The Trump indictment case has come to a screeching halt. There’s one major reason why.
Because a federal judge just gave Trump’s prosecutors the news they never wanted to hear.
In Georgia, Donald Trump’s been facing an indictment case over alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election as the District Attorney of Fulton County has accused Trump of trying to produce a fraudulent election.
But that case became extremely complicated when it came out that the District Attorney, Fani Willis, may have been lying about when she started a romantic relationship with an attorney she personally selected for the Trump case.
Sound like a conflict of interest? Yeah it certainly does. And the defense for Donald Trump and a co-defendant of Trump absolutely agree. They’ve been trying to get the case thrown out because of this blatant conflict of interest.
Now the federal judge presiding over the case has made a decision on the matter and whether he would throw the case out or how to proceed.
The judge, Scott McAfee will not be throwing out the case all together or absolutely replacing the prosecution team.
That being said, he is giving them an ultimatum and a major decision to make that can change the future of how the case plays out.
According to the court, Fani Willis must either kick her romantic partner Nathan Wade off the prosecution team or completely step aside.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reports:
Judge Scott McAfee found that the defendants had “failed to meet their burden of proving that the District Attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest in this case through her personal relationship and recurring travels with her lead prosecutor.”
As a result of their failure to be totally forthcoming on this matter, the court’s giving the two options to Fani Willis and company before the case can go any further.
The court’s statement reads:
The Court therefore concludes that the prosecution of this case cannot proceed until the State selects one of two options. The District Attorney may choose to step aside, along with the whole of her office, and refer the prosecution to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council for reassignment. See O.C.G.A. § 15-18-5. Alternatively, SADA Wade can withdraw, allowing the District Attorney, the Defendants, and the public to move forward without his presence or remuneration distracting from and potentially compromising the merits of this case.
Judge McAfee didn’t leave it there, either. He continued to say that Fani Willis and Nathan Wade still smell of “mendacity” according to his official statement.
McAfee said that there remains “reasonable questions about whether the District Attorney and her hand-selected lead SADA testified untruthfully about the timing of their relationship.”
While the case did not get thrown out, the defense for Donald Trump and his co-defendant say that they will still be pursuing an acquittal because the foundations of the legitimacy of the case are now in question.
The legal defense said they intend to “use all legal options available as we continue to fight to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place.”
They added that they understand the court’s decision at this time but they believe that, ultimately, the “misconduct” of Willis and Wade should be investigated further.
“While respecting the Court’s decision, we believe that the Court did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade,” the defense concluded.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
