Georgia Trump Case: Willis Hearing Scheduled for October

Facts

• Fulton County (Ga.) District Attorney Fani Willis, who is prosecuting her state's criminal case against former Pres. Donald Trump, is tentatively scheduled to have a hearing Oct. 4 about her possible disqualification from the case.¹
• A three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals will hear Trump's appeal, which requests Willis' removal over her allegedly financially benefiting from hiring prosecutor Nathan Wade. The appeal alleges Willis and Wade's romantic relationship caused a conflict of interest.¹
• Previously, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in March ruled there was no conflict of interest worthy of Willis stepping down when Trump — the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 election — and 18 other defendants sought to have her removed from the case.²
• Trump and the others in August pleaded not guilty to all charges in a racketeering indictment tied to their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.³
• Because McAfee allowed his ruling to be appealed, and Oct. 4 is subject to motions from the parties agreeing to allow the hearing to move forward on that date, the case is unlikely to go to trial before the election is held (on Nov. 5).⁴
• This case is one of three ongoing criminal cases Trump is facing after he last week became the first former US president to be convicted of a crime when a New York jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.⁵

Sources: ¹Forbes, ²Associated Press, ³ABC News, ⁴FOX News and ⁵Reuters.com.

Narratives

• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by PJ Media. This is a major setback for the Georgia-based portion of the Democrats' attempts to interfere in the upcoming election. Democrats know lawfare is the only way to stop Trump's return to the White House. However, the appeal of McAfee's disgraceful decision to leave Willis on this case will now be heard late enough that Democrats' plans for a pre-Election Day trial are squashed.
• Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by AlterNet. This may appear to be a victory for Trump, however, even he must know that if he wins the presidency, he'll be able to dismiss the federal criminal charges against him in other cases — but not the Georgia case. He could be put on trial during his second term, creating the type of constitutional crisis he warned about years ago when he suggested Hilary Clinton shouldn't be allowed to run for president.

Predictions