A Georgia appeals court has halted all proceedings in former President Donald Trump’s election interference case while it weighs a request to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from being involved in it.
The announcement comes a month after the appeals court agreed to reconsider a lower court ruling that allowed Willis to stay on the case prosecuting Trump for his alleged interference in the 2020 election in Georgia.
It’s highly unlikely that this case will go to trial before November, when Trump is expected to face off against President Joe Biden for control of the White House.
The case out of Georgia ― one of four Trump was indicted in last year ― is thought to be one of the most daunting faced by the former president and his allies. Unlike his federal cases, Trump would be unable to pardon himself or any other defendants of state charges if he were to be elected president, and a conviction carries the possibility of prison time.
Willis’ participation in the case came into question in January when one of the 18 defendants in the case said she had a conflict of interest due to her personal relationship with one of the prosecutors she appointed, Nathan Wade. Willis confirmed the relationship the following month but denied it having any impact on the case’s proceedings.
The lower court agreed with Willis on that, saying she could stay on so long as Wade left the case, which he did.
If the appeals court disqualifies Willis from prosecuting the case, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, would get to appoint another district attorney in the state to take over the proceedings. Carr was one of more than two dozen GOP attorney generals to sign a complaint arguing that the Colorado Supreme Court was wrong to remove Trump from its ballot over his alleged 14th Amendment violations.