Georgia appeals court suspends Trump election interference case

A Georgia appeals court has frozen former President Trump’s criminal trial proceedings as he resumes his appeal seeking to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D), all but guaranteeing the trial will not be held before this year’s election. .

On a one page decision issued Wednesday, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued a stay until it resolves appeals from Trump and a handful of his co-defendants seeking to have Willis dismissed from prosecution because of her romance with a top prosecutor.

Oral arguments are tentatively scheduled for October, meaning the case will likely not be heard until after the presidential election, where Trump is the presumptive Republican Party nominee and hopes to retake the White House and stall his cases. A trial date had not yet been selected.

The appeals court’s decision to stay the case comes as it weighs whether Willis should be removed from the case due to her relationship with a high-ranking prosecutor who was also working on the case.

The romance between Willis and then-special prosecutor Nathan Wade was exposed during a series of hearings where both took the stand to defend their past relationship.

Judge Scott McAfee ultimately ruled that Willis could remain on the case if Wade resigned, which he did. Both prosecutors maintained that their relationship was not inappropriate.

Trump and several co-defendants said the Georgia judge’s ruling was insufficient and asked the appeals court to consider the case. Trump lawyer Steve Sadow declined to comment.

Trump and several allies are accused of trying to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The former president pleaded not guilty.

Ashleigh Merchant, attorney for 2020 Trump campaign agent Michael Roman, who brought Willis and Wade’s romance to light in an initial motion to disqualify the Fulton County district attorney from the case, praised the appeals court ruling in a communicated.

“We are pleased that the Court of Appeals agrees with us that this issue is so important to the entire case that it decided to prevent the case from moving forward in the trial court until the question of whether or not Willis should be removed from the case is resolved. can be decided,” Merchant said. “Mr. Roman is innocent and we hope this misuse of the justice system finally comes to an end when a disinterested prosecutor takes on the case.”

This article was updated at 4:47 p.m.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story