Trump is actually under indictment for election fraud in Georgia – but prosecutor Willis is no longer allowed to pursue the case and has to vacate her position as chief prosecutor. She had come under pressure because of an affair.
US President-elect Donald Trump can claim another legal success: an appeals court in the US state of Georgia removed lead prosecutor Fani Willis from the case against the Republican for election interference. This is the only way to restore public trust “in the integrity” of the process, according to the ruling, which overturns a lower court's decision.
The appeals court ruled that Willis's intimate relationship with the man she appointed as special counsel was “inappropriate.” This means she can no longer act as chief prosecutor in the proceedings. Willis can still appeal the decision to the Georgia Supreme Court.
Although the court refused to stop the proceedings, this could coincide with the departure of prosecutor Willis. As long as Trump is in office, it will likely remain frozen.
The process had been stalled for months
Trump and 14 others are facing charges in Georgia over their attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the state. The Republican had lost to Democrat Joe Biden at the time and tried in various ways to subsequently change the election result – including by putting pressure on political leaders in the state of Georgia.
Trump, who was voted out at the time, demanded, among other things, in a telephone conversation with Georgia's election director that he “find” the 11,780 electoral votes necessary for his victory in the state. But the process in this matter has been stalled for months. Recently, the focus has not been on Trump, but on prosecutor Willis.
Punishment for cover-up is still pending
The federal judiciary's case against Trump for election manipulation has now been dropped, as has the one in which he was charged with storing secret government documents in his private residence, Mar-a-Lago. As justification, special investigator Jack Smith referred to the US federal judiciary's practice since the Watergate scandal of not prosecuting sitting presidents.
Separately, Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star. In this case, the sentence is still pending. The judge responsible had refused to stop the proceedings at the beginning of the week. The 78-year-old real estate entrepreneur remains the first politician in US history to take office as a convicted felon.
