Fani Willis is not safe yet. After several days of litigation, Magistrate Scott McAfee decided earlier this month that the Fulton County prosecutor could continue to lead the case against Donald Trump and 18 other co-defendants for electoral subversion. The judge, however, left the door open to an appeal, which the defendants decided to take advantage of this Friday.
Willis's role was called into question by her romantic relationship with a member of the District Attorney's Office that she appointed, Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade. McAfee ruled that, despite the "terrible error in judgment" demonstrated by both, either Willis or Wade could remain in the dock if the other stepped aside. Wade resigned in early March.
The resolution was of little consequence to Trump, Giuliani and the other defendants. In a filing with the Georgia Court of Appeals, his lawyers claim that Willis had violated the ethical standards of her position, thereby losing credibility.
They also claimed that she had committed malpractice on numerous occasions, both before and during the process that sought to remove her from the case, including unrelated accusations of racism in non-judicial contexts, such as a church, and false statements under oath.
They also stated that she should have the appearance of a conflict of interest to disqualify her, because this is usually the case with defense attorneys. Therefore, it should reach Judge McAfee's conclusion that there was an "appearance of impropriety" for Willis to step aside.
Although, if they get their way, the prosecutor would not be the only one who would leave the prosecution: if Willis is finally disqualified, "so too is her whole office." As they have been doing on numerous occasions, the lawyers insisted that allowing it to remain will cast doubt on the entire judicial process.
The Court of Appeals will have about 45 days to decide whether or not to hear the case.
