Fani Willis asks Georgia Supreme Court to review decision to remove her from Trump case

Fani T. Willis asked the Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday to let her rejoin the Trump election interference case.

Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, asked the state’s high court to review a recent decision that disqualified her from prosecuting President-elect Donald J. Prussia lost the election, but efforts were made to keep him in power.

The move was expected and was Ms Willis’s last chance to preserve her prosecution, which stems from an investigation she began nearly four years ago.

Last month, the Georgia Court of Appeals, in a two-to-one decision by a panel of three judges appointed by the Republican governor, disqualified Ms. Willis and her entire office from the matter. The decision overturned a ruling by the trial judge who allowed Ms Willis to keep the case despite revelations about her romantic relationship with the lawyer she hired to manage the prosecution.

“Georgia courts have never disqualified a district attorney based solely on the appearance of misconduct in the absence of an actual conflict of interest,” Ms. Willis’ office wrote in a filing late Wednesday night. “Georgia courts A state court has never overturned a trial court’s refusal to disqualify a prosecutor solely for misconduct.”

With the state’s highest court composed largely of Republicans, the chances of Ms. Willis’s disqualification being overturned were thought to be slim. If her efforts fail, the prosecution is considered unlikely to proceed. The fate of the case will rest with a Republican-led state panel.

It could take several weeks for the Georgia Supreme Court to decide whether to take up the case; defense attorneys will likely have a chance to express their opinions first.

Even before she was disqualified last month, Ms. Willis’s office was blocking attempts to undermine her case. She has been feuding with congressional Republicans over their subpoenas of documents from her office and with state Republican lawmakers over legislative investigations into her handling of the case.

The Atlanta case was one of four separate criminal indictments Trump faced last year. But since he won the 2024 presidential election, his legal fortunes have reversed.

The Justice Department has moved to dismiss two criminal cases against Trump over his opposition to a policy of prosecuting sitting presidents — one for election meddling and the other for his handling of classified documents.

A New York jury convicted Trump in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying records to cover up the sex scandal. Although Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, the judge presiding over the case, Juan M. Merchan, said last week that he would spare Trump from jail or any other substantial punishment. .

Several current and former allies and advisers to Trump are still facing criminal charges in other states, including Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan.