Judge Scott McAfee is allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue on the election subversion case against Donald Trump – but she was forced to lose special prosecutor Nathan Wade after an embarrassing two months that put Willis and Wade on trial themselves over their romantic relationship.
It’s a technical legal win for Willis since she will have the option to continue, along with her full office, prosecuting Trump and 14 others. But McAfee’s 23-page opinion was a scathing rebuke of the district attorney’s actions, and it remains unclear if Trump will face trial before November on his actions after the 2020 presidential election.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
- Willis survives, but the DA and her case are wounded: While Willis survived the disqualification challenge, the detour over her relationship with Wade has left a stain on her case, both in court — where potential jurors are likely to be familiar with the episode – and the broader public, which will vote on whether to return Trump to the White House in November. Both Willis and Wade took the stand and in McAfee's ruling Friday, the judge described Willis’ fiery testimony as “unprofessional.”
- Wade resigns hours after decision: While the judge gave Willis the option to remove herself or Wade from the case, there was really no choice: If Willis chose to take her office off the case instead of Wade, it would be transferred to Georgia’s Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council for reassignment — a move that could fatally derail the complicated racketeering case depending on who took over. In his resignation letter to Willis on Friday, Wade said he was proud of the work of their team. Accepting his resignation, Willis thanked her former special prosecutor for his work.
- Trump keeps racking up pre-trial wins: Friday’s ruling still represents a partial victory for the former president in an attempt to delay his four criminal trials and turn the tables on the prosecutors who have indicted him. Trump’s attorneys have successfully employed numerous efforts to delay all four of the criminal trials that could sideline the former president from the campaign trail this year.
- Why Willis wasn't disqualified: McAfee said questions remained about the timing of the relationship between Wade and Willis and the payments that Wade made when the pair took trips together. But he determined there wasn’t conclusive proof of the allegations against them. “Ultimately, dismissal of the indictment is not the appropriate remedy to adequately dissipate the financial cloud of impropriety and potential untruthfulness found here," he wrote.
- McAfee suggests the possibility of a gag order: McAfee wrote that Willis’ comments at an Atlanta-area church in January about the case were “legally improper.” He also warned of the potential for a future gag order against Willis. During the speech earlier this year, Willis defended Wade, suggesting he was being targeted because he was a “Black man.”
Read the full takeaways from the ruling and previous proceedings
This post has been updated with Wade's resignation.