When Atlanta Judge Scott McAfee ruled recently in the Fani Willis decision TechnoFog noted, “Judge McAfee rules that only one potential liar can prosecute the case – but not both potential liars. Instead of curing the “appearance of impropriety”, it allows it to continue. If Nathan Wade goes, why can Fani Willis stay? McAfee doesn’t give an answer.”
To chase down this judicial question, lawyers representing President Trump and seven co-defendants, collectively accused of RICO conspiracy, today asked McAfee to issue a certificate of immediate review of his order denying disqualification of Fani Willis.
The certificate, if issued, would allow the defendants to seek an immediate appeal of the order. Because in order for President Trump to appeal the order denying disqualification prior to trial, the defendants must obtain a certificate of immediate review within 10 days from the date of the order. Today Trump’s lawyers asked for that certificate. [pdf of motion HERE]
(VIA NBC) – […] It’s important to note that there isn’t an automatic right to appeal at this stage. Rather, McAfee would need to grant permission to do so within 10 days of his ruling, and then the state appeals court would need to agree to hear the case. If that happens, it could bring yet more delay to the prosecution that doesn’t even have a trial date yet and has already been sidetracked by the disqualification motion that led to McAfee’s ruling.
It’s unclear if the judge would grant such permission to appeal at this stage. In a recent unrelated ruling in which he dismissed some of the indictment’s counts, McAfee said he’d be inclined to permit an appeal of that ruling. But he didn’t say that in his disqualification order. That doesn’t automatically mean he wouldn’t permit an appeal, but he didn’t go out of his way to signal his openness to the idea like he did in his dismissal ruling.
In his disqualification order, McAfee said that the defense failed to prove an actual conflict of interest, but that the appearance of impropriety meant that either Willis (and her whole office) or special prosecutor Nathan Wade had to go. Wade resigned that same day. Though he deemed a speech she gave improper, McAfee declined to disqualify Willis because of alleged “forensic misconduct” based on it. If defendants are allowed to mount an appeal, they could cite the damning facts McAfee found to argue that he reached the wrong legal conclusion by not disqualifying Willis. (read more)
Statement of Steve Sadow, lead defense counsel for President Trump in the Fulton County, GA case:
“President Trump and seven defendants have jointly filed a motion requesting the Court to grant a certificate of immediate review of its Order denying dismissal of the case and disqualification of Fulton County DA Willis. The motion notes that the Court found that Willis’ actions created an appearance of impropriety and an “odor of mendacity” that lingers in this case, but it nonetheless refused to dismiss the case or disqualify her. The motion further notes that the Court found Georgia case law lacks controlling precedent for the standard for disqualification of a prosecuting attorney for forensic misconduct. For these reasons among others, the Court’s Order is ripe for pretrial appellate review.” (LINK)