Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has submitted a motion in an attempt to block an appeals court from hearing arguments to disqualify her from former President Donald Trump’s trial on charges of perjury and misconduct. Trump’s lawyers have requested the appeals court to review a decision made by Judge Scott McAfee, which allowed Willis to remain as the overseeing prosecutor despite dismissing Nathan Wade, a prosecutor with whom she had a personal relationship that likely began before he was hired for the case. Trump’s legal team has pointed to a speech made by Willis in January as evidence of her bias in the case, alleging that her partiality goes beyond the hiring of Wade.
“There is simply no trial court error to be found in the decision to deny disqualification,” Willis wrote in a filing on Monday, adding that her speech was “too vague, brief, and limited in scope” to warrant disqualification.
“Days of evidence and testimony failed to disclose anything like a calculated pre-trial plan designed to prejudice the defendants or secure their convictions,” the district attorney added. “The applicants have not identified any public statement injecting the District Attorney’s personal belief as to the defendant’s guilt or appealing to the public weighing of evidence.”
The appeals court must make a decision by May on whether to uphold McAfee’s ruling allowing Willis to continue on the case or to disqualify her due to evidence of malfeasance and bias.
In January, Willis delivered a speech at the Big Bethel AME Church in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In her speech, she criticized Republicans such as Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), whom she accused of provoking racist attacks against her. Willis rejected the idea that her performance of duties should disqualify her, telling the congregation, “You cannot expect black women to be flawless.”
“Dear God, I do not want to be like those that attacked me. I never want to be a Marjorie Taylor Greene who has never met me, but has allowed her spirit to be filled with hate,” she said at the time. “How does this woman, who has the honor of being a leader in my state, how is it that she has not reached out to me?”
Trump’s legal team, on the other hand, has expressed their bewilderment at the ruling that permits Willis to retain control of the case, stating that it defies all rationality. Numerous legal experts have raised concerns about her remarks, emphasizing the potential implications. According to Atlanta defense attorney Andrew Fleischman, Willis ought not to be making such statements.
“Prosecutors announcing at the outset of a case who they’re indicting, the charges being brought and why is fine, but they should not make public statements that have no legitimate law enforcement purpose, even in the context of a political campaign,” Fleischman said.
“They strengthen arguments for gag orders and disqualification, and they harm the public’s trust that this trial is about holding people accountable for crimes they have committed, rather than as part of an overall political strategy,” Fleischman added.
Law professor Clark Cunninghan also said that Willis’ comments to CNN sounded like “campaign remarks” that “were addressed to an audience of voters for the upcoming primary and general election.”
Fleischman added, “On the other hand, the defense may prefer that she keep talking and may ask to submit clips of her interviews as evidence at trial.”
“I do think that the credibility of the case has taken a terrible hit because of her conduct,” Cunningham said, arguing that the “odor of mendacity” that Judge McAfee wrote in his decision earlier this month remains over the prosecution and “dissipates if she takes a leave.”