Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can stay on and prosecute the Georgia 2020 election interference racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 14 of his co-defendants, Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday, but only if she removes the special prosecutor with whom she engaged in a romantic relationship.
CNN has reached out to the district attorney’s office regarding the next steps in the case.
After more than two months marked by a flurry of court motions and hearings, which included fiery testimony from Willis on the stand defending her relationship with Nathan Wade, the sprawling conspiracy case against Trump and his 2020 allies can now proceed – depending on Willis’ decision.
Though the ruling helps bring to a close a contentious two-month detour that dragged the election subversion case into the romantic lives of the prosecutors, it nonetheless leaves a stain on one of the four prosecution teams pursuing charges against the former president.
While McAfee ruled Willis can stay on the case, the recent public hearings on the disqualification matter surfaced highly personal revelations that could influence how the public – and potential jurors in Atlanta – view the prosecution going forward.
McAfee was highly critical of Willis and Wade’s relationship, describing it as being the result of “bad choices.”
“This finding is by no means an indication that the Court condones this tremendous lapse in judgment or the unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing,” McAfee wrote.
However, the judge wrote, “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices – even repeatedly.”
And the judge described Willis’…
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