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A Georgia appeals court has temporarily paused the election interference case involving former President Donald Trump and several co-defendants. This pause allows the court to review a previous ruling that permitted Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue overseeing the case.
On Wednesday, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued an order that halts the proceedings of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. This stoppage means that pretrial motions will not move forward until the appeal process is complete. Given that the trial was already unlikely to start before the November general election, this development further decreases the chances of an earlier trial date.
The appeals court began reviewing the appeals from Trump and eight co-defendants earlier in the week. If oral arguments are requested and approved, they are tentatively scheduled for October 4th. The court aims to issue a ruling by mid-March, with the option for the losing side to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.
In August, a grand jury in Fulton County indicted Trump and 18 others, accusing them of trying to unlawfully overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. Four defendants have reached plea deals, while Trump and the remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty. This case is one of several criminal cases against Trump.
Trump and his co-defendants sought to remove Willis from the case, citing a conflict of interest due to her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Judge McAfee ruled in March that no significant conflict existed to remove Willis but allowed the defendants to appeal his decision to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
McAfee expressed concerns about whether Willis and Wade had been entirely truthful about the timing of their relationship, noting that this raised questions about the case’s integrity. He stated that Willis could continue on the case only if Wade resigned, which Wade did shortly afterward.
The allegations about Willis’s relationship with Wade have complicated the case, bringing personal details into public scrutiny during court proceedings earlier this year.
Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in Georgia, endorsed the appeals court’s decision to pause the proceedings. He emphasized that the appeal challenges the case’s validity and argues for Willis’s disqualification due to alleged misconduct.