Former Atlanta prosecutor says he expects Trump to stand trial in Georgia even if he wins the White House
CNN
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Former special counsel Nathan Wade says he believes Donald Trump will “absolutely” be brought to trial in Georgia in the 2020 election subversion case — even if he wins a second term and is in the White House at the time.
Wade resigned from the case in March over allegations of an inappropriate romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, but said in an exclusive interview on CNN’s “The Source” that he remains close friends with her.
The question of whether a sitting US president can be forced to stand trial on state-level criminal charges has never been discussed. Wade said in Wednesday’s interview that he expects prosecutors and defense lawyers will have to face this unprecedented scenario if Trump wins the 2024 election.
When asked if Trump could be brought to trial in the Peach State during a second term, Wade said, “I believe he can.”
“I don’t think it… looks good to the rest of the world. But I certainly don’t think there’s anything that would stop that from happening,” Wade said.
He added: “If he wins the election, there will certainly be lawyers out there who will be tasked with resolving this issue, maneuvering around it.”
Wade’s interview comes as the Georgia Court of Appeals has put the election subversion conspiracy case against Trump and his co-defendants on hold until a panel of judges decides whether Willis should be removed from the case. Trump, who has tried to delay legal matters until at least 2025, has argued that his affair with Wade should also disqualify her.
The court’s recent order suspending the case is the latest indication that a trial will not take place before the November presidential election. The appeals court is expected to rule on the disqualification issue by March 2025, although it could issue a ruling sooner.
Willis, in a new filing Wednesday, asked the state appeals court to dismiss the appeal of Judge Scott McAfee’s original order due to a “lack of sufficient evidence.”
“With the case now dismissed, the State of Georgia, through Atlanta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Fani T. Willis, requests that the appeal be dismissed as improvidently granted due to lack of sufficient evidence, based on the findings explicit factual statements from the trial court, to support the reversal of the order in question”, states the Public Ministry document.
Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead defense attorney in Georgia, called Willis’ motion to dismiss the appeal a “last-ditch effort.”
On Wednesday, Wade dismissed criticism that his relationship with Willis was to blame for the delay in Trump’s trial.
“I don’t believe my actions were influential in any way,” he told CNN. “I believe the accusation. I would certainly never have done anything that could compromise this work. I think the timing of the personal relationship I had was bad.”
“This accusation has nothing to do with the voters and their opinion on whether this accusation is appropriate or not. It’s all about the rule of law,” she added.
Trial court judge Scott McAfee had previously ruled that Willis could remain on the case if Wade stepped aside, which led to his resignation.
The judge’s ruling came after he held several days of witness testimony and evidence regarding defense attorneys’ allegations that Wade and Willis had engaged in an inappropriate relationship, which they alleged had financially benefited the district attorney.
McAfee, in its ruling, noted that “Georgia law does not permit a finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices – even repeatedly.”
However, the judge wrote in his ruling that “an odor of lies remains” about the circumstances of their relationship and that either Willis or Wade would have to drop the case.
Wade announced his resignation shortly after the ruling.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
