I’ve just read through Judge Scott McAfee’s full decision in the Fani Willis disqualification case. The headline is that Willis wasn’t disqualified, but was told that one of two things must happen: her adulterous lover, Nathan Wade, must withdraw from the prosecution, or Willis and her entire office must withdraw. This sounds like a full defeat for Trump’s co-defendants, but it isn’t quite that bad, and the judge wasn’t completely wrong to rule this way.
Asking Wade or Willis to leave the case has the potential to seriously affect the case, possibly delaying it beyond the point of no return. That is, unless Willis was prepared for this eventuality and has already lined up a replacement for Wade, it would take time for a new prosecutor to study the case well enough that he would be able to fulfill his function as prosecutor.
Alternatively, if Wade suddenly loses Willis and her staff, he may quickly become swamped by the work. This is true even if he has a contingency plan in place.
It is obvious to anyone who has studied them that all of the cases against Trump and his co-defendants are designed to interfere with Trump’s present campaign for president. If this case isn’t heard before the election, it will have failed in that objective and likely would fail every other objective once Trump’s team is in office. At that point, he would be able to remove many of the crooked actors who have facilitated the lawfare attacks on Trump and the cases would be dismissed.
As I watched the hearings with Willis and other fact witnesses, I found myself thinking the same things Judge McAfee mentioned in his ruling. The chief fault of the case was whether any favoritism towards or financial reward derived from Nathan Wade prejudiced the case against Trump and his co-defendants. I didn’t see that. As far as I could tell, Willis was paying a good-looking man for sex, and used county money to do it. That was wrong, but how did it prejudice the case against Trump et al?
The Trump team argued that the case itself wouldn’t have been filed if not for Willis’ desire for an adulterous booty call with Wade. Therefore, the case itself, and not specific conduct within the case, represented prejudice because Willis had an incentive to give Wade a case. If she had given him a gang-related case, the effect would have been the same. She apparently used the power of her office, and the authority she had as DA to hire contractors, to obtain romantic and sexual favors.
The better case would have been to argue the politicized nature of the case, Willis’ connections to the White House, and her statements about Trump prior to indicting Trump. Those did show prejudice. The indictments are based on whether Trump genuinely believed the election had been compromised or whether evidence existed to show it had been. Basing a case on a defendant’s beliefs makes for a very weak case. In combination with clear prejudice, the case should never have gone to trial.
What the Willis disqualification hearings managed to establish is that Willis is sexually aggressive, ill-tempered, a liar, and generally unsuited for any position at any level of law enforcement. If that was the goal behind this case, the defendants achieved it. Willis will forever be remembered as an uncouth lying barbarian, and not an impartial or honorable prosecutor.
As for McAfee, I think he could have disqualified Willis on the basis that she committed perjury in court and thus could not be trusted as a prosecutor. He didn’t want to go there. But then, he contributed to her campaign, and that is more than the appearance of a conflict.
EDIT: Please read this article: https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/go-getters-saturday-march-16-2024
It is an excellent analysis of the Willis decision, and why it portends good things for Trump.
I often find the irony when someone (You) writes an article referencing Donald Trump's legal battles with Claims of Fraud in the 2020 Elections...
Written by someone holding "Proof" of election fraud!!
That's typically the time the Liberal/Democrat/Criminals turn their head away and pretend they can't see it listen!!!
It should be as simple as"Here's Proof". Confirmed! Case Dismissed!!!
-Mo
Sad state of affairs which (in my opinion) brings much more shame to the current leading politicians in Georgia than it does to the swingers and dealers in the Fulton County Courthouse. I live in this state, and feel deeply that our “Republicans” are doing everything they can possibly do to call evil good, and good evil. In that environment, it is a wonder that they found 19 to indict along with President Trump.