A decision could come any minute from Judge Scott McAfee that changes the course of Donald Trump’s criminal prosecution in Georgia — possibly forever.
If the judge disqualifies Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, that doesn’t mean that the case is dismissed. But it would jeopardize the election subversion case from moving forward and would, at minimum, cause more delay in a case that doesn’t even have a trial date as it is.
McAfee previously said that he intends to rule by Friday.
The reason that disqualification would at least cause further delay is that Willis’ whole office would be off the case, requiring a new one to be appointed. That task falls to a state panel called the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia. As an example of how long that process can take, look no further than this previous disqualification: In July 2022, Willis was blocked from pursuing charges against Burt Jones, then a state senator and now Georgia’s lieutenant governor, who faced a possible indictment in the fake elector scheme. Willis had hosted a fundraiser for a candidate who ultimately ran against Jones. All this time later, a new prosecutor still hasn’t been assigned.
And that’s just one person. The complex Trump case involves not only a former president and the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, but more than a dozen other defendants alongside him. If Willis were to be disqualified, it’s difficult to see the case getting to a new prosecutor quickly — especially if the Jones delay is any indication. Even if it does, how that hypothetical new prosecutor would handle the case remains to be seen.
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