Lawyers for former President Donald J. Trump and eight co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case asked the Court of Appeals on Friday to challenge a judge's decision to allow prosecutor Fani T. Willis to continue the case. did.
In their appeal, the defendants reiterated their claim that Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, created an unsustainable conflict of interest by having a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor hired to manage the Trump case. are doing.
The presiding judge in the criminal case, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, had already given the defendants permission to continue their appeal after ruling that Willis' disbarment was invalidated.
But under Georgia law, the co-defendants must also get approval from the Georgia Court of Appeals before the matter can be heard by a panel of three appellate judges.
Friday's motion is aimed at persuading the higher court that it should consider its argument that the criminal case should be dismissed or that Willis and his office be disbarred.
The Court of Appeals has 45 days to decide whether to grant or deny the appeal application.
The effort to disbar Ms. Willis resulted in several days of hearings that delved into sordid details of her private life. The defense argued that she “self-disposed” by vacationing with Nathan J. Wade, a man she hired to manage her case, and having him pay for at least part of her trip. .
In the end, Judge McAfee criticized Willis for a “serious error in judgment” in his relationship with Wade. He also noted that questions remained about whether Willis and Wade had given “false testimony” and said the issue had “a whiff of deception” during the hearing.
But rather than finding an actual conflict of interest, as the defense had hoped, the judge found only “indications of fraud,” and if Mr. Wade withdrew from the case, Mr. Willis and his firm ruled that the lawsuit could proceed. Wade resigned hours after the judge's March 15 order.
Defense attorneys argued in Friday's filing that eliminating Wade's case is not enough. They insist that Mr. Willis needs to go too.
“The trial court was bound by existing case law and not only required Wade's disqualification (as occurred); We demand the disbarment of Prosecutor Willis and his entire office,” the attorneys said in a 51-page document. “The trial court's failure to do so is a clear legal error requiring reversal.”
The drama helped distract from the criminal charges contained in the August indictment of Trump and 18 of his allies. The indictment describes numerous efforts to overturn Trump's loss in Georgia's 2020 election, and four of the defendants have since entered into plea deals.
The Georgia case is one of four criminal cases facing Trump, all of which have seen lawyers engage in delay tactics as the November general election approaches. A Manhattan judge recently set an April 15 trial date in Trump's criminal case, which involves charges that he falsified business records to cover up a potential sex scandal. Trial dates for his two federal criminal cases in Washington, D.C. and Florida have not yet been set.
Judge McAfee recently ruled that a co-defendant in the case, Harrison Floyd, who once led a group called Black Voices for Trump, can seek a pretrial appeal. The judge ruled against Floyd's argument that he did not have authority to pursue election-related charges against him because prosecutors did not first refer the case to the state election board. .
As with the disbarment appeal, Mr. Floyd must first obtain approval from the appellate court before proceeding with the appeal.
It is increasingly likely that Georgia's case will go to court before the November election, but it is also unclear whether appellate activity will contribute to the delay. Judge McAfee said that regardless of what the appeals court decides on the disbarment effort, he will continue to address other pretrial motions in the case.