Update…..
Nathan Wade has resigned as expected
…..
But the lead Fulton County attorney Nathan Wade on the case must be removed Atalanta Judge McAfee has ruled….
The judge expressed displeasure at the situation the DA put herself in and has warne3d her to get her act together going forward….
This from the judge who worked for Dani Willis’s office in the past…..
A judge in Atlanta ruled Friday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue prosecuting former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants for trying to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election if one of her top prosecutors on the case, Nathan Wade, is removed from the team.
But Judge Scott McAfee wrote that either Willis and her entire office or Wade must step aside to prevent an “appearance of conflict” over potential financial improprieties caused by their romantic relationship.
Trump and his allies had failed to sufficiently substantiate claims that Willis’ romantic relationship with Wade had created an “actual” conflict of interest that required her entire team being removed from the case, McAfee concluded.
…
“The Court finds that the evidence did not establish the District Attorney’s receipt of a material financial benefit,” McAfee ruled, despite characterizing the relationship as a “tremendous lapse in judgment.”
The decision ends, for now, a dispute that derailed the case for more than two months and featured hours of combative testimony from Willis on the witness stand at an evidentiary hearing last month. McAfee has not yet set a trial date.
Despite the bottom-line victory for Willis, McAfee’s ruling was replete with warnings about possible further sanctions for her office.
…
In the end, the judge called the relationship “a tremendous lapse in judgment,” and dinged Willis for “the unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing.” He also found that the relationship created an appearance of impropriety, but that the problem could be solved by the removal of just Wade or of the entire district attorney’s office…..
A breakdown of the judge’s ruling …..
A combination of factors raises a legitimate question.
Alone, each of the two main issues raised by the defense — that Mr. Wade is being paid by the hour, and that two members of the prosecution team were having a relationship — would not be a problem. But combined, they raise an deeper issue, the judge wrote.
Financial gain was neither proven nor shown to be a motivating factor.
The judge wrote that Willis’s claim that she had reimbursed Mr. Wade in cash for trips they took together was “unusual” and “understandably concerning” but was “not so incredible as to be inherently unbelievable,” and the evidence did not establish that she had received any material benefit as a result of her decision to hire and engage in a romantic relationship with Mr. Wade…..
Note…
Dana Bash on CNN tried to get a Georgia legal expert to say the Willis situation might affect the final jury…The guy said forget it….The Trial will be about the CASE in the end….This stuff is just window dressing for the Trump people looking to stall…
Yesterday’s ruling was predictive of this ruling which is pretty damn on point…
Willis ought to voluntarily recuse herself .
Her continued supervision of this prosecution raises all sorts of questions.
Further, she should be voted out of office.Hopefully, she will be.
This is ,in my view ,the best case against Trump.Now it’s going to be compromised because of her antics.
Too bad.
I STRONGLY DISAGREE with Willis taking herself out….
She was NOT on trial….
She won’t be running the DAILY op….
She WILL hand the case off to someone within the office as I previously suggested…
I agree with the judge that she did handle this incredibly stupid….
To take herself off the case plays to Trump & Co…..
AGAIN….
THEY ARE going on criminal trial….
NOT HER….
This is a criminal case…
NOT what Trump wants….
A political defense….
I’m not surprised at this response.
She is likely to have all sorts of problems with the Georgia Bar and possibly with the criminal justice system.
What she did by giving her boyfriend a position he was not remotely qualified for and paying him over $ 700 000 of public money shows her total contempt for people she is supposed to represent.
Her pitiful attempt to try to obfuscate her arrogant misuse of said money by accusing her critics of racism is contemptible.
I have no use for the likes of Fani Willis.She is a disgrace .
Actually?
The judge said the money paid to Wade was reasonable….
But I second ur view that hiring the guy WAS STUPID…..
And embarrassing to her….
But again
She was NOT on trial
Of course it was “ reasonable.”
As usual, you fail to understand the point.
When you are going to prosecute a former President of the United States you bring in experienced lawyers with a track record prosecuting high profile criminal cases, not a traffic court judge whose practice was mainly handling civil matters and whose only “ qualification “was he and the DA were in a personal relationship.
As the judge said ,this looks horrible.It has nothing to do with the standard legal fees in such cases.Apparently ,Willis also named two experienced prosecutors to “ assist” the inexperienced Wade.
As to your continuing claim that Willis isn’t “ on trial?”Once again you show your lack of knowledge as to high profile criminal prosecutions.Every Prosecutor fully understands that all his actions are going to be carefully scrutinized and he sure as Hell better be crossing the i’s and dotting the t’s.It ,goes with the territory and every lawyer gets that.
Willis brought all this on herself.It angers me enormously because this is arguably the strongest case against Trump and by her actions she has endangered the viability of this prosecution.
I do not pretend to be a legal scholar,but it doesn’t take one to see how Willis’s actions here deserve severe censure and condemnation.
And AGAIN?
I STRONGLY DISagree with your basic about the trial….
As we BOTH know…
When the case actually goes to trial….
It will be about the courtroom….
It will be about the evidence…..
The Willis/Nathan situation will be long gone…..
I believe Willis is up for re-election in November….
I’d bet the people of Fulton Cty are gonna keep her in her job and THAT will be giving the finger to those gainst her….
Jack?
The Governor hasn’t fired here…
The lawmakers haven’t either…..
You can keep trying to sell this….
But the LAW is going to prevail in this as it will in NYC and Wash DC….
The media circus defense WILL NOT….
And YES…
I agree….
She should appoint her TOP RICO criminal lawyers to handled the day by day case….
And she should stay being the boss like the voters of Fulton Cty have choosen her to be…..
My remarks are the pretty much in line with most legal scholars in the country and have been widely disseminated.
But hey what do they know?
We’ve got you!
One who has elevated being Wrong in just about everything to an art form, a cheap art form.
Well?
I called Willis keeping the case…..
So i ain’t doing that bad…
Update….
Trump Can Appeal Fani Willis Decision
Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday granted permission for former President Donald Trump and seven others to appeal his recent decision that has kept District Attorney Fani Willis at the helm of her election interference case, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
It will be up to the appeals court to decide whether to take up the matter.
Nathan Wade has resigned as expected….