Donald Trump election subversion conspiracy case halted indefinitely by Georgia appeals court
CNN
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A Georgia appeals court has suspended the election subversion conspiracy case against Donald Trump and several of his co-defendants — a massive victory for the former president as he seeks to delay other legal challenges until 2025 if he fails to win them completely.
The new order filed Wednesday by the Georgia Court of Appeals is the latest indication that a trial in the Georgia state election subversion case will not occur before the 2024 presidential election. The court said the case will be on hold until a panel of judges decide whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified.
The appeals court is expected to rule on the disqualification issue by March 2025, although it could issue a ruling sooner. Multiple sources close to the case told CNN that the timeline remains very uncertain.
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee initially allowed proceedings in his court to continue while the appeals court considered an appeal of his decision to allow Willis to remain on the case.
A spokesperson for Willis’ office said he could not comment on the appeals court order at this time. The prosecutor may ask the appellate court to expedite a decision in this matter if he so desires.
The appeals court ruling underscores Trump’s series of successes in his long-standing strategy of putting prosecutors on the defensive, attacking them in the public sphere and challenging them in court.
Trump and some of his co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case have been trying to disqualify Willis from the case because of a romantic relationship she had with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to help handle the case. The defendants argued that Willis benefited financially from her relationship with Wade, which defense attorneys said covered several of the pair’s vacations.
In March, after what amounted to a mini-trial in which lawyers for Trump and his co-defendants sought to prove their case against Willis and Wade, McAfee discovered that there was insufficient evidence to firmly prove that Willis benefited financially from the relationship.
Willis’ testimony in televised proceedings has put his personal life in the spotlight, moving discussion away from the allegations Trump and others face in Georgia.
The judge ultimately ruled that Willis would be allowed to continue directing the case if Wade resigned, which he later did.
Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead defense lawyer in Georgia, said the decision was appropriate.
“The Georgia Court of Appeals has appropriately stayed all proceedings against President Trump in the trial court pending a ruling on our expedited appeal, which argues that the case should be dismissed and that Fulton County District Attorney Willis should be disqualified for her misconduct,” Sadow said in a statement. .
Speaking briefly to reporters on Wednesday night, Trump was asked whether he had lost confidence in his legal team following the guilty verdict in his criminal trial in New York. “No, it’s a rigged system and, in fact, a terrible system,” Trump said.
“I think we are doing very well. Today a great event happened in Georgia,” said the former president.
However, in the case of Trump’s confidential documents in Florida, the federal judge overseeing those proceedings showed a propensity to devote much of his court time to Trump’s requests to question investigators and the authority of his prosecutors.
That judge, Aileen Cannon, indicated Wednesday that she still appears willing to hold a hearing where Trump could try to put federal investigators under oath so his lawyers can question them, and said she will dedicate a day and a half this month to hearing arguments about the legality of his prosecutor.
Like the Georgia case, the Florida documents case has no set trial date.
This story has been updated with additional details.
