Donald Trump Election Trial In Georgia Put On Hold Over Fani Willis Probe

BYGabriel Bras Nevares760 Views
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WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - JUNE 5: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner at Mar-a-Lago on June 5, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Now that his criminal trial in New York has wrapped up, the former president has scheduled a number of fundraising events around the country to aid his presidential bid. (Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images)
A judicial panel must determine whether to disqualify Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis from the case before proceeding.

Donald Trump may have caught a conviction recently, but another of his trials for alleged criminal misconduct and behavior saw a small W for him. Moreover, the Georgia Court of Appeals indefinitely postponed his state election interference trial on the local level through a Wednesday (June 5) court order, CNN reports. This is due to a judicial panel's need to decide whether to disqualify Fulton County's District Attorney Fani Willis from the case. Willis had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired for it, something that Trump and his alleged racketeering codefendants have attempted to discredit her over.

Furthermore, this is Donald Trump's latest legal victory, and one that further ensures he won't have to deal with some of his legal battles during his campaign for U.S. president for 2024 if he can't beat them outright at the moment. The judicial panel is expected to issue a verdict on Fani Willis by March of next year, although it could be sooner since sources reportedly close to the case supposedly told CNN that the overall timeline is still pretty unclear. As such, a trial will most likely not take place before the election this November. A spokesperson for Willis' office declined comment on the court order at this time, but the District Attorney can request a speedier decision.

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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 01: Donald Trump attends UFC 302 event at Prudential Center on June 01, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Fulton County's Superior Judge, Scott McAfee, previously let court proceedings continue as the court of appeals deliberated on Fani Willis' participation. Donald Trump and his codefendants put a lot of pressure to get the prosecution on the defensive side and change discussion from their alleged crimes to Willis' misconduct. Still, McAfee found no evidence that the D.A. financially benefitted from her relationship with Nathan Wade, and thus allowed her to remain after Wade stepped down as a qualifier.

"The Georgia Court of Appeals has properly stayed all proceedings against President Trump in the trial court pending its decision on our interlocutory appeal which argues the case should be dismissed and Fulton County DA Willis should be disqualified for her misconduct," Trump's led defense counsel in Georgia, Steve Sadow, said of the court order. "No, it’s a rigged system and it’s a terrible system actually," the former president told reporters of the courts and whether he'd lost faith in his legal team on Wednesday following his guilty verdict. His Florida case about classified documents is in a similar limbo, with the federal judge allowing him to question his prosecutors and attempt to discredit the case.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output. Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond. Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C. His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.