Former President Donald Trump has called on the Georgia Court of Appeals to reject Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' attempt to dismiss his appeal regarding her disqualification from his election interference case in Georgia. Trump's attorneys described Willis' effort as a "desperate bid to avoid disqualification," urging the court to let the issue proceed, according to ABC News.
This move follows Willis' motion last week asking the appeals court to dismiss Trump's appeal of a lower court's decision that allowed her to remain on the case. Trump and 18 others were indicted last August on charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. Four defendants have since taken plea deals, agreeing to testify against others.
Judge Scott McAfee allowed Willis to stay on the case despite acknowledging a "significant appearance of impropriety" due to her relationship with a top prosecutor on her team. Consequently, the election interference case has been paused as Trump's appeal is reviewed, reported Atlanta News First.
In his filing, Trump attorney Steve Sadow criticized Willis' motion, stating it was a "calculated, disingenuous attempt to mislead this Court." He argued that the DA's office had no proper procedural grounds to dismiss the appeal, asserting that the focus should be on legal errors committed by the trial court, not the factual findings.
Willis' office argued last week that there was a "lack of sufficient evidence" to support overturning the lower court's ruling, stating that only in "very rare circumstances" can appeals courts overturn such factual findings. The DA's filing emphasized that the trial court's extensive evaluation of the evidence foreclosed any possibility of reversal.
Despite the DA's efforts, the Court of Appeals has agreed to hear Trump's appeal and paused the case pending the outcome, which is likely to delay proceedings until after the 2024 election, ABC News noted.
In response to the DA's motion, Sadow insisted that the issues in Trump's appeal are primarily legal, involving alleged misinterpretations and misapplications of the disqualification standard. He expressed optimism that the court would deny the DA's motion and proceed to decide the appeal on its merits.
