Donald Trump was in for in for surprise.
Trump had a plan to overcome the Democrat Party’s lawfare.
And this judge’s ruling about Fani Willis floored Donald Trump.
Judge Scott McAfee finally issued his ruling on a motion by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman to disqualify Fani Willis from her RICO indictment against Trump and 18 other lawyers, aides and supporters for contesting the 2020 election.
Defense lawyers presented a mountain of evidence that Willis began an affair with Nathan Wade prior to hiring him as special prosecutor on the Trump case.
Bank records then showed that Wade purchased airline and cruise ship tickets with some of the $654,000 he billed Fulton County and allegedly paid for Willis to go on vacation in a self-dealing scheme.
Even liberal legal analysts on MSNBC thought it was a slam dunk for Judge McAfee to disqualify Willis.
But at the moment of truth, Judge McAfee folded.
In an opinion where Judge McAfee excoriated Willis and Wade for an “odor of mendacity” that hung over their testimony claiming their relationship didn’t begin until after Wade began working the Trump case, McAfee ruled that Willis could stay on the case if she removed Wade from her team.
“[T]he prosecution is encumbered by an appearance of impropriety,” McAfee wrote. “As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed,” McAfee wrote. “As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist.”
“This finding is by no means an indication that the Court condones this tremendous lapse in judgment or the unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing. Rather, it is the undersigned’s opinion that Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices — even repeatedly — and it is the trial court’s duty to confine itself to the relevant issues and applicable law properly brought before it,” McAfee added.
Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz couldn’t believe it.
Dershowitz argued that Judge McAfee essentially ruled that Willis and Wade lied on the witness stand, but McAfee allowed one liar to remain on the case as long as the other one hit the bricks.
Dershowitz is melting down over the Fani Willis ruling, saying Judge McAfee “didn’t have the guts” to do the right thing. pic.twitter.com/dB5T7RlkVb
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) March 15, 2024
The win may have been a Pyrrhic victory for Willis.
A state commission is investigating her.
McAfee’s ruling also set the stage for Willis to face sanctions including disbarment by calling her out for “unprofessional” conduct on the witness stand and inappropriate public comments smearing Trump and his co-defendants as racists for filing the disqualification motion.
This case will never see trial before Election Day and Willis is likely to now face multiple investigations, which could potentially include criminal charges for perjury.