A Georgia appellate court Thursday disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and removed her from prosecuting Donald Trump and co-defendants in a case she brought in relation to the efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The decision is likely to cripple the case and bring a halt to the efforts to try Trump and his allies for their efforts to overturn his loss. Federal prosecutors have already dropped the other criminal case related to the 2020 election in the wake of Trump winning the 2024 election.
"After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office," the court said, referring to an earlier ruling that allowed Willis to remain on the case. Willis had been under scrutiny over her relationship with a special prosecutor on the case, Nathan Wade. Trump and other co-defendants had requested to have Willis removed from the case.
Trump's team and the DA's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The court did not go so far as to completely dismiss the case and Georgia law allows for the case to be assigned to a different county prosecutor in the state. But legal experts have said that is likely to be a difficult task given the complicated, political, and novel nature of the case brought by Willis.
