In yet another victory for Donald Trump in the lawfare campaign against him, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been permanently barred from prosecuting her election interference case against him in the Peach State.
Last December, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision that the embattled D.A. and her office could not continue prosecuting the racketeering case against the president and his 19 co-defendants due to the “appearance of impropriety” caused by her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
That decision overrode Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s March 2024 ruling that allowed Willis to stay on the case – at least temporarily – so long as Wade was removed. She appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court back in January, and the high court issued a 4-3 decision on Tuesday declining to take up the appeal.
What Comes Next?
Trump’s attorney in the case, Steve Saddow, praised the decision. “Willis’ misconduct during the investigation and prosecution of President Trump was egregious and she deserved nothing less than disqualification,” he said in a statement. “This proper decision should bring an end to the wrongful political, lawfare persecutions of the president.”
Willis, meanwhile, expressed her dismay. “While I disagree with the decision of the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court’s divided decision not to review it, I respect the legal process and the courts,” she said in a statement. “Accordingly, my office will make the case file and evidence available to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council for use in the ongoing litigation. I hope that whoever is assigned to handle the case will have the courage to do what the evidence and the law demand.”
To that point, Fox 5 Atlanta reported the high court’s decision means it is now up to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia to appoint a new prosecutor. Whoever takes over would be able to continue down the path Willis forged, pursue only certain charges, or dismiss it altogether.
When the appeals court handed down its ruling late last year, MK True Crime contributor Phil Holloway said he believed the case was dead. “In my view, it is not going to be revived by the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia,” he said at the time. That has to do with the high-profile nature of the situation and also the fact that RICO cases are notoriously complex to prosecute.
Ashleigh Merchant, who exposed Willis’ romantic relationship with Wade as the defense attorney for co-defendant Michael Roman, had also predicted the appellate decision was the beginning of the end of the case. In response to Tuesday’s decision, she reiterated that position. “We hope this will finally close this chapter,” she said.
Megyn’s Take
Megyn shared the breaking news on Tuesday’s show and said it is unbelievable this case still hasn’t died. “Fani Willis is officially toast on her criminal case against Donald Trump, which, by the way, has not been thrown out… amazingly,” she noted. “She was thrown off the case because of her inability to keep it in the pants.”
With the D.A. now officially removed, Megyn said this is no doubt the end of the road. “Right now, that case is dead because it has no prosecutor attached to it, and Phil Holloway has been explaining to us for a couple of years now, none is likely to be,” she explained. “So, by all intents and purposes, that case is dead.”
“It is another win for Trump,” Megyn added. “Like Kamala Harris, we will miss Fani now that she is officially gone. But I look forward to her career as an MSNBC contributor because she could be kind of interesting to follow.”
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 1,150 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.