The GA Court of Appeals on Wed ordered a halt to the proceedings in the election interference case against Trump & 8 co-defendants pending the outcome of their appeal seeking to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney #FaniWillis.
The order, issued by the full appeals court, means the case against #Trump & his co-defendants, accusing them of a #criminal#conspiracy to try to overturn his defeat in the state, will almost certainly not be scheduled for trial before the fall #election or even the new year. It remains unclear if the case against the 6 remaining co-defendants who did not sign onto the appeal will proceed.
#Trump & 18 of his allies were indicted in #FultonCounty, GA, last Aug, in a #RICO case. The case was brought by the DA #FaniWillis.
But the #racketeering case is unlikely to go to trial this yr. Part of the delay stems from an affair between Willis & the atty she hired to run the case, Nathan Wade. Defense claimed it created a conflict of interest.
Judge McAfee, held many hearings on the topic & decided not to disqualify Willis, if Wade stepped down; he did.
#Trump has a huge posse today, including #KashPatel; #GerryKassar, a #conservative party leader in NY; #BernieKerik, fmr NYPD commissioner who was imprisoned for tax fraud & false statements; #AlanDershowitz, lawyer who defended Trump during his first impeachment, & #BorisEpshteyn, legal adviser who was #indicted in AZ for attempts to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election.
The decision to hear the appeal reopens the possibility that#FaniWillis, the Fulton County district attorney, could be disqualified from prosecuting Trump & 14 #CoConspirators over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
At issue is a romantic relationship she had w/ #NathanWade, a lawyer she hired to handle the prosecution of #Trump. Defense lawyers argued that the relationship amounted to an untenable conflict of interest, & that DA #FaniWillis & her entire office should be removed from the case.
The family of #BrianSicknick, the #PoliceOfficer who died during the #Jan6 attack, blasted Trump’s appearance at a wake Thurs for slain #NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller.
Charles & Kenneth Sicknick on Fri expressed condolences to Diller’s family, but said #Trump’s appearance, especially the #PressConference outside a funeral home, was nothing but an #inappropriate#PoliticalStunt.
#Trump was #indicted last year by a #federal#GrandJury for his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, & has been blamed for #inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol on #Jan6.
He is currently under #indictment in #Manhattan for falsifying business records to hide #HushMoney payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. He is also facing #racketeering charges in #Georgia for an alleged effort to subvert that state’s election laws following his loss to Biden in the 2020 election.
Jeff DiSantis, a spox for the DA’s office, noted in a text message that the case had not been put on hold, adding that prosecutors will “work to move it forward to #trial as quickly as possible.” The DA’s office will only comment on the #appeal in #court filings, he said.
4 major nonprofits that rose to prominence during the #coronavirus pandemic by capitalizing on the spread of #medical#misinformation collectively gained >$118M between 2020 & 2022, enabling the orgs to deepen their #influence in statehouses, courtrooms & communities across the country, a Washington Post analysis of tax records shows.
#FaniWillis walked unaccompanied through the front door of a #FultonCounty courtroom on Thurs afternoon in a bright magenta dress & announced she was ready to testify. She was interrupting her lawyer, who at that very moment was trying to convince a judge that she should not have to testify at all.
Friday: back in the #Georgia courtroom. #FultonCounty Superior Court Judge Scott #McAfee is on the bench. And after the lawyers introduce themselves, we are expecting to see DA #FaniWillis back on the stand.
Fmr Gov Roy Barnes just popped back in to inform the court his meeting with #FaniWillis occurred on October 26, well before the date Willis offered #NathanWade the position.
Currently the lawyers are arguing after we heard from Anna Cross, representing the DA's office, that the defense lawyer Ashleigh Merchant was about to ask something that Cross said was “inflammatory” of Terrence Bradley, described as an important witness in efforts to disqualify #FaniWillis.
Judge McAfee ruled that the crime-fraud exception does not apply, & so questioning of Terrence Bradley resumed re what he knows regarding the relationship between his fmr client & partner, #NathanWade, & the Fulton County DA, #FaniWillis.
@JoeyBoughtACola A lot of complicit "lawyers", who aid(ed) & abet(ted) an individual, who incited an insurrection to overthrow the will of the majority of the people to escape justice & the laws, are queuing up in a long line to be disbarred, investigated & prosecuted.
When "MAGA" turns into "Make Attorneys GoToJail Again"...