On Thursday, Donald Trump encouraged the Georgia Court of Appeals to deny Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ effort to dismiss his appeal of the judge’s decision not to disqualify her from Trump’s election interference case. The filing from Trump’s legal team serves as a response to Willis’ motion last week that requested the Court of Appeals to dismiss Trump’s appeal of a lower court’s decision to allow Willis to stay on the case.
Earlier this month, a Georgia appeals court stopped Trump’s election subversion case which was a vital victory for the former president. The decision also affected his co-defendants. The new order indicated that the case will not happen before the presidential election. The court stated the case is postponed until a panel of judges decides whether or not Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified.
The appeals court may rule on Willis’ disqualification by March 2025, but the decision may come down sooner. A spokesperson for Willis’ office said they can’t comment on the appeals court’s order at this point. Trump’s lead defense counsel in Georgia, Steve Sadow, said the ruling was just.
“The Georgia Court of Appeals has properly stayed all proceedings against President Trump in the trial court pending its decision on our interlocutory appeal which argues the case should be dismissed and Fulton County DA Willis should be disqualified for her misconduct,” Sadow stated. A spokesperson for Willis’ office said they are unable to comment on the appeals court’s order.
This is Trump’s latest attempt to get Willis disqualified by accusing her of having a sexual relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired for the case. In March, Judge Scott McAfee decided that there wasn’t enough evidence to undoubtedly prove Willis had benefitted financially from the relationship.
Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow, said in the recent filing: “Simply stated, the State’s motion is a calculated, disingenuous attempt to mislead this Court for the obvious purpose of preventing interlocutory appellate review of the District Attorney’s misconduct.”
Last month, Trump was convicted last week in Manhattan for falsifying business documents to conceal a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump, who is now a convicted felon, is scheduled to be sentenced in July.