(PM.) Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s Office filed a motion in Georgia’s Appeal Court on Wednesday to throw out former President Donald Trump’s motion to remove Willis from his Georgia 2020 election case, the New York Post reports.
Willis argued that she should be allowed to continue as lead prosecutor in the case because her secret lover Nathan Wade resigned as special prosecutor after Judge Scott McAfee decided in March that only one of them could remain on the case.
Trump’s legal team said the embattled district attorney’s motion is a “last ditch effort to stop any appellate review of DA Willis’ misconduct.”
Willis’s Office argued in court documents that Judge McAfee’s “concern with any potential ‘questions’ stemmed from Wade’s continued presence in the case, a concern that was addressed when Wade withdrew.” The defendants’ “remaining evidence therefore relates to possible concerns about future appearances of impropriety that can no longer even come to pass,” the court filing stated.
Judge McAfee was highly critical of Willis and Wade when he made his decision after hearing conflict of interest arguments about their secret relationship. Willis hired Wade as a special prosecutor on the 2020 election case against Trump and 18 co-defendants – in which they have been accused of attempting to overturn state election results – despite having a romantic relationship.
It was later revealed that Willis financially benefitted from dating Wade, who treated her to exotic vacations after raking in a lucrative salary on the case. However, the duo refuted allegations that they financially benefited from the case.
According to Willis’ office, the arguments supporting the motion to disqualify her were rendered “a room without walls” after McAfee disregarded the testimony of star witness Terrance Bradley, Wade’s former law partner and divorce attorney, due to credibility concerns.
