Fani Willis Disqualified in Trump Case

 

There is a limit to corruption even in Georgia courts.

From Ryan King and Josh Christiensan writing in the New York Post:

The Georgia Court of Appeals has disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her entire office from her 2020 election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump.

In a shocking ruling on Thursday, a three-judge panel from the second division of the Peach State’s appellate court denied a request to throw out the case entirely but granted a motion to kick off Willis, 53, and her team who led the indictment against Trump, 78, and 18 co-defendants last year.

I still appreciate the irony of prosecuting an election interference case to perpetrate election interference. You can’t say they lack a sense of humor in Georgia. I imagine the case will be studied in law schools throughout the land as a case study in what prosecutors should never, ever do.

While the appeals court did not throw out the case in its entirety, they did point out several issues with the case that were suspect and likely to bear fruit for President-Elect Trump on appeal.

Published in Law
This post was promoted to the Main Feed at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 31 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    Fulton County voters (the actual ones) include a lot of morons.

    • #1
  2. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    No prosecutor should want to touch it. 

    • #2
  3. ctlaw Coolidge
    ctlaw
    @ctlaw

    You could say the case was defanistrated.

    • #3
  4. Orange Gerald Coolidge
    Orange Gerald
    @Jose

    Previously Fani’s boyfriend had been forced to leave the case due to appearance of impropriety

    Judge Scott McAfee, the Fulton County trial judge who had presided over the Democrat DA’s prosecutorial misconduct proceedings earlier this year, ultimately allowed Willis to remain in charge of the case, so long as Wade resigned. Within hours of McAfee’s non-disqualification decision, Wade recused himself for the sake of the case’s continuance.

    Unfortunately for her

    Removing only Wade “did not cure the already existing appearance of impropriety” and the “odor of mendacity” that lingered in the affair’s aftermath, the legal body wrote.

    But now, not only Fani, but anyone from her office is banned from taking on the case!

    Since the appeals court declined to toss out the case entirely, that means another prosecutor could, in theory, take over.

    Accordingly, while Willis is “wholly disqualified” from prosecuting Trump’s case, her deputy DAs, “whose only power to prosecute a case is derived from the constitutional authority of the district attorney who appointed them,” also hold “no authority to proceed,” per the appellate court order.

    • #4
  5. Barfly Member
    Barfly
    @Barfly

    I can’t believe you misspelled her name. It’s not “Fanny” it’s “Fani.” That is so rasciss and sexiss. How dare you. When a proud womyn prosecutor rises, you have to smack her down. It’s F-A-N-I, hater.

    Say her name. (Accent on the first syllable, faciss. Like KA-ma-la.)

    • #5
  6. Sisyphus Member
    Sisyphus
    @Sisyphus

    Barfly (View Comment):

    I can’t believe you misspelled her name. It’s not “Fanny” it’s “Fani.” That is so rasciss and sexiss. How dare you. When a proud womyn prosecutor rises, you have to smack her down. It’s F-A-N-I, hater.

    Say her name. (Accent on the first syllable, faciss. Like KA-ma-la.)

    You misspelled my misspelling, but I’ll let it go this time. Also corrected my spelling.

    • #6
  7. Barfly Member
    Barfly
    @Barfly

    Sisyphus (View Comment):

    Barfly (View Comment):

    I can’t believe you misspelled her name. It’s not “Fanny” it’s “Fani.” That is so rasciss and sexiss. How dare you. When a proud womyn prosecutor rises, you have to smack her down. It’s F-A-N-I, hater.

    Say her name. (Accent on the first syllable, faciss. Like KA-ma-la.)

    You misspelled my misspelling, but I’ll let it go this time. Also corrected my spelling.

    I wasn’t being serious or anything.

    • #7
  8. Sisyphus Member
    Sisyphus
    @Sisyphus

    Barfly (View Comment):

    Sisyphus (View Comment):

    Barfly (View Comment):

    I can’t believe you misspelled her name. It’s not “Fanny” it’s “Fani.” That is so rasciss and sexiss. How dare you. When a proud womyn prosecutor rises, you have to smack her down. It’s F-A-N-I, hater.

    Say her name. (Accent on the first syllable, faciss. Like KA-ma-la.)

    You misspelled my misspelling, but I’ll let it go this time. Also corrected my spelling.

    I wasn’t being serious or anything.

    Dude, it’s all good. The continuing resolution is defeated and Fani is rightly and properly humiliated for the partisan hack she is. Winning.

    • #8
  9. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Featuring John Yoo:

     

    • #9
  10. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    ctlaw (View Comment):

    You could say the case was defanistrated.

    Hey, take your dad jokes to the meme thread!

     

     

    • #10
  11. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    https://x.com/Shawn_Farash/status/1869782203628175660

     

    • #11
  12. Postmodern Hoplite Coolidge
    Postmodern Hoplite
    @PostmodernHoplite

    ctlaw (View Comment):

    You could say the case was defanistrated.

    *groan* Awful, just awful!

    (I wish I’d thought of it first!)

    • #12
  13. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Barfly (View Comment):

    I can’t believe you misspelled her name. It’s not “Fanny” it’s “Fani.” That is so rasciss and sexiss. How dare you. When a proud womyn prosecutor rises, you have to smack her down. It’s F-A-N-I, hater.

    Say her name. (Accent on the first syllable, faciss. Like KA-ma-la.)

    I think it’s actually more like FAW-nee.

    • #13
  14. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Sisyphus: I still appreciate the irony of prosecuting an election interference case to perpetrate election interference.

    Seemed more like chutzpah to me.

    • #14
  15. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Old Bathos (View Comment):

    Fulton County voters (the actual ones) include a lot of morons.

    Fulton County has characteristics that we’re not supposed to notice, and stuff.

    Like Dolton, Illinois, for another example.

    • #15
  16. Barfly Member
    Barfly
    @Barfly

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Barfly (View Comment):

    I can’t believe you misspelled her name. It’s not “Fanny” it’s “Fani.” That is so rasciss and sexiss. How dare you. When a proud womyn prosecutor rises, you have to smack her down. It’s F-A-N-I, hater.

    Say her name. (Accent on the first syllable, faciss. Like KA-ma-la.)

    I think it’s actually more like FAW-nee.

    You’re probably right. I didn’t take the advanced course, just the survey.

    • #16
  17. GPentelie Coolidge
    GPentelie
    @GPentelie

    ctlaw (View Comment):

    You could say the case was defanistrated.

    Hah! Well played!

    • #17
  18. Barfly Member
    Barfly
    @Barfly

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Featuring John Yoo:

    Dang it, you got me. I somehow read “John Woo” and clicked it by reflex. I’m dying for a hard boiled presidency.

     

    • #18
  19. namlliT noD Member
    namlliT noD
    @DonTillman

    Sisyphus: I still appreciate the irony of prosecuting an election interference case to perpetrate election interference. You can’t say they lack a sense of humor in Georgia.

    By “irony” you mean “the use of Joseph Goebbels’ accuse the other side of that which you are guilty.”

    By “sense of humor” you mean “fascist political strategy”.

     

    • #19
  20. Steve Fast Member
    Steve Fast
    @SteveFast

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Barfly (View Comment):

    I can’t believe you misspelled her name. It’s not “Fanny” it’s “Fani.” That is so rasciss and sexiss. How dare you. When a proud womyn prosecutor rises, you have to smack her down. It’s F-A-N-I, hater.

    Say her name. (Accent on the first syllable, faciss. Like KA-ma-la.)

    I think it’s actually more like FAW-nee.

    Or as only President Trump could say, “It’s Fanny, like your a$$.”

    • #20
  21. Steve Fast Member
    Steve Fast
    @SteveFast

    The four who plead guilty must really be kicking themselves now. There was something of a case (don’t know how strong) against Sidney Powell and Scott Hall for breaking into the Coffee County election office to hack the Dominion voting machine. But Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Cheseboro plead guilty to ridiculous charges on the alternate elector thing.

    • #21
  22. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    The four who plead guilty must really be kicking themselves now. There was something of a case (don’t know how strong) against Sidney Powell and Scott Hall for breaking into the Coffee County election office to hack the Dominion voting machine. But Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Cheseboro plead guilty to ridiculous charges on the alternate elector thing.

    But it’s possible they just couldn’t afford to defend themselves as much as Trump can.  Which is one of the points of lawfare, of course.

    • #22
  23. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    The four who plead guilty must really be kicking themselves now. There was something of a case (don’t know how strong) against Sidney Powell and Scott Hall for breaking into the Coffee County election office to hack the Dominion voting machine. But Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Cheseboro plead guilty to ridiculous charges on the alternate elector thing.

    But it’s possible they just couldn’t afford to defend themselves as much as Trump can. Which is one of the points of lawfare, of course.

    Jenna turned rabid anti-Trump.  I guess she blamed him for what she did.

    • #23
  24. Sisyphus Member
    Sisyphus
    @Sisyphus

    namlliT noD (View Comment):

    Sisyphus: I still appreciate the irony of prosecuting an election interference case to perpetrate election interference. You can’t say they lack a sense of humor in Georgia.

    By “irony” you mean “the use of Joseph Goebbels’ accuse the other side of that which you are guilty.”

    By “sense of humor” you mean “fascist political strategy”.

     

    Normally there is no faster path to raising my ire than putting words in my mouth, but you do it so very well.

    • #24
  25. namlliT noD Member
    namlliT noD
    @DonTillman

    Sisyphus (View Comment):

    namlliT noD (View Comment):

    Sisyphus: I still appreciate the irony of prosecuting an election interference case to perpetrate election interference. You can’t say they lack a sense of humor in Georgia.

    By “irony” you mean “the use of Joseph Goebbels’ accuse the other side of that which you are guilty.”

    By “sense of humor” you mean “fascist political strategy”.

    Normally there is no faster path to raising my ire than putting words in my mouth, but you do it so very well.

    My bad, actually; I should have placed question marks there.

    Anyway, my point is that this stuff is  intentional.

    • #25
  26. Sisyphus Member
    Sisyphus
    @Sisyphus

    namlliT noD (View Comment):
    Anyway, my point is that this stuff is  intentional.

    Yes, it is.

    • #26
  27. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    The four who plead guilty must really be kicking themselves now. There was something of a case (don’t know how strong) against Sidney Powell and Scott Hall for breaking into the Coffee County election office to hack the Dominion voting machine. But Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Cheseboro plead guilty to ridiculous charges on the alternate elector thing.

    But it’s possible they just couldn’t afford to defend themselves as much as Trump can. Which is one of the points of lawfare, of course.

    Jenna turned rabid anti-Trump. I guess she blamed him for what she did.

    I heard her on a Dinesh DeSouza podcast a couple of days ago and she did not sound anti-Trump at all…just the opposite. I have often wondered how the folks indicted for attempting to uncover the 2020 election fraud felt about having to pay their legal fees. How about John Eastman? He is banned from practicing law in his home State of California. Is Trump secretly covering their losses?

    • #27
  28. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    cdor (View Comment):

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    The four who plead guilty must really be kicking themselves now. There was something of a case (don’t know how strong) against Sidney Powell and Scott Hall for breaking into the Coffee County election office to hack the Dominion voting machine. But Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Cheseboro plead guilty to ridiculous charges on the alternate elector thing.

    But it’s possible they just couldn’t afford to defend themselves as much as Trump can. Which is one of the points of lawfare, of course.

    Jenna turned rabid anti-Trump. I guess she blamed him for what she did.

    I heard her on a Dinesh DeSouza podcast a couple of days ago and she did not sound anti-Trump at all…just the opposite. I have often wondered how the folks indicted for attempting to uncover the 2020 election fraud felt about having to pay their legal fees. How about John Eastman? He is banned from practicing law in his home State of California. Is Trump secretly covering their losses?

    John Eastman was always too good for California, but that is a problem.  I don’t know if Trump paying for his legal costs is right either though.  Taxpayer-funded prosecutors etc are the ones who did the damage, so the best option might be for the taxpayers to have to pay for the damage caused by their employees.  Whether that’s done with a high-paying regular job or a government-funded “think tank” for him to operate, I don’t know what the best option is.

    • #28
  29. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    kedavis (View Comment):

    cdor (View Comment):

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    The four who plead guilty must really be kicking themselves now. There was something of a case (don’t know how strong) against Sidney Powell and Scott Hall for breaking into the Coffee County election office to hack the Dominion voting machine. But Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Cheseboro plead guilty to ridiculous charges on the alternate elector thing.

    But it’s possible they just couldn’t afford to defend themselves as much as Trump can. Which is one of the points of lawfare, of course.

    Jenna turned rabid anti-Trump. I guess she blamed him for what she did.

    I heard her on a Dinesh DeSouza podcast a couple of days ago and she did not sound anti-Trump at all…just the opposite. I have often wondered how the folks indicted for attempting to uncover the 2020 election fraud felt about having to pay their legal fees. How about John Eastman? He is banned from practicing law in his home State of California. Is Trump secretly covering their losses?

    John Eastman was always too good for California, but that is a problem. I don’t know if Trump paying for his legal costs is right either though. Taxpayer-funded prosecutors etc are the ones who did the damage, so the best option might be for the taxpayers to have to pay for the damage caused by their employees. Whether that’s done with a high-paying regular job or a government-funded “think tank” for him to operate, I don’t know what the best option is.

    It seems though, KC, that the only way you get reimbursed from the taxpayers is to sue the state. How much money is that going to cost? I am guessing, way too much. And how long would it take? I am guessing John Eastman doesn’t have that much time. Is there some other way? 

    • #29
  30. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    cdor (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    cdor (View Comment):

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    The four who plead guilty must really be kicking themselves now. There was something of a case (don’t know how strong) against Sidney Powell and Scott Hall for breaking into the Coffee County election office to hack the Dominion voting machine. But Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Cheseboro plead guilty to ridiculous charges on the alternate elector thing.

    But it’s possible they just couldn’t afford to defend themselves as much as Trump can. Which is one of the points of lawfare, of course.

    Jenna turned rabid anti-Trump. I guess she blamed him for what she did.

    I heard her on a Dinesh DeSouza podcast a couple of days ago and she did not sound anti-Trump at all…just the opposite. I have often wondered how the folks indicted for attempting to uncover the 2020 election fraud felt about having to pay their legal fees. How about John Eastman? He is banned from practicing law in his home State of California. Is Trump secretly covering their losses?

    John Eastman was always too good for California, but that is a problem. I don’t know if Trump paying for his legal costs is right either though. Taxpayer-funded prosecutors etc are the ones who did the damage, so the best option might be for the taxpayers to have to pay for the damage caused by their employees. Whether that’s done with a high-paying regular job or a government-funded “think tank” for him to operate, I don’t know what the best option is.

    It seems though, KC, that the only way you get reimbursed from the taxpayers is to sue the state. How much money is that going to cost? I am guessing, way too much. And how long would it take? I am guessing John Eastman doesn’t have that much time. Is there some other way?

    No I meant in terms of some federal activity, which might end up costing taxpayers nationally rather than just California but they DID (supposedly) elect FJB too so that might still be valid.  Trump or maybe the incoming AG or whatever could set up something for Eastman to run that gets him some compensation, for example.

    There might even be some way for Eastman to be federally compensated through a “consent decree” or whatever, and fund it from money taken from federal funds that normally would have gone to California.  Or something.  Maybe some of that high-speed-rail boondoggle money.  I’d already been hearing about how the feds were trying to get some of that back, and they could give some to Eastman.

    • #30
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.