The latest news in the Georgia election interference case:
- Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing Donald Trump's election interference trial, ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should not be disqualified from prosecuting the racketeering case against the former president and several co-defendants, but either she or special prosecutor Nathan Wade should leave the case.
- Just hours after the decision was announced, Wade resigned and Willis accepted his resignation, the DA's office announced. The choice was likely an easy one: If Willis had removed herself, the case would have been reassigned to another prosecutor, which could have jeopardized it.
- Defense attorneys argued Willis should be removed from the case because of her relationship with Wade, whom she hired in November 2021. Willis and Wade have said their romantic relationship didn't begin until after he was hired, while defense lawyers alleged it began earlier.
- Willis has charged Trump and 18 co-defendants with racketeering for their alleged actions in trying to overturn the 2020 election. Four have taken guilty pleas.
Trump hush money trial postponed until mid-April, judge rules
The trial in the New York hush money case against former President Donald Trump has been delayed until the middle of April, Judge Juan Merchan ruled Friday.
Merchan said the trial — originally scheduled to begin March 25 — would be pushed back 30 days from Friday.
Trump celebrates Wade's exit from the case
Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social Friday that Wade had "just resigned in disgrace" from the Fulton County case.
Trump went on to say that Wade was hired as special prosecutor "to persecute TRUMP ... for purposes of Election Interference and living the life of the Rich & Famous."
McAfee found earlier today that the evidence presented to him didn’t establish Willis’ “receipt of a material financial benefit as a result of her decision to hire and engage in a romantic relationship with Wade.”
The former president compared Wade's resignation to the possibility of Special Counsel Jack Smith being removed from his classified documents case, which Trump said "should happen in the not too distant future!!!"
Wade resigns, allowing case to proceed
Wade formally resigned from the case today, saying in a letter to Willis that he was "proud" of the work the team had accomplished.
"I am sure that the case, and the team, will be in good hands moving forward and justice will be served," he said.
Willis accepted his resignation, which allows the prosecution in Georgia to continue. In her acceptance letter, she praised his work for the team and his "courage."
"I will always remember — and remind everyone — that you were brave enough to step forward and take on the investigation," she said.
Kenneth Chesebro's lawyer calls ruling 'well reasoned'
Manny Arora, attorney for Kenneth Chesebro, formerly one of Trump's co-defendants in the case, said McAfee's ruling was "very well reasoned."
"[McAfee] outlined the shortcomings of the DA’s conduct and their testimony in this case as lacking in a lot of credibility," Arora said in a statement.
"However, I think he correctly found that those are ethical lapses that some other agency needs to look at. It doesn’t directly impact the Trump prosecution," Arora added.
Prosecutors said that Chesebro was the mastermind behind the fake electors plot intended to overturn the 2020 election. He took a plea deal in October, pleading guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit filing false documents in exchange for his testimony.
Attorney for another Trump co-defendent says team is 'assessing next steps'
An attorney for one of Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia case said that they are "assessing next steps" after this morning's ruling.
Christopher S. Anulewicz, who represents Robert Cheeley, said, "We believe the finding of impropriety requires the disqualification of the entire prosecution team and are assessing next steps."
McAfee's ruling found that no "actual conflict" existed, only the "appearance of impropriety."
Prosecutors have said that Cheeley, a lawyer, helped spread false claims about election fraud. He was charged with several counts, including perjury, and pleaded not guilty.
Michael Roman's attorney says the ruling is a 'vindication'
Michael Roman's attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, who filed the original motion against Willis, responded to McAfee's ruling in a statement Friday.
In the statement, Merchant said that while her team believes Willis should have been disqualified entirely, the opinion is "a vindication" of their criticism of Willis.
"The judge clearly agreed with the defense that the actions of Willis are a result of her poor judgment and that there is a risk to the future of this case if she doesn’t quickly work to cure her conflict," Merchant's statement said.
"While we do not agree that the courts suggested cure is adequate in response to the egregious conduct by the district attorney, we look forward to the district attorneys response to the demands by the court," the statement added.
In Trump's New York case, DA says 15,000 more records will be handed over today
Yesterday, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg advised the court that, from March 4 to March 8, the U.S. Attorney’s Office produced approximately 73,000 pages of records to the defendant in response to a subpoena in January. Another 31,000 pages of "additional records" were handed over on Wednesday.
Bragg's office said that the U.S. Attorney’s Office advised the DA and defendants today that it plans on filing an additional 15,000 records today, which it said will complete its response to the defendants’ subpoena.
Bragg finishes his letter by saying, “We understand that the vast majority of the forthcoming records, like the initial productions, are likely to be unrelated to the subject matter of this case and not within the People’s prior requests.”
After Willis ruling, Trump shares a video of former lawyers discussing case
In his first public comment since the Willis ruling, Trump posted a video to his Truth Social account of two of his former lawyers discussing the ruling with Laura Ingraham on Fox News. The former president called the clip a "must watch."
"They may be watching the last few bubbles escape the Titanic on the way down when it comes to Georgia," James Trusty, one of the attorneys, said.
David Schoen, who represented Trump during his second impeachment trial, went on to say that McAfee was "onto something" with the charges that he dropped in the ruling.
"This judge is onto something with the charges that he dismissed," Schoen said in the broadcast. "His problem with them was one can't really know how to defend against them, because they're not specific enough."
Marjorie Taylor Greene says judge should have recused himself
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., accused McAfee of bias, saying in a post on X that he should have recused himself because he had donated to Willis' campaign in the past and also worked for the Fulton County District Attorney's office (although not when Willis was the DA.)
McAfee donated $150 to Willis' campaign in June 2020, campaign finance reports show, but he was working for the Justice Department at the time and not as a judge. He was appointed to the bench by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.
The congresswoman called on the Georgia elections board to "seriously investigate" Willis and Wade, adding that she has "filed multiple complaints."
"The corruption in Fulton County, Georgia is some of the worst in the nation. It makes most of us in Georgia sick," she wrote.
Why Wade is likely to depart Trump Georgia case after judge’s ruling
Wade is likely to withdraw from the prosecution of the election interference case because the only other option, McAfee wrote, is for Willis and her office to step aside and the case would then need to be referred to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council for reassignment. Removing her from the trial would put the case in jeopardy, but if she stays on the case, it can continue without interruption.