Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told the Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday that President-elect Donald Trump doesn’t have presidential immunity in Georgia.
Willis argued that Trump’s request to dismiss the case is invalid because he is not a sitting president.
“While the courts’ understanding of presidential immunity continues to evolve, ‘president-elect immunity’ obviously does not exist,” Willis argued.
Willis said the 2020 election interference case against Trump should proceed because he’s not in office yet.
She said the case should not be thrown out and that Trump’s lawyers failed to show why a state prosecution should be subject to Department of Justice rules of not being able to prosecute sitting presidents.
“Appellant does not specify or articulate how the appeal… will constitutionally impede or interfere with his duties once he assumes office,” Willis said in her filing.
However, the Georgia Court of Appeals voted on Thursday morning to disqualify Willis and her office from Trump’s case due to “conflict of interest”.
The Appeals court ruled Willis and the assistant District Attorneys working in her office have “no authority to proceed.”
The decision does not dismiss the indictment against Trump and his co-defendants. The case will instead be reassigned to another prosecutor in Georgia.
The Appeals Court said Willis displayed a “conflict of interest” by sleeping with the special prosecutor, Nathan Wade.
Wade recused himself after a Fulton County judge ordered Willis to step aside her cut her romantic ties with Wade.
On Nov. 1, 2021, Willis hired Wade to prosecute former President Trump in the RICO election interference case. The next day, Wade filed for divorce from his wife, Joycelyn Wade, who now lives in Texas.
Despite testifying under oath that they were not romantically involved, Willis and Wade appear to still be together.
Wade and Willis were together when a State Trooper arrested her adult daughter for speeding and driving on a suspended/revoked license in September.
Well Well Well- Fani Willis and ex-lover Nathan Wade turn up TOGETHER on police bodycam during pregnant daughter Kinaya's arrest in Georgia – months after Fulton County DA insisted they called it quits
Read: https://t.co/i65UgnDVpI pic.twitter.com/nVoAq88cr8
— Karli Bonne’ ?? (@KarluskaP) September 4, 2024