ATLANTA (CN) — The special prosecutor in the election subversion case against former President Donald Trump has bowed out of the case after a Georgia judge ruled Friday the district attorney spearheading the case must either recuse herself or remove the special prosecutor.
In a 23-page ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote that the defendants “failed to meet their burden” in proving that Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis’ relationship with the special prosecutor on the case, Nathan Wade, was enough of a “conflict of interest” to merit her removal from the case.
Hours after the order was released, Wade submitted a letter of resignation to Willis’ office.
"Although the court found that ‘the defendants failed to meet their burden of proving that the district attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest,' I am offering my resignation in the interest of democracy," Wade wrote.
Willis immediately accepted Wade’s offer and wrote him a letter back to thank him for his work on the case.
“I compliment you for the professionalism and dignity you have shown over the last 865 days, as you have endured threats against you and your family, as well as unjustified attacks in the media and in court on your reputation as a lawyer,” Willis wrote.
“I will always remember — and will remind everyone — that you were brave enough to step forward and take on the investigation and prosecution of the allegations that the defendants in this case engaged in a conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election. Others who were considered were understandably concerned for the safety of themselves and their families that would arise from their acceptance of your role. You were the one who had the courage to accept the role, even though you did not seek it,” Willis added.
Multiple defendants charged in the racketeering indictment, including Trump, had argued Willis was financially enriched through trips the two took together.
But the judge also found an “appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team” and said either Willis and her office must fully step aside from the case, or Wade must withdraw for the case to proceed.
“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the district attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed,” McAfee wrote. “Put differently, an outsider could reasonably think that the district attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist.”
If Wade withdraws, McAfee wrote, it will allow Willis, the defendants and the public “to move forward without his presence or remuneration distracting from and potentially compromising the merits of this case.”
If Willis takes the unlikely step of recusing herself and her office, the case would go to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia to be reassigned to a new prosecutor. Both sides could also try to appeal McAfee’s ruling to the state Court of Appeals.
Attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents defendant Michael Roman, first spurred accusations of misconduct in January. The motion she filed sought not only to disqualify Willis' team from the case, but also to toss the indictment.
"Ultimately, dismissal of the indictment is not the appropriate remedy to adequately dissipate the financial cloud of impropriety and potential untruthfulness found here," McAfee wrote.
"There has not been a showing that the defendants’ due process rights have been violated or that the issues involved prejudiced the defendants in any way. Nor is disqualification of a constitutional officer necessary when a less drastic and sufficiently remedial option is available."
McAfee held an evidentiary hearing on the accusations last month, where Willis and Wade both denied any wrongdoing and testified that their romantic relationship did not begin until after Willis appointed Wade as special prosecutor in November 2021.
The state argued that Willis had not received any financial benefit through her relationship with Wade, and that their personal travel expenses were “roughly divided equally.”
In his ruling, McAfee said that the defendants failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove otherwise, or show that Willis’ decision to hire Wade was for any financial benefit.
Defendants in the case had claimed that Willis was also using the prosecution to benefit herself financially. But McAfee disagreed, finding that her efforts to start the trial as soon as possible contradict any argument that she has an incentive to prolong the case.
“Without sufficient evidence that the district attorney acquired a personal stake in the prosecution, or that her financial arrangements had any impact on the case, the defendants’ claims of an actual conflict must be denied,” McAfee wrote.
“This finding is by no means an indication that the court condones this tremendous lapse in judgment or the unprofessional manner of the district attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing.”
During her testimony, Willis fired back at Merchant’s accusations, calling her “dishonest” and criticizing her for being “intrusive into people’s lives.”
Trump attorneys Steve Sadow and Jennifer Little inflated the misconduct accusations by adding that Willis' January speech at a historic Black church in Atlanta had injected “racial animus” into the election interference case.
Although she did not mention anyone specifically by name, Willis referenced the disqualification efforts as “playing the race card,” referring to Wade as the “Black man” while other unchallenged prosecutors were referred to as “one white woman” and “one white man.”
Because Willis did not name any of the defendants, discuss the indicted offenses or disclose any confidential evidence, McAfee said that her public remarks did not taint the defendants’ rights to a fair trial, but were “legally improper.”
“Providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the district attorney to wade further into,” the judge warned.
Days before Trump officially won the Republican presidential nomination following Georgia’s primary election, the former president held a rally in the state where he mocked the prosecutors.
“Corrupt Fani Willis hired her lover Nathan Wade so they could fraudulently make money together,” Trump said. “‘Let’s see, darling, who can we go after?’”
Willis also faces challenges from Georgia lawmakers and Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who recently passed a bill bolstering a new state commission designed to investigate complaints and potentially discipline state prosecutors. The first complaint the panel received after being created last year was about Willis.
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