ultimately ended up making as much as Wade per hour.

The one exception nevertheless casts doubt on Willis' claim in church that she "paid them all the same hourly rate.

Keith Adams, an Atlanta defense attorney who recently represented rapper Jeffery Lamar Williams in the RICO case brought against him, told the Caller, "Obviously the appropriate fee paid to special counsel would depend on the subject matter, the level of complexity, the level of expertise required, the level of experience of the attorney, and to some extent, the funds available to pay said attorney."

"It may be that the special counsel is being paid from a completely separate budget that is not subject to the same budgetary limitations and is left to the discretion of the district attorney," said Adams.

Legal analyst Philip Holloway wasn't buying it, stressing the arrangement between Wade and the Fulton County District Attorney's Office "is unheard of in Georgia" and that there was "no basis for comparison."

"Court-appointed criminal defense lawyers around here typically make less than $100 per hour on felony cases," said Holloway. "It could be argued that any amount is too high to pay someone with no felony trial experience to come in as lead counsel in the biggest, most complex criminal case in the history of Georgia."

The Caller indicated neither Willis' office nor Wade responded to requests for comment.

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Trump Georgia court proceedings to be livestreamed and televised, judge reportedly indicates



Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has indicated that the court proceedings pertaining to the case against former President Donald Trump and others will be livestreamed and televised, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"We have followed Judge McBurney’s model, and we have been livestreaming all of our major proceedings on a Fulton County-provided YouTube channel. And our plan was to do that with this case as well. So there’s going to be a YouTube feed the entire time," McAfee said, according to WSB-TV.

McAfee has also issued an order allowing for cellphones and laptops to be used, but not for the purpose of recording.

Pool coverage for radio, TV, and still photos will be permitted, he indicated, according to CBS News.

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"We did nothing wrong at all. And we have every right, every single right, to challenge an election that we think is dishonest," Trump said after surrendering last week.

Trump's mug shot has received significant media attention and has even proven to be a fundraising coup for his presidential campaign.

The White House hopeful has been trouncing his opponents in polls and appears to be on track to decisively win the GOP's 2024 nomination. He skipped the first Republican presidential primary debate last week.

"Defendant Donald John Trump lost the United States presidential election held on November 3, 2020. One of the states he lost was Georgia," the indictment declares. "Trump and the other Defendants charged in this Indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump. That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and in other states."

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