The decision bolsters the chances that 15 defendants including former President Donald Trump will face trial this year for attempting to overturn the 2020 election result.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks from a witness stand in front of Fulton Superior Judge Scott McAfee during a Feb. 15 hearing about whether Willis' office should be disqualified from the Georgia election interference case.
Known for her sharp courtroom skills and affinity for deploying Georgia's racketeering law to prosecute complex webs of criminal activity, Willis guided the case through months of investigation by a special investigative panel to a grand jury, which handed up a sweeping indictment of 19 people last August.
In the end, McAfee found that,"the evidence demonstrated that the financial gain flowing from her relationship with Wade was not a motivating factor on the part of the District Attorney to indict and prosecute." And he wrote that the defendants failed to show how Willis' conduct influenced the case. "Our highest courts consistently remind us that prosecutors are held to a unique and exacting professional standard in light of their public responsibility – and their power," McAfee wrote."Every newly minted prosecutor should be instilled with the notion that she seeks justice over convictions and that she may strike hard blows but never foul ones."
"While respecting the Court's decision... we will use all legal options available as we continue to fight to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place," wrote Trump's lawyer, Steve Sadow.While Willis is likely to remain on the case, the allegations could still leave lasting damage. Georgia Republicans have initiated several avenues to investigate Willis.
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