In a Wednesday order, the Georgia’s Court of Appeals paused proceedings in Donald Trump’s criminal election racketeering case in Fulton County, awaiting a decision on whether District Attorney Fani Willis will be allowed to stay on the case.
Just a week after the former president’s 34-count felony conviction — stemming from falsifying records in an effort to interfere in the 2016 election — the appellate court is granting him a legal break, stalling prosecution against Trump and his co-conspirators’ efforts to overturn the will of Georgia’s voters in 2020.
The Georgia Appeals panel made up of Judges Benjamin Land, Todd Markle, and Trenton Brown will hear arguments on the trial judge Scott McAfee’s March ruling that allowed Willis to remain on the case.
Widespread criticism over Willis’ handling of her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade led to legal roadblocks earlier this year, before McAfee ruled that the pair’s relationship did not pose a threat to the case. The Appeals Court agreed to re-evaluate these claims in May, but today’s issuance puts a decisive stop on the case, potentially pushing proceedings into 2025.
The case, which in part revolves around a conversation in which the then-president asked the former Secretary of State of Georgia to “find 11,780 votes” for him — the amount he would need to win the state — is yet another of Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, for which he will seemingly go unpunished for ahead of his November re-match with President Joe Biden.
Elsewhere, a pending Supreme Court ruling keeps a four-charge federal election obstruction case for Trump’s role in the January 6th attack on the electoral college certification from moving forward. In the case over Trump’s handling of classified documents, Judge Aileen Cannon indefinitely stalled proceedings via a widely criticized move last month.
