Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must step aside from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump or remove the special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship before the case can proceed, the judge overseeing it ruled Friday.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee did not find that Willis’ relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade amounted to a conflict of interest that should disqualify her from the case.
However, he said, the allegations created an “appearance of impropriety” that infected the prosecution team.
“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed,” the judge wrote.
“Put differently, an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment free of any compromising influences. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist.”
A spokesperson for Willis did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment on the judge’s ruling Friday.
