On Thursday, Donald Trump encouraged the Georgia Court of Appeals to deny Fulton County DA Fani Willisโ effort to dismiss his appeal of the judgeโs decision not to disqualify her from Trumpโs election interference case. The filing from Trumpโs legal team serves as a response to Willisโ motion last week that requested the Court of Appeals to dismiss Trumpโs appeal of a lower courtโs decision to allow Willis to stay on the case.
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Earlier this month, a Georgia appeals court stopped Trumpโs 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 Willisโ disqualification by March 2025, but the decision may come down sooner. A spokesperson for Willisโ office said they canโt comment on the appeals courtโs order at this point. Trumpโs lead defense counsel in Georgia, Steve Sadow, said the ruling was just.
โThe 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,โ Sadow stated. A spokesperson for Willisโ office said they are unable to comment on the appeals courtโs order.
This is Trumpโs 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 wasnโt enough evidence to undoubtedly prove Willis had benefitted financially from the relationship.
Trumpโs attorney, Steve Sadow, said in the recent filing: โSimply stated, the Stateโs motion is a calculated, disingenuous attempt to mislead this Court for the obvious purpose of preventing interlocutory appellate review of the District Attorneyโs misconduct.โ
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.
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