ATLANTA — Some defendants took the next step in appealing a Superior Court ruling that allowed District Attorney Fani Willis to continue to prosecute the Fulton County election interference case.
Former President Donald Trump and several others tried to get Willis and her office removed the case earlier this year, saying her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest. However, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued a ruling in March saying he did not find that a relationship between the two amounted to a conflict of interest that should disqualify her or her office from the case.
He added, though, that the allegations created an “appearance of impropriety” that "infected" the prosecution team. The judge presented Willis with the ultimatum to step down or remove the special prosecutor from the case; Wade decided to resign.
Since then, Trump's co-defendants David Shafer and Michael Roman filed notices of appeal Friday, which is a necessary procedural step after the Georgia Court of Appeals agreed this week to take up the case.
In addition to Shafer and Roman, 11Alive learned Monday that Cathy Latham, Mark Meadows, and Rudy Giuliani had also filed notices of appeal.
Robert Cheeley, another co-defendant, filed his notice of appeal on Tuesday.
The group of defendants argue Judge McAfee's ruling did not go far enough. They're asking the appellate court to disqualify Willis from the case.
The Fulton County District Attorney's Office previously declined to comment on the appeal.
Trump and 18 others were indicted in August, accused of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to overturn his narrow 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia. They were charged with violating the state's RICO law. So far, four people charged in the case have taken plea deals.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.