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Should Fani Willis be removed from Trump Georgia election case?

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis takes the stand during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. The hearing is to determine whether Willis should be removed from the case because of a relationship with Nathan Wade, special prosecutor she hired in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump. (Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP)

(NewsNation) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis faces accusations of a conflict of interest because of her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she hired in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump.

Now, the decision on whether she should be removed from the case is in the hands of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.


“This is definitely a complete self-imposed disaster on behalf of DA Willis,” NewsNation legal contributor Jesse Weber said on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.” “This was a terrible lapse in judgment.”

Weber said he wishes Willis would recuse herself from the case to “put this nonsense aside.”

However, he said he doesn’t expect this to happen as “she’s too proud.”

When it comes to whether the judge will pull Willis from this case, on the other hand, Weber said it could go “either way.”

Former federal prosecutor Joseph Moreno said attorneys arguing in favor of removing Willis have been hurting themselves by concentrating on “salacious” aspects of the case, such as the condominium where she and the special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, were living.

“I think they’re chasing a red herring here,” Moreno said.

Questions they should be focused on are why Willis hired Wade, Moreno said, and whether he is qualified to handle a “complex RICO case.”

“Did you get $600,000 worth of services from him? At the time your romantic relationship began, why did he continue serving?” Moreno said. “Those are, I think, the key questions. Going down these rabbit holes about timelines and where they lived … it’s just too much, and they should really stay away from that sort of thing.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.