ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has made her next move in the appeals fight over a disqualification order that allowed her to remain on the prosecution for the Georgia election interference trial of former President Donald Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants.
Late Thursday afternoon, Willis filed a "Notice of Cross Appeal," which legal experts said is a procedural move that could allow Willis to raise new issues before the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Earlier this month, several defendants filed notices that they would appeal the decision by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that allowed Willis to remain on the case -- but required lead special prosecutor Nathan Wade to step down -- after McAfee found that a romantic relationship between Willis and Wade did not constitute a conflict of interest that should disqualify her trying the case.
McAfee 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 that ruling, Trump's co-defendants David Shafer, Michael Roman, Cathy Latham, Robert Cheeley, Mark Meadows, and Rudy Giuliani filed notices of appeal arguing that Judge McAfee's ruling did not go far enough. They have asked the appellate court to disqualify Willis from the case.
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.
The news of Willis' notice comes on the same day a former employee of the district attorney's office testified before a Georgia Senate special investigative committee that is probing alleged misuse of funds by the D.A.
Amanda Timpson, the former director of the Juvenile Diversion Program, accused Willis of planning to use grant funds illegally and retaliating against her when she raised concerns.
The D.A.'s office dismissed the testimony, blaming Timpson's firing on poor performance, writing, "Ms. Timpson’s claims of wrongdoing by this office are untrue. She has shopped her false claims in multiple courtrooms. Almost all have been rejected and we expect the remainder to be rejected soon.”