Appeals court cancels DA disqualification arguments in Georgia election interference case

ATLANTA — The Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday, without explanation, canceled the scheduled Dec. 5 oral arguments over whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his allies.

The decision took many attorneys involved in the appeal by surprise. It simply said the arguments were canceled “until further order of this court.”

“It’s not something you normally see,” said Marietta attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who brought the initial motion to recuse Willis because of her romantic relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

“They could reschedule it,” she said. “It could mean they don’t need to hear oral arguments and can decide it on the merits.”

The court also could have made its decision because Trump was recently elected to be the 47th president of the U.S. and is to take the oath of office on Jan. 20. It was recently disclosed that Trump’s lead Atlanta attorney, Steve Sadow, was preparing to ask the appeals court to dismiss the case outright because Trump is about to return to the White House.

Trump is one of nine defendants appealing Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s decision in which he said Willis could only continue prosecuting the case if Wade was no longer a member of the team. Although Wade immediately stepped down, Trump and eight co-defendants appealed the decision to the state appeals court. The court did not have to accept the discretionary appeal, but in May it decided to hear it.

Sadow declined comment, as did attorney Craig Gillen, who represents former state GOP chair David Shafer in the election case. Fulton DA’s office spokesman Jeff DiSantis also declined to comment.

The appeal is being overseen by a three-judge panel consisting of Trent Brown, Benjamin Land and Todd Markle. As recently as Oct. 23, the panel agreed to requests to extend the length of oral arguments to one hour a side. But whether they occur now remains to be seen.

Merchant, who represents former Trump campaign aide Michael Roman, said the appeals court scheduled oral arguments in the contempt of court case involving lawyer Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, but then abruptly canceled the arguments. The court then issued a ruling finding that the judge who had been overseeing the Young Slime Life trial had erred in holding Steel in contempt.

“This sure is similar,” said Merchant, who represented Steel. “Maybe they will decide the case without arguments, but I don’t know.”

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