The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday agreed to review a ruling that allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue prosecuting the case against former President Donald Trump and others accused of conspiring to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results.
The appellate court announced its decision to review the ruling in a one-page order. It comes weeks after Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee found that Willis could stay on the case only if special prosecutor Nathan Wade agreed to resign.
Wade submitted his resignation hours after McAfee’s ruling came down.
In a statement obtained by WSB-TV, Trump attorney Steve Sadow said his client “looks forward to presenting interlocutory arguments to the Georgia Court of Appeals as to why the case should be dismissed and Fulton County DA Willis should be disqualified for her misconduct in this unjustified, unwarranted political prosecution.”
Defense attorneys had accused Willis and Wade of having an inappropriate romantic relationship that created a conflict of interest when Willis hired Wade to join the prosecution team. They filed an appeal after McAfee allowed Willis to stay on the case in March, saying in a court filing that Wade’s resignation “is insufficient to cure the appearance of impropriety the court has determined exists.”
In hearings held earlier this year, Wade and Willis admitted to having had a romantic relationship that ended last year. They denied claims that Willis benefited financially from the relationship, testifying that they split expenses roughly evenly with Willis often paying Wade back in cash for expenses he covered.
McAfee acknowledged in March that Wade and Willis demonstrated a “tremendous lack of judgment” but said, “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices — even repeatedly — and it is the trial court’s duty to confine itself to the relevant issues and applicable law properly brought before it.”
Last year, a grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others on charges that they conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Four people — bail bondsman Scott Hall and attorneys Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis — have pleaded guilty to charges. The remaining defendants, including Trump, have denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
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