In a significant legal twist, a Georgia judge has dismissed multiple charges against former President Donald Trump, delivering a serious blow to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s case. Judge Scott McAfee, overseeing the high-profile indictment, struck down three charges, including two that directly targeted Trump, shifting these issues out of Willis’s hands.

McAfee’s ruling comes in response to motions filed by John Eastman and Shawn Tresher Still, co-defendants in the case, who argued that these counts should be addressed in federal court. Their reasoning relied heavily on the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, asserting that since the allegations relate to a federal election, state courts have no jurisdiction over these matters. As a result, counts 14, 15, and 27, all involving alleged false document filings, were removed from state court. Trump’s legal team welcomed the judge’s decision, seeing it as a victory in their ongoing fight against what they describe as politically motivated charges.

Trump’s defense attorney, Steven Sadow, expressed his satisfaction with the ruling, saying, “President Trump and his legal team in Georgia have prevailed once again. The trial court has decided that counts 15 and 27 in the indictment must be quashed/dismissed.”

Willis’s Troubled Case and Allegations of Misconduct

This development adds more turbulence to an already contentious case, where Fani Willis has accused Trump and 18 others of conspiring to undermine the results of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election. The case, however, has been plagued by scandal, with Willis herself coming under fire for what some describe as unethical behavior. As the case proceeds, defendants are actively seeking to have the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualify Willis altogether due to her controversial personal relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor assigned to the case.

Wade, who led the indictment efforts, allegedly received a taxpayer-funded contract from Willis and later took vacations with her, allegedly financed by those same funds. Adding fuel to the fire, Willis reportedly reimbursed Wade for these expenses, yet failed to provide any documentation for the cash payments she made. Judge McAfee acknowledged the appearance of a conflict of interest arising from their relationship and ordered that one of them be removed from the case. As a result, Wade resigned, but this has done little to quiet calls for Willis’s own disqualification.

The defense argues that the affair and the subsequent taxpayer-funded trips reveal deeper ethical violations that should remove Willis from her role in the case. The Georgia Court of Appeals is now set to hear the appeal in December, and if the court rules in favor of the defendants, the case could be dismissed entirely.

Our Take

The accusations surrounding Fani Willis and her handling of this case paint a troubling picture of how politically charged prosecutions can become entangled with personal misconduct. Whether or not the appeal to disqualify her succeeds, the public’s trust in the judicial process is undermined when those tasked with upholding justice are themselves accused of ethical violations. The mere appearance of impropriety between Willis and Wade is damaging enough. The fact that taxpayer money may have funded their personal trips adds insult to injury. In a nation that prides itself on the rule of law, such behavior from a public official should be intolerable. It remains to be seen whether the court will disqualify her, but in any event, the damage to her credibility may be irreversible.