(CBS) Judge to proceed with hearing to consider motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Trump Georgia election case

[Chomsky]

Judge to proceed with hearing to consider motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Trump Georgia election case

Fulton County judge to move forward with evidentiary hearing to consider Trump co-defendant's motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Georgia election interference case.

www.cbsnews.com

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Judge McAfee said that the evidentiary hearing must occur because it's "possible that the facts alleged … could result in disqualification" and "an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations."

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The keywords in the OP article are, "could result in disqualification". Disqualification is not a done-deal, at this point.

However if it was established impropriety occurred, then 'yes' - Fani could indeed be disqualified.

My main concern is could it be possible Fani received benefits from the monies paid her hired prosecutor? If, as alleged, she did take vacations paid for by her hired prosecutor, or perhaps received any gifts from him, it could get sticky IMO.

 

[Absentglare]

Judge to proceed with hearing to consider motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Trump Georgia election case

Fulton County judge to move forward with evidentiary hearing to consider Trump co-defendant's motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Georgia election interference case.

www.cbsnews.com

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--

The keywords in the OP article are, "could result in disqualification". Disqualification is not a done-deal, at this point.

However if it was established impropriety occurred, then 'yes' - Fani could indeed be disqualified.

My main concern is could it be possible Fani received benefits from the monies paid her hired prosecutor? If, as alleged, she did take vacations paid for by her hired prosecutor, or perhaps received any gifts from him, it could get sticky IMO.

If she hired a less competent attorney because she liked him, that actually benefits Trump. There’s no conflict of interest that has any potential to harm Trump. The whole thing is bogus, idk why they’re even entertaining it.

 

[Stealers Wheel]

This completely exonerates Trump!

 

[The Hairy Fiddler]

Recuse and then replace. No more delays please. American people need to know this guy running for president is a convicted criminal and in the slammer before November gets here. As for Willis, your lack of common sense is pretty costly to your career. Nobody to blame but yourself.

 

[Chomsky]

If she hired a less competent attorney because she liked him, that actually benefits Trump. There’s no conflict of interest that has any potential to harm Trump. The whole thing is bogus, idk why they’re even entertaining it.

Two things to keep in mind:

1] The allegations are alleged
2] Unless Fani received compensation from her hire, she broke no statute nor regulation

 

[zincwarrior]

Recuse and then replace. No more delays please. American people need to know this guy running for president is a convicted criminal and in the slammer before November gets here. As for Willis, your lack of common sense is pretty costly to your career. Nobody to blame but yourself.

Indeed. Simple solution. Replace him or she recuses herself from that case.

 

[Objective Voice]

Judge to proceed with hearing to consider motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Trump Georgia election case

Fulton County judge to move forward with evidentiary hearing to consider Trump co-defendant's motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Georgia election interference case.

www.cbsnews.com

--

--

The keywords in the OP article are, "could result in disqualification". Disqualification is not a done-deal, at this point.

However if it was established impropriety occurred, then 'yes' - Fani could indeed be disqualified.

My main concern is could it be possible Fani received benefits from the monies paid her hired prosecutor? If, as alleged, she did take vacations paid for by her hired prosecutor, or perhaps received any gifts from him, it could get sticky IMO.

From the OP article:

Michael Roman, a former Republican National Committee staffer, alleged that Willis had an improper relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, paid him more than $650,000 for his work for the D.A.'s office and then benefited financially from the relationship when Wade allegedly took her on cruises and trips.

And so my questions are:

• When did Willis and Wade become romantically involved?
• When was Wade hired as lead prosecutor?
• Was the $650K the sum of his annual salary? Contract/legal work he lawfully performed for the D.A.s office? Or was it more of a stipend to fund his legal work in the Trump GA RICO case?
• How exactly did Willis benefit from the cruises and trips Wade allegedly took her on? Did being swooned by Wade somehow affect Willis' judgement in how she would have ordinarily gone about prosecuting the case against Trump?
• Would Willis have conducted herself in the same or similar professional manner had she not hired Wade OR had hired anyone else for the job?

If Willis and Wade's relationship started before the Trump GA RICO case, there's reason to assume she continued to conducted herself with the same professional, impartiality as before their relationship started.

Wade being hired as the lead prosecutor is a little sticky because no matter when he was hired by the DAs office, people who support Trump will scream "impartiality/quid pro quo/bias/conflict of interest. So, you look toward conduct/behavior to deduce what any other person would have reasonable done in the performance of their duties, and then ask: "Did he do his job? Did she? Was there an agreed upon scheme by the two of them to "get Trump" under any circumstances? Or were they following the evidence and judiciously applying the law regardless of their romantic relationship?

These are the types of questions the judge will have to answer. For the sake of the case and the country, I hope he finds no fault in her/them. But if he does, I hope he doesn't throw the case out. IMO, that would be more devastating than removing Willis from the case.

 

[The Hairy Fiddler]

From the OP article:



And so my questions are:

• When did Willis and Wade become romantically involved?
• When was Wade hired as lead prosecutor?
• Was the $650K the sum of his annual salary? Contract/legal work he lawfully performed for the D.A.s office? Or was it more of a stipend to fund his legal work in the Trump GA RICO case?
• How exactly did Willis benefit from the cruises and trips Wade allegedly took her on? Did being swooned by Wade somehow affect Willis' judgement in how she would have ordinarily gone about prosecuting the case against Trump?
• Would Willis have conducted herself in the same or similar professional manner had she not hired Wade OR had hired anyone else for the job?

If Willis and Wade's relationship started before the Trump GA RICO case, there's reason to assume she continued to conducted herself with the same professional, impartiality as before their relationship started.

Wade being hired as the lead prosecutor is a little sticky because no matter when he was hired by the DAs office, people who support Trump will scream "impartiality/quid pro quo/bias/conflict of interest. So, you look toward conduct/behavior to deduce what any other person would have reasonable done in the performance of their duties, and then ask: "Did he do his job? Did she? Was there an agreed upon scheme by the two of them to "get Trump" under any circumstances? Or were they following the evidence and judiciously applying the law regardless of their romantic relationship?

These are the types of questions the judge will have to answer. For the sake of the case and the country, I hope he finds no fault in her/them. But if he does, I hope he doesn't throw the case out. IMO, that would be more devastating than removing Willis from the case.

No matter what happens, why would the case be thrown out? That will never happen. Trump's crimes have nothing to do with possible lawyer/prosecutor malfeasance.

 

[RaleBulgarian]

Judge to proceed with hearing to consider motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Trump Georgia election case

Fulton County judge to move forward with evidentiary hearing to consider Trump co-defendant's motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Georgia election interference case.

www.cbsnews.com

--

--

The keywords in the OP article are, "could result in disqualification". Disqualification is not a done-deal, at this point.

However if it was established impropriety occurred, then 'yes' - Fani could indeed be disqualified.

My main concern is could it be possible Fani received benefits from the monies paid her hired prosecutor? If, as alleged, she did take vacations paid for by her hired prosecutor, or perhaps received any gifts from him, it could get sticky IMO.

The simple appearance of impropriety may very well be enough reason for the judge to disqualify Willis.

Wouldn’t be the first time appearance of impropriety/undue bias played a role in this case.

 

[RaleBulgarian]

Recuse and then replace. No more delays please. American people need to know this guy running for president is a convicted criminal and in the slammer before November gets here. As for Willis, your lack of common sense is pretty costly to your career. Nobody to blame but yourself.

The replacing part would substantially impact when/if any trial happens.

 

[Chomsky]

Indeed. Simple solution. Replace him or she recuses herself from that case.

I disagree.

If yours was the political solution (not saying it is), the time to do it was earlier. Now, the judge will decide and that should produce a hard decision.

If the couple did nothing wrong, then it will be validated by the court - which is a good thing. There's no need to make changes, unnecessarily.

 

[Chomsky]

From the OP article:



And so my questions are:

• When did Willis and Wade become romantically involved?
• When was Wade hired as lead prosecutor?
• Was the $650K the sum of his annual salary? Contract/legal work he lawfully performed for the D.A.s office? Or was it more of a stipend to fund his legal work in the Trump GA RICO case?
• How exactly did Willis benefit from the cruises and trips Wade allegedly took her on? Did being swooned by Wade somehow affect Willis' judgement in how she would have ordinarily gone about prosecuting the case against Trump?
• Would Willis have conducted herself in the same or similar professional manner had she not hired Wade OR had hired anyone else for the job?

If Willis and Wade's relationship started before the Trump GA RICO case, there's reason to assume she continued to conducted herself with the same professional, impartiality as before their relationship started.

Wade being hired as the lead prosecutor is a little sticky because no matter when he was hired by the DAs office, people who support Trump will scream "impartiality/quid pro quo/bias/conflict of interest. So, you look toward conduct/behavior to deduce what any other person would have reasonable done in the performance of their duties, and then ask: "Did he do his job? Did she? Was there an agreed upon scheme by the two of them to "get Trump" under any circumstances? Or were they following the evidence and judiciously applying the law regardless of their romantic relationship?

These are the types of questions the judge will have to answer. For the sake of the case and the country, I hope he finds no fault in her/them. But if he does, I hope he doesn't throw the case out. IMO, that would be more devastating than removing Willis from the case.

Excellent analysis, with many substantive points. These items will be exactly what the judge will be evaluating.

The main concern I see, would be monies or items of value flowing back to Fani. I think that would sink her.

Something bothersome on the surface though, is my understanding that Fani hired three contracted prosecutors: She disbursed $60K to one, $70K, to the other, and $650K to her alleged B/F. That's quite a discrepancy!

Could the payout discrepancy have an innocent explanation? Sure? Could it be nefarious? 'Yes', to that too!

But above all, we need to keep in mind the allegations are . . . alleged!

 

[Tettsuo]

Could someone explain how this supposed scandal impacts the Trump trial? It doesn't appear to have any direct ties to Trump whatsoever.

 

[Chomsky]

No matter what happens, why would the case be thrown out? That will never happen. Trump's crimes have nothing to do with possible lawyer/prosecutor malfeasance.

Trump's case will not be "thrown out". But this issue is causing troubles & doubts, unfortunately. And, it could cause delays.

 

[Chomsky]

The simple appearance of impropriety may very well be enough reason for the judge to disqualify Willis.

Wouldn’t be the first time appearance of impropriety/undue bias played a role in this case.

I don't believe the judge is leading in that direction, but 'yes' - it is a possibility.

 

[Chomsky]

The replacing part would substantially impact when/if any trial happens.

Exactly!

 

[Chomsky]

Could someone explain how this supposed scandal impacts the Trump trial? It doesn't appear to have any direct ties to Trump whatsoever.

If the either of the (alleged) couple is removed, it will delay the case at the very least. If Fani is removed, it's even possible the case could be removed from her office. if that were to occur, there's no guarantee another county will take-up the matter, nor guarantees as to what counts another DA may pursue.

 

[post]

Judge to proceed with hearing to consider motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Trump Georgia election case

Fulton County judge to move forward with evidentiary hearing to consider Trump co-defendant's motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Georgia election interference case.

www.cbsnews.com

--

--

The keywords in the OP article are, "could result in disqualification". Disqualification is not a done-deal, at this point.

However if it was established impropriety occurred, then 'yes' - Fani could indeed be disqualified.

My main concern is could it be possible Fani received benefits from the monies paid her hired prosecutor? If, as alleged, she did take vacations paid for by her hired prosecutor, or perhaps received any gifts from him, it could get sticky IMO.

If she simply offers to take a leave of absence, a subordinate from her office takes over the prosecution and the hearing is moot.
Her exposure has nothing to do with the evidence of the defendants' criminal offenses.

 

[zincwarrior]

Could someone explain how this supposed scandal impacts the Trump trial? It doesn't appear to have any direct ties to Trump whatsoever.

At worst they will need to substitute in a new prosecutor to the team.

 

[Chomsky]

If she simply offers to take a leave of absence, a subordinate from her office takes over the prosecution and the hearing is moot.
Her exposure has nothing to do with the evidence of the defendants' criminal offenses.

It's a little late, now!

But, are we sure of the bolded? She's not a "prosecutor". She's the DA; she runs the office.

 

[post]

It's a little late, now!

But, are we sure of the bolded? She's not a "prosecutor". She's the DA; she runs the office.

She has not committed an offense disqualifying her from serving in that elected position, only the appearance of impropriety in this
one, high profile case. Eliminating that appearance eliminates the challenges from the defendants in the high profile case. Her leave
of absence would end with a jury verdict.

Should Fani Willis Take a Leave of Absence?​

Daily Kos
https://www.dailykos.com › story ›
14 hours ago — To summarize Cunningham's argument, both in the NYT essay and in the interview: If Willis takes a leave of absence now, the case will still move ...

Fulton County DA could be disqualified from Trump case if ...​

CNN
https://www.cnn.com › 2024/02/12 › politics › fulton-co...
21 hours ago — A hearing is set for Thursday on motions to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis ... Willis should take leave of absence. 04:55 ...

 

[Stealers Wheel]

If the either of the (alleged) couple is removed, it will delay the case at the very least. If Fani is removed, it's even possible the case could be removed from her office. if that were to occur, there's no guarantee another county will take-up the matter, nor guarantees as to what counts another DA may pursue.

Does another county have jurisdiction? Why wouldn't just another ADA take over the case? Surely there is someone in that office that might have an inkling of what the case involved and could be brought up to speed within a year or two.

 

[Chomsky]

Does another county have jurisdiction? Why wouldn't just another ADA take over the case? Surely there is someone in that office that might have an inkling of what the case involved and could be brought up to speed within a year or two.

In my mind, my fear would be the case gets removed from her office. How does a judge remove a DA? That's an elected position?

But, I'll be the first to admit this is not my wheelhouse.

 

[TU Curmudgeon]

Judge to proceed with hearing to consider motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Trump Georgia election case

Fulton County judge to move forward with evidentiary hearing to consider Trump co-defendant's motion to disqualify Fani Willis from Georgia election interference case.

www.cbsnews.com

--

--

The keywords in the OP article are, "could result in disqualification". Disqualification is not a done-deal, at this point.

However if it was established impropriety occurred, then 'yes' - Fani could indeed be disqualified.

My main concern is could it be possible Fani received benefits from the monies paid her hired prosecutor? If, as alleged, she did take vacations paid for by her hired prosecutor, or perhaps received any gifts from him, it could get sticky IMO.

The US practice is (essentially):

1. Make an application to the County court.
2. If the County rejects the application, then appeal to the State court.
3. If the State court rejects the application, then appeal to the State appeal court.
4. If the State appeal court rejects the application, then appeal to the State appeal court en banc.
5. If the State appeal court en banc rejects the application, then appeal to the Federal court.
6. If the Federal district court rejects the application, then appeal to the Federal district appeal court.
7. If the Federal district appeal court rejects the application, then appeal to the Federal district appeal court en banc.
8. If the Federal district appeal court en banc rejects the application, then appeal to the US Supreme court.
9. If the US Supreme court rejects the application, then appeal to the US Supreme court en banc.
10. If the US Supreme court en banc rejects the application, then whine, snivel, moan, groan, and carry on like any other 9 year old does when told that they can NOT have their 15th chocolate bar of the morning.

The Canadian practice is (essentially):

1. Make an application to the Provincial Supreme court.
2. If the Provincial Supreme court rejects the application, appeal to the Provincial Court of Appeal.
3. If the Provincial Court of Appeal rejects the application, appeal to the Provincial Court of Appeal en banc.
4. If the Provincial Court of Appeal rejects the application, appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
5. If the Supreme Court of Canada rejects the application, appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada en banc.
6. If the Supreme Court of Canada en banc rejects the application, shut up and soldier like any other adult does..

Isn't it completely obvious why the US practice is totally superior and more suited for Mr. Trump's purposes?

 

[RaleBulgarian]

I don't believe the judge is leading in that direction, but 'yes' - it is a possibility.

I hope you’re right.