By KATE BRUMBACK and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must step aside from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump or remove the special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship before the case can proceed, the judge overseeing it ruled Friday.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee did not find that Willis’ relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade amounted to a conflict of interest that should force her off the most sprawling of the four criminal cases against the former president.
However, the judge said Willis can stay on the case only if Wade withdraws due to “an appearance of impropriety” that infected the prosecution team. The judge criticized Willis for a “tremendous” lapse of judgement and questioned the truthfulness of Willis and Wade’s testimony about the timing of their relationship.
“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,” the judge 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.”
Even though the judge gave Willis the option to stay on the case, the allegations threaten to damage her reputation and taint the public’s perception of the prosecution. Trump and his allies have seized on the allegations to impugn Willis’ credibility as the prosecutors seeking to hold the former president accountable have found themselves under fire.
For weeks, embarrassing headlines about romantic getaways, sex and stashes of cash have consumed the coverage, turning the prosecution of a former president accused of undermining…
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