A court case against Donald Trump in Georgia cannot go ahead unless the district attorney steps aside or removes a special prosecutor she had a relationship with, the judge has ruled.
Mr Trump is accused of attempting to overturn the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election in Georgia.
District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading the case, was in a relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which she argued began in early 2022 – months after she appointed Mr Wade to the prosecution in November 2021.
On Friday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee found the “appearance of impropriety” brought about by Ms Willis’s romantic relationship with Mr Wade must result in either Ms Willis and her office leaving the case – or just Mr Wade.
NBC News said if Ms Willis were to remove herself, the case would come to a halt, but having Mr Wade leave the case will ensure it continues without further delay.
Ms Willis and Mr Wade are said to have gone on trips together – with the lawyer booking them while he was being paid a $650,000 (£510,000) salary by Ms Willis’ office.
The pair both testified that they had engaged in a romantic relationship, which is said to have come to an end last summer, but rejected the idea that Ms Willis improperly benefited from it.
Giving his ruling, Mr McAfee said an outsider to the case could “reasonably think” that Ms Willis is “not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences”, which, he said will always be the case as long as Mr Wade remains on her team.
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But crucially, and to the disappointment of lawyers representing Mr Trump and other defendants in the case, he did not find any evidence that the rights of defendants had been violated or that the issues involved prejudiced them in any way.
He said the disqualification of a constitutional officer, like a district attorney, is not necessary “when a less drastic and sufficiently remedial option is available”.
Responding to the ruling on Friday, Mr Trump’s lead lawyer in the case said they still believe there is a conflict of interest and that they will use “all legal options available” as they continue to fight the case.
