Move likely dooms Democrat's controversial efforts to prosecute former President Trump prior to November's Election
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — “The proceedings in the Superior Court of Fulton County (Georgia) are hereby stayed (halted) pending the outcome of these appeals,” said the a one-page order from the Georgia Appellate Court earlier today, pausing the case there against former President Donald Trump pending a decision on whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should have been disqualified from the case or not. Wednesday’s ruling means the case cannot even proceed in the interim.
Mr. Trump's attorneys are contesting that Willis's involvement overseeing the case – after a romantic relationship between Ms. Willis and Nathan Wade was admitted to and she had hired Wade to lead the controversial investigation team against Trump – would pose an impermissible financial conflict because of the pair's long-running sexual affair.
The decision, most likely, effectively rules out any major action on the case against Mr. Trump before the November election.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers are trying to dismiss the indictment, which accuses Mr. Trump and his allies of violating racketeering laws by allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Judge Scott McAfee, presiding in Atlanta, allowed Ms. Willis to stay on the case so long as Mr. Wade resigned. He did, but Mr. Trump appealed the decision.
The appeals court isn’t expected to act on the case until this fall, and may not rule until the new year.
It is the latest hiccup in the assortment of cases against Mr. Trump – which some legal analysts are referring to as "weaponized government lawfare" designed to stop Trump from running against Democrat Joe Biden – this one also including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and six others.
Special Counsel Jack Smith is also facing a painstaking pre-trial process before a federal judge in Florida overseeing a case that accuses Mr. Trump of unlawfully storing government records at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
And the U.S. Supreme Court must also weigh in on "presidential immunity" claims in the Washington-based case that is attempting to asiign blame to Mr. Trump for the Capitol Hill uprising that occurred following the 2020 Presidential Election.
Joseph R. Biden, who is now president, is likely to face Mr. Trump in this year's 2024 November rematch.
