On Friday morning, the judge overseeing the Georgia criminal case against Donald Trump and many of his allies for his effort to overturn the 2020 election issued a ruling rejecting a defense motion to disqualify Fani Willis. The defense had claimed that Willis, the prosecutor in the case, had a “personal stake” in the outcome of the case because she had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a lawyer she hired to lead the state’s prosecution team.
But it wasn’t a clean win for Willis. The judge ruled that she could only stay on the case if Wade resigned. It’s a sensible ruling. The theory that Willis is prosecuting the case in part to enjoy the financial benefits of paying her own romantic partner never made much sense. Yes, she displayed a considerable lapse in judgment in hiring a former romantic partner, but the defense couldn’t credibly show that her mistakes prejudiced their case.
While Willis can proceed with the case, she hardly emerges unscathed. The judge’s words were sobering. He said there was an “odor of mendacity” about the timing of the relationship, and there is “a significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team.”
Moreover, the judge’s order is appealable, and that appeal could delay the trial against Trump.
When Willis filed her sprawling indictment, I had two thoughts about it at once: In theory, the case is the most dangerous for Trump of all the cases filed against him. He can’t pardon himself from a state conviction, and Georgia’s governor doesn’t possess the pardon power, either.
In practice, however, it was always going to be incredibly difficult to try him on a timely basis, much less before the 2024 election. The judge’s ruling reaffirms both realities. Trump still faces immense legal jeopardy in Georgia, if the case can ever make it to trial.
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