Lawyers defending former President Trump in the Georgia election interference case accused Fulton County DA Fani Willis of making racially charged accusations that could prejudice a future jury and asked a judge to disqualify her and dismiss the case, reports the Washington Post. The motion comes more than two weeks after Trump co-defendant Mike Roman alleged that Willis appointed Nathan Wade to serve as lead prosecutor in the case while being in a romantic relationship with him. Willis offered her only public comments on the controversy a week later in a 35-minute speech at the Big Bethel AME Church, accusing her critics of attacking her and Wade because they are Black. She did not mention Roman or any other defendants by name.
Willis’s comments, Trump’s lawyers wrote, “constitute a glaring, flagrant, and calculated effort to foment racial bias into this case" that will "engender a great likelihood of substantial prejudice towards the defendants.” They also wrote that Willis’s comments violated Georgia’s rules of professional conduct. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the election interference case, has scheduled a Feb. 15 evidentiary hearing on the accusations. The allegations against the prosecutors could undermine public confidence in Willis’s prosecution of Trump. McAfee has ordered Willis to respond to Roman’s claims in writing by Feb. 2. The subpoenas are expected to be filed in the coming days. Willis, Wade and other staff at the district attorney’s office are among those likely to receive summonses for the Feb. 15 hearing.
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