Trump Georgia election case DA Fani Willis disqualified, but indictment stands

ONE Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from overseeing the criminal election interference prosecution of President Donald Trump and other defendants.

But the appeals court upheld the charges against the defendants, who are accused of crimes related to their efforts to overturn Trump’s loss in Georgia’s 2020 election to President Joe Biden.

The ruling paves the way for a retrial in the criminal case and a possible trial for defendants other than Trump. The president-elect is not expected to face trial during his term in the White House, but he could face trial after that term ends.

The decision overturns a ruling by a Fulton County trial judge that allowed Willis to remain in the case despite arguments from Trump’s lawyers that she should be disqualified because of the impropriety of her romantic relationship with the top prosecutor she had chosen.

The appeals court said in its decision that the remedy offered by the trial judge – which allowed Willis to remain in the case if the chief prosecutor withdrew from handling it – was inappropriate.

“However, we affirm the denial of appellants’ motion to dismiss the indictment,” the appeals court said.

The Georgia case is one of two criminal cases still pending against Trump.

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