Posted on 03/15/2024 7:21:46 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Fulton County, Ga., Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee made his decision on whether District Attorney Fani Willis can continue prosecuting Donald Trump and 18 other co-defendants on corruption charges.
McAfee ruled that Willis can continue to prosecute the former president and his co-defendants, but he has given the state multiple options to handle the case. All options involve Nathan Wade stepping away from the team.
Willis campaigned as an anti-corruption candidate in 2020 because accusations of sexual and financial wrongdoing surrounded her predecessor, Paul Howard. She declared to an interviewer that the people of Fulton County “deserve a DA that won't have sex with his employees [and] won't put money in their own pocket.”
McAfee ordered a hearing into Willis’ conflicts of interest after reports surfaced in January that Willis was allegedly carrying on an affair with Nathan Wade, an attorney she hired as a special counsel on the case. Despite his lack of experience with RICO cases, Willis paid him more than more experienced attorneys for his work.
Willis also allegedly dispatched Wade to meet with Biden administration officials about the Trump prosecution.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
Friendly Reminder: Judge Scott McAfee Donated to
Fani Willis’s Campaign in 2020 – And So Did His Wife
thegatewaypundit.com ^ | 3/15/2024 | jim hoft
Posted on 3/15/2024, 7:25:31 AM by bitt
Judge Scott McAfee, who refused to remove Fani Willis from her junk RICO case against President Trump despite perjuring herself under oath about the length of their relationship, donated to Fani Willis’s campaign. Judge McAfee donated to Fani Willis in 2020. McAfee is allowing Willis to remain despite Terrence Bradley saying “dang” after realizing texts proved Nathan Wade and Fani Willis were in a relationship before Willis hired Wade to get Trump. Trump won’t receive a fair trial. pic.twitter.com/xA4bcT7C13 — Charles R Downs (@TheCharlesDowns) March 15, 2024
Bing AI Copilot had this to say about Judge McAfee’s donation to Fani Willis. Note: This biased report that labels Breitbart a “far right” news network. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over a case involving Donald Trump, previously donated to Fani Willis’ campaign. According to financial disclosures revealed by far-right news network Breitbart, McAfee made a small $150 donation to Willis in July 2020, the year she was elected. However, legal experts quickly dismissed Breitbart’s claim that this donation constitutes a conflict of interest1. Judges are expected to be impartial and avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, but the donation was considered insignificant by experts.
In the case against former President Donald Trump, Willis has recently faced scrutiny due to her previously undisclosed romantic relationship with a special prosecutor in the case, Nathan Wade, whom she hired. Although they admitted to the relationship, both Willis and Wade denied any wrongdoing and asserted that Willis should not be disqualified from the case. Judge McAfee’s wife also donated to Fani Willis via biased Copilot: (Excerpt) Read more at thegatewaypundit.com ...
Here’s another little quip...Fani wants the trial to start in August...The judge sets the trial date.
“Big whoop.”
Big whoop? Have you not paid attention. There are convicted criminals on death role on less evidence the defense showed in the hearing. Fani, Wade, and Ward committed multiple counts of perjury. It was proven both Wade and Fani committed financial fraud. There were seven other reasons outside of the affair to disqualify her and the office.
Yet, this coward judge took the easy way out. Not that was much belief in the justice system but he destroyed any remaining belief in the system. He made a mockery of the court system.
Yet a nothing burger... Argh.
Someone here in another thread said he didn’t have opposition. I think that’s incorrect but have been unable to verify.
I think he’s toast and he should have done the right thing here.
If I was a lawyer defending this case, I would immediately look to have Nathan Wade added to my witness list.
The perjury needs to be addressed...as do the ethic and perhaps criminal violations.
Fani’s troubles are far from over. There’s more than a couple of Georgia politicians paying attention to her actual law-breaking that is now on the record.
The case has merits? Really? Well, we wouldn’t want to be distracted from said merits, then. Would we./s
You misunderstood my point.
This judges ruling is toothless.
“The problem is more about Fani than Nathan Wade.”
*************
Exactly right. The big fish got away. That was always the intent from day one of this fiasco.
PATHETIC JUDGE......they both LIED UNDER OATH!
If you are black, you. CAn get away with MURDER BECAUSE WHITES ARE PETRIFIED THEY WILL BURN THEIR HOUSE AND CITY DOWN!
Backbone missing in Fulton County, IMHO.
“You misunderstood my point.”
Understood. If you would have said that I would have ignore the post. Sorry.
But it is a big deal. He destroyed/damaged his creditability and justice system in one ruling.
The case has already been compromised! Geez. A big nothing.
Yes, he should, as the judge’s decision already lays out their guilt, setting the stage for perhaps a harsher penalty on appeal.
However, according to legal experts on TV this morning, McAfee would have to approve the appeal, so the right to appeal plea must go to him first.
He would be smart to approve it, as it protects him somewhat from the political fallout should the appeals court want a stricter punishment of Willis, as well as removing the option for Trump to appeal over it, later, if the appeals court rules in her favor.
But the case against Trump in this trial has been severely damaged so long as Willis remains the prosecutor, no matter what happens to Wade.
Here’s what the judge wrote:
“After consideration of the record established on these motions, the Court finds the allegations and evidence legally insufficient to support a finding of an actual conflict of interest,” McAfee concluded. “However, the appearance of impropriety remains and must be handled as previously outlined before the prosecution can proceed. The Defendants’ motions are therefore granted in part and denied in part.”
McAfee ordered that the “significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team” “must be removed” through the state’s selection of one of the two outlined options: Willis chooses to step aside, “along with the whole of her office,” and refer the prosecution to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council for reassignment; alternatively, Wade withdraws.
In other words, it’s either Willis or Wade. Otherwise, the prosecution of this case “cannot proceed” until then.
You knew nothing would happen to her.
He didn’t exactly say she could stay, he gave her the choice for the whole team to leave or just her boyfriend.
An intelligent DA would take option one and walk away from this case in order to remove any question going forward.
However, I do think it’s a good grounds for appeal because if she doesn’t take option one, an appellate court will question why that was left up to her if it was 1 of the things that needed to happen.
The allegations are not detailed enough in terms of sufficiently specifying "the underlying felony solicited," he indicated.
McAfee noted that the prosecution could seek a re-indictment "supplementing these six counts." Even if the statute of limitations has expired, the state receives a six-month extension from the date of McAfee's order to resubmit the case to a grand jury.
So, the prosecutors can refile the charges with greater detail or appeal McAfee's decision altogether.
Judge McAfee also denied the defendants' request to dismiss the indictment--a widely expected outcome.
"There has not been a showing that the Defendants’ due process rights have been violated or that the issues involved prejudiced the Defendants in any way," McAfee writes. pic.twitter.com/T4uWQrBGBe— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) March 15, 2024
It might be worth a shot, but I wouldn’t expect Wade to flip to Trump’s defense. More likely is Wade will be replaced by someone in that same circle of friends on the prosecuting side.
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