ATLANTA — A Georgia Court of Appeals order late Tuesday afternoon made a verdict in the Fulton County election interference case against former president Donald Trump before election day all but impossible.
The order, shared by former president Trump's lead attorney Steve Sadow, granted requests by eight defendants in the case, including the former president, for oral arguments in their ongoing appeal seeking the disqualification of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case.
Most significantly, the appellate court scheduled those oral arguments for December 5 -- nearly a month after the presidential election. A trial cannot move forward until the Court of Appeals reaches a decision.
At oral arguments, the appellate court will consider the co-defendants' challenge to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee's March ruling that led to the removal of special prosecutor Nathan Wade from the election interference case but allowed D.A. Willis to remain.
The co-defendants have argued that McAfee's ruling did not go far enough and should have led to the disqualification of Willis and the dismissal of the charges. They claim that a romantic relationship Willis and Wade shared led to an impermissible conflict of interest.
McAfee found that the situation did not give rise to a conflict of interest under Georgia law. He added, though, that the facts 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, allowing Willis to continue to prosecute the case.
11Alive has contacted the Fulton County District Attorney's Office for comment.
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