An attorney for one of Trump’s co-defendants told a judge on Friday that if Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis is not removed from the Georgia election interference case because of her relationship with a top prosecutor, Love affair will undermine public confidence in the legal system.
After days of extraordinary testimony, the judge began hearing arguments about whether Willis’ relationship with special counsel Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest that should force the pair to withdraw from one of the four criminal cases against the former president.
John Merchant, an attorney for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, told Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that “if the court allows this conduct to continue… Public confidence in the system will be eroded.” Merchant believes that if McAfee refuses to disqualify Willis, it is “very likely” that the appeals court will overturn the ruling and order a new trial.
Lawyers for Trump and the other defendants say Willis paid Wade large sums for his work and then improperly benefited from paying for vacations for both of them.
Willis and Wade acknowledged the relationship, which they said ended last summer, but argued it did not create any kind of conflict and was irrelevant to the case. The two said they didn’t start dating until the spring of 2022, after Wade was hired, and split travel expenses.
Since the relationship was revealed in early January, the subject that has dominated court time and public attention has not been the crimes prosecutors accuse Trump and his allies of committing while trying to overturn the election, but the privacy of Willis and Wade’s relationship detail. The hearing descended into the surreal at times: Atlanta’s mayor was in the gallery watching the former Georgia governor testify, and Willis’ father discussed stashing cash around the house and details of romantic getaways.
Willis’ removal will bring into question the largest of four criminal cases against Trump as the former president seeks to return to the White House. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the charges against him and 14 others will be dropped.
McAfee heard details about Willis and Wade’s personal lives and conflicting accounts of when they began dating, but it’s unclear whether he will find that the relationship presented a conflict of interest worthy of removing prosecutors from the case .
During a hearing before his testimony, McAfee noted that under the law, “if evidence is presented that demonstrates an actual conflict or the appearance of a conflict, it may be disqualifying.” He said he wanted testimony to explore “whether a relationship exists , whether the relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it formed and whether it lasted.”
McAfee said the issues were only meaningful “in conjunction with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit derived from the relationship.”
Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State University law professor who has followed the case closely, said much depends on the standard McAfee uses: an actual conflict of interest or an apparent conflict of interest.
“I believe the applicable standard is an actual conflict of interest and the evidence presented shows that Fannie Willis benefited from her investigation and charging decisions against the 2020 election interference defendants,” he said.
Kress said it was difficult to argue that the due process rights of Trump and his co-defendants were violated because Willis and Wade said the relationship ended before they sought prosecution in the election interference case. But if McAfee adopts the “conflict look” standard, it could cause problems for Willis and Wade “because the whole thing is already clouded,” he said.
If Willis and her office are disqualified, a nonpartisan committee supporting Georgia prosecutors would be tasked with finding a new attorney to take over. That person could continue to pursue some or all of the charges against Trump and others, or drop the case entirely.
Even if a new lawyer follows the path laid out by Willis, inevitable delays appear likely to reduce the likelihood that the case will be heard before the November presidential election, when Trump is expected to be the Republican nominee.
A Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others in August on charges of trying to keep the Republican incumbent in power despite his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. After reaching a deal with prosecutors, four people have pleaded guilty, while Trump and 14 others have pleaded not guilty.
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