Former President Donald Trump’s win on Tuesday puts a question mark on his upcoming criminal case in Georgia.
Trump was indicted on 18 counts accusing him of interfering with the 2020 presidential election. Two of the charges against Trump were dismissed in September. He has pleaded not guilty to the rest.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis late Tuesday asked the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate three election subversion charges against former President Donald Trump, and three against his allies.
Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six charges against Trump and his allies over their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in March. McAfee determined at the time that there was not enough evidence of an underlying crime that that the group was soliciting from a public officer.
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The Georgia Court of Appeals officially put the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump’s case on hold.
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At one time, unfavorable outcomes in the four court cases against former President Donald Trump seemed likely to be politically damaging for the three-time campaigner, but as the cases have faced scrutiny and delays, public opinion has recently shifted.
Yesterday, the Georgia Appeals Court agreed to hear an appeal in the state election case brought by controversial Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Earlier this week, a Florida judge indefinitely suspended the federal trial in the classified documents case.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opted to skip her first debate Sunday ahead of early voting in the Democratic primary to instead host a “self-care fair” for crime victims, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
Willis’ absence left her Democratic challenger, Christian Wise Smith, debating an empty podium, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. Willis, who appointed her romantic partner Nathan Wade to work on the case against former President Donald Trump and allowed him to pay for vacations they took together, was sharply criticized by Judge Scott McAfee in a March decision that did not grant defendants’ request to disqualify Willis but did require Wade to step down.
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The Democrat challenging Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee is reportedly under investigation by a Georgia watchdog over campaign materials that referred to him as an elected judge.
Robert Patillo is under investigation by a panel at the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) over “campaign conduct” involving his former campaign website and current campaign email, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday.
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The Democrat challenging Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee claimed the incumbent is under “tremendous” pressure due to the Georgia case against former President Donald Trump brought by District Attorney Fani Willis.
Robert Patillo, the former executive director of the Rainbow PUSH social justice group started by Reverend Jessee Jackson who is now challenging McAfee, made the remarks in a Wednesday interview with WSB-TV.
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A co-defendant of President Donald Trump in the Georgia election case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis demanded her resignation on Thursday.
Harrison Floyd, who remains a defendant in the Georgia case against Trump, posted to X a screen shot of an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article that reports Willis’ office recorded a phone call with his Maryland-based attorney.
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Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee on Thursday denied former President Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss the indictment against him and 14 co-defendants involving alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is reportedly seeking to begin the Georgia trial of former President Donald Trump before voters head to the polls in November.
After Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee determined that Willis could stay on the Trump case so long as she parted ways with her former lover and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, CNN reported that multiple sources close to the district attorney claim she intends to take the former president’s case to trial soon as possible.
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Just as predicted, Judge Scott McAfee tried to cut the baby in half, but the baby died, because his split-the-difference opinion makes absolutely no sense legally or factually.
It is obvious that Judge McAfee started his decision-making process by deciding the result he wanted: disqualifying special prosecutor Nathan Wade, but retaining Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her entire office. In order to reach that bizarre result, he had to rely on the testimony of Willis, which he knew was totally untruthful.
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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday determined former President Donald Trump and eight of his co-plaintiffs may appeal his decision against disqualifying District Attorney Fani Willis from her election case against the former president.
McAfee wrote in his decision that the question of impropriety between Willis and Nathan Wade, her former lover who she appointed as special prosecutor and paid more than $650,000 in taxpayer money, “is of such importance to the case that immediate review should be had.”
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Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor whom Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis hired to pursue her case against former President Donald Trump, officially resigned from the case on Friday after Judge Scott McAfee indicated that either he or Willis must do so.
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A judge in Georgia ruled Friday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can remain on the case in which former President Trump and 18 co-defendants are accused of meddling in the 2020 election results.
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The Fulton County judge overseeing the Georgia 2020 election case dismissed some charges against former President Donald Trump on Wednesday, although other charges remain.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said six charges listed in the indictment must be quashed, including three counts against Trump, per court documents.
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An affidavit by former President Donald Trump, entered into the Georgia election case against him, claims that cell phone data proves Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade spent nights together as early as September 2021, suggesting their relationship began months earlier than Willis and Wade claimed in court.
The data would also directly contradict testimony by Wade during the hearing to determine if Willis should be disqualified from the Georgia election case against Trump due to their relationship. Wade has earned more than $650,000 since Willis appointed him, and the couple shared luxurious vacations he purchased using his company credit card.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis appeared to suggest in a sermon Saturday that God is protecting her from “weapons” that have “formed” against her, adding that they will not “prosper.”
Willis’ sermon follows a Thursday and Friday hearing on whether she should be disqualified from her election interference case against former President Donald Trump. Willis allegedly gained financial benefits from appointing special prosecutor Nathan Wade to the case, but they both testified that their relationship commenced after the appointment and that she always reimbursed him in cash for their vacations and outings.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade both testified in Thursday in the first day of proceedings to determine if she should be removed from the prosecution due to their previously undisclosed romantic relationship.
Both Willis and Wade claimed the district attorney did not financially benefit from her appointment of Wade as special prosecutor because the luxurious vacations and trips he paid for with his business credit card were later reimbursed by Willis in unrecorded cash transactions. Wade has been paid more than $650,000 by Fulton County taxpayers.
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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee warned on Monday that District Attorney Fani Willis could face “disqualification” from prosecuting her case against former President Donald Trump as a result of her admitted relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she appointed to oversee the case.
McAfee, an appointee of Governor Brian Kemp, made the remarks during a court appearance sparked by Willis’ desire to block a subpoena from Trump’s co-defendant, Michael Roman, who originally made the allegations of a corrupt relationship between Willis and Wade.
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Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade broke his silence Friday after his publicly released billing statements revealed prosecutors met with the House Jan. 6 select committee prior to indicting former President Donald Trump.
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman filed a motion Monday to dismiss the case, claiming Wade is romantically involved with District Attorney Fani Willis, who signed his “lucrative” contract and allegedly traveled with him on vacations and cruises Wade paid for using money he earned from the county. Wade said during a hearing Friday before Judge Scott McAfee that prosecutors did not receive any “tangible documents” from their meeting with the Jan. 6 committee, addressing the issue for the first time since billing statements referencing the meetings were released with the Monday motion.
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Attorneys for former President Donald Trump submitted a legal filing in Fulton County Superior Court on Monday arguing the First Amendment protects Trump from prosecution for the statements he made during his contest of the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Trump’s lead attorney, Steve Sadow, wrote in the filing that Trump genuinely believes he won the 2020 election in Georgia, despite Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ repeated claims he “falsely” made statements to that effect.
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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee agreed on Tuesday to hear motions from two co-defendants in the Georgia racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election. If granted, the motions would see a significant delay in court deadlines that could impact the proposed August 5 trial date.
McAfee agreed to hear motions last week filed by attorneys for former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Jeff Clark, who was the acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Division of the Apartment Justice during the 2020 election. Both men have filed for the charges against them to be removed from Fulton County to a federal court, and seek to delay Georgia court dates until those decisions are made.
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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee refused to revoke the bail of former Black Voices for Trump director Harrison Floyd in a Tuesday hearing, and instead adopted a modified bond order submitted by District Attorney Fani Willis in court. Floyd is a co-defendant in Willis’ racketeering case against former President Donald Trump.
Willis asked McAfee to revoke Floyd’s bond in a filing last week, citing Floyd’s posts to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Floyd made posts referencing former Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman and tagging other defendants, including former attorney Jenna Ellis, who accepted a plea deal from Willis in October and publicly apologized to Georgia for participating in Trump’s contest of the 2020 election.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis asked in a Friday filing to begin the racketeering trial of former President Donald Trump on August 5, 2024. If granted by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, this would correspond with Willis’ plans for Trump’s trial to be active on Election Day, as she told a crowd of reporters gathered at The Washington Post’s headquarters last week.
Willis requested Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to schedule the trial after a final plea hearing on June 21, 2024. According to Willis, the August trial date “balances potential delays” from Trump’s “other criminal trials” while respecting the rights of his co-defendants to have a speedy trial.
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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee signed a protective order on Thursday to seal sensitive evidence in District Attorney Fani Willis’ racketeering case against former President Donald Trump following the leak of proffer videos earlier this week. However, McAfee adopted the protective order submitted by former Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer, one of the co-defendants in the case, instead of the more restrictive order submitted by Willis on Tuesday.
He explained that Willis first requested a protective order on September 27, but Shafer and nine other defendants informed the court they were negotiating the details of a joint protective order with prosecutors. The negotiations apparently reached an impasse by October 5, but remained ongoing as of October 16, according to McAfee’s order.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis revealed during an appearance at the headquarters of The Washington Post on Tuesday that she expects the trial of her racketeering case against former President Donald Trump will be ongoing on Election Day in 2024, and may continue past the inauguration in January 2025.
Willis appeared at the Global Women’s Summit on Tuesday, which was sponsored by the Post and held at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. A transcript of Willis’ appearance at the event with Post reporter Amy Gardner reveals the prosecutor was to clarify when she expects her trial of Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election will conclude.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis made an emergency request for Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to seal all evidence in the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election. Willis made the filing on Tuesday, less than one day after the leak of an interview her office held with attorney Jenna Ellis, who accepted a plea deal in October.
Willis argued the leak of Ellis’ interview was “clearly intended to intimidate witnesses” by “subjecting them to harassment and threats prior to trial,” and noted that its release would represent a violation of the defendants’ bail.
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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday the Georgia Secretary of State’s office must submit a new motion to quash a request from Harrison Floyd, who subpoenaed the government agency for information related to the 2020 election. Floyd’s attorney claims Georgia’s state agencies have information that will prove the 2020 elections in Fulton County and Georgia were fraudulent, which in turn will confirm his client’s innocence at trial.
Floyd is the former director of Black Voices for Trump, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis included him in her racketeering case against former President Donald Trump. She claims he tried to coerce a false confession from a Georgia election worker who former Trump campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani accused of counting fraudulent ballots.
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Attorneys for Jeffrey Clark are asking Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to dismiss the charges against their client in a filing on Wednesday. District Attorney Fani Willis charged Clark in her sweeping racketeering case against former President Donald Trump.
At the time of the 2020 election, Clark was the acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. After the election, Clark twice attempted to send a document expressing concerns about possible election malfeasance in battleground states. Willis claims Clark’s unsuccessful attempts to send this document were illegal, and even though Clark had no contact with Georgians during the 2020 election contest, his efforts constitute a violation of the Georgia RICO Act and a criminal attempt to commit false statements and writings.
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A Fulton County Judge ruled on Monday that Sheriff Pat Labat (D) cannot transfer jail detainees from Atlanta to a private prison in Mississippi. Labat previously indicated he would move up to 1,000 inmates to facilities in south Georgia and Mississippi to ease overcrowding.
In a mixed ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee determined Labat does not have the legal authority to transfer inmates to other states, but also dismissed allegations that he was violating his official duties by considering the transfer.
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A Fulton County Judge set the first hearing date for the Georgia election trial of former President Donald Trump on Thursday. The former president’s counsel, Steve Sadow, will make his first appearance representing Trump at a Fulton County court on December 1.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee will hear arguments from Trump’s attorney and District Attorney Fani Willis on eight motions, each written submitted by another defendant and adopted by Trump.
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The first trial of those indicted in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and his allies will begin on October 23, and Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee said Monday he will instruct jurors to expect a five month trial.
If McAfee’s estimate is accurate, the case against pro-Trump attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell is likely to be ongoing when Georgia Republicans cast primary votes for their preferred Republican candidates on March 12, 2024. This means the trial could conclude as late as March 25.
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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee confirmed on Monday that two of the Georgians who served on the special grand jury which recommended charges against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election in Georgia will be interviewed by the defense teams of pro-Trump attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell.
McAfee said attorneys for Chesebro and Powell will interview two grand jurors who “expressed interest” in being interviewed, and clarified they “would be on the record,” for the interview. However, he added that it will not be a public proceeding. The interviews will be held on October 20, the same day jury selection will begin for the case.
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In a pair of legal filings submitted Friday, attorney Kenneth Chesebro claims the case levied against him by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be dismissed based on First Amendment protections, and that she has failed to prove the racketeering charges against him. Chesebro, an attorney who assisted with former President Donald Trump’s effort to contest the 2020 election, requested Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee hold a hearing for arguments related to the latest filings.
The pair of filings were submitted by Chesebro’s attorneys on Friday afternoon, which The Messenger notes is the final day for parties to file written responses, and follow McAfee’s decision to toss a separate motion to dismiss the indictment earlier that morning.
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A transcript of a December 2020 meeting among those who became the Republican slate of alternative electors in Georgia appears to directly contradict claims levied by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in her August indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 others involved with his efforts to contest the 2020 election.
Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who is among those indicted in the Georgia racketeering case against former President Donald Trump, submitted the transcript to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAffee in a filing that seeks to dismiss charges related Republican slate of alternative electors.
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The criminal case in Fulton County, Georgia against lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell was severed from the greater indictment against former President Donald Trump and the other 17 defendants on Thursday morning, representing the first major blow to District Attorney Fani Willis (D).
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee received arguments from Willis and the defendants on Wednesday, and on Thursday morning ultimately determined it was “a procedural and logistical inevitability” to sever the cases. McAfee also wrote that “[a]dditional divisions of these 17 defendants may well be required” as the trial proceeds.
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Wednesday marked the first, live-streamed hearing in Fulton County’s racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 18 other defendants who aided his 2020 election contest, and prosecutors revealed that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis intends to call 150 witnesses over a four-month trial slated to begin on October 23.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee originally planned for the hearing to include arraignments, but all 19 defendants waived their right to arraignment and entered not guilty pleas before the court appearance. Instead, Judge McAfee heard attorneys for Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro invoke their clients’ rights to a speedy trial, specifically requesting to be severed from each other and the other defendants in the case.
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A Georgia judge revealed Monday that former President Donald Trump’s bond would be set at $200,000.
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