Fani Willis disqualification hearings

[Juvenal]

The verdict is in.
.

[rogue06]

I cannot see how they can proceed with Fani still there even if they remove Wade (which undoubtedly will be the route they choose).

[CivilDiscourse]

I cannot see how they can proceed with Fani still there even if they remove Wade (which undoubtedly will be the route they choose).

She's not shown herself to have great judgement in these things.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/21/politics/georgia-fani-willis-trump-election-october-surprise/index.html

An Atlanta judge says he will ensure a report from the special grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia won’t be an “October surprise.”

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, in a hearing Thursday, also criticized District Attorney Fani Willis for hosting a fundraiser for a Democratic candidate running against one of the investigation’s potential targets.

“It’s a ‘What are you thinking?’ moment,” McBurney said. “The optics are horrific.”

Both statements could impact the future of the investigation into Trump and the 16 fake GOP electors who signed onto a plan to subvert the Electoral College in the presidential election.

All 16 have been notified they are now targets of the criminal investigation, and subpoenas have also been issued recently to members of Trump’s legal team overseeing the efforts in Georgia and other battleground states Trump lost. McBurney declined to quash subpoenas for 11 of the fake electors.

Thursday’s hearing turned on the efforts of one of the 16 – Georgia state Sen. Burt Jones – to disqualify Willis from any prosecution related to Jones due to Willis’ alleged conflict of interest and political bias.

Jones, a Republican, is currently running for lieutenant governor in Georgia against Democrat Charlie Bailey. Willis hosted a campaign fundraiser for Bailey last month and donated to his primary campaign earlier this year.

If Willis is not disqualified, Jones asked that any report from the special grand jury be sealed until after the November 8 election.

McBurney said it’d be very unlikely the report would come before then, promising that it would not be an “October surprise,” and that he would make sure it will not be released close to November’s election so that it’s not a conflict.

“There is no plan for a date right now, it’s not knowable,” McBurney said. “I would be shocked if there is a report before then,” he said, referring to November’s election.

The special grand jury does not have the power to issue indictments. Once its report is complete, Willis, the district attorney, would be able to take it to a regular grand jury should she choose. But McBurney, as the judge, has the say over how the report will be released.

© Copyright Original Source

If I were to make a prediction, I expect we'll see Wade go bye bye. First, it would likely be seen as too large a time delay to replace her whole office. And Second, I expect her ego as being the prosecutor to "bring down Trump" would lead her to sacrificing Wade to keep her name in the history books.

[oxmixmudd]

The verdict is in.
.

It is good the case can proceed. It is bad the DA has little more good judgement or self-control that the man she is prosecuting.

[rogue06]

She's not shown herself to have great judgement in these things.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/21/politics/georgia-fani-willis-trump-election-october-surprise/index.html

An Atlanta judge says he will ensure a report from the special grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia won’t be an “October surprise.”

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, in a hearing Thursday, also criticized District Attorney Fani Willis for hosting a fundraiser for a Democratic candidate running against one of the investigation’s potential targets.

“It’s a ‘What are you thinking?’ moment,” McBurney said. “The optics are horrific.”

Both statements could impact the future of the investigation into Trump and the 16 fake GOP electors who signed onto a plan to subvert the Electoral College in the presidential election.

All 16 have been notified they are now targets of the criminal investigation, and subpoenas have also been issued recently to members of Trump’s legal team overseeing the efforts in Georgia and other battleground states Trump lost. McBurney declined to quash subpoenas for 11 of the fake electors.

Thursday’s hearing turned on the efforts of one of the 16 – Georgia state Sen. Burt Jones – to disqualify Willis from any prosecution related to Jones due to Willis’ alleged conflict of interest and political bias.

Jones, a Republican, is currently running for lieutenant governor in Georgia against Democrat Charlie Bailey. Willis hosted a campaign fundraiser for Bailey last month and donated to his primary campaign earlier this year.

If Willis is not disqualified, Jones asked that any report from the special grand jury be sealed until after the November 8 election.

McBurney said it’d be very unlikely the report would come before then, promising that it would not be an “October surprise,” and that he would make sure it will not be released close to November’s election so that it’s not a conflict.

“There is no plan for a date right now, it’s not knowable,” McBurney said. “I would be shocked if there is a report before then,” he said, referring to November’s election.

The special grand jury does not have the power to issue indictments. Once its report is complete, Willis, the district attorney, would be able to take it to a regular grand jury should she choose. But McBurney, as the judge, has the say over how the report will be released.

© Copyright Original Source

If I were to make a prediction, I expect we'll see Wade go bye bye. First, it would likely be seen as too large a time delay to replace her whole office. And Second, I expect her ego as being the prosecutor to "bring down Trump" would lead her to sacrificing Wade to keep her name in the history books.

If she and her team were disqualified the natural choice would be to move to another jurisdiction in order to avoid too much delay. Granted they'd need time to get up to speed -- but so would those who replaced her whole office, in addition to the time needed to find and make those replacements.

My money is on Wade being thrown under the bus.

[Juvenal]

If she and her team were disqualified the natural choice would be to move to another jurisdiction in order to avoid too much delay. Granted they'd need time to get up to speed -- but so would those who replaced her whole office, in addition to the time needed to find and make those replacements.

My money is on Wade being thrown under the bus.

The natural progression would be for the case to be referred to the Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia for appointment of a special prosecutor.

Who Will Investigate One of Georgia’s Most Ambitious Politicians in the Trump Case?
The investigation of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was delayed after a judge blocked the Fulton County district attorney from conducting it. Nobody has been tapped to take over.
.

Since the indictment of former President Donald J. Trump and 18 of his allies last summer on election interference charges in Georgia, a delicate question has gone unanswered: Would criminal charges also be coming for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a longtime Trump supporter and one of the most ambitious politicians in the Southern swing state?

Mr. Jones was one of the 16 Republicans who acted as fake electors for Mr. Trump in Georgia in an effort to overturn his 2020 defeat. Three of them are charged with felonies, including violating the state racketeering law.

But in 2022, a judge blocked the Fulton County district attorney who led the investigation, Fani T. Willis, from developing a case against Mr. Jones, citing a conflict of interest because she had headlined a fund-raiser for a Democratic who became his rival in the lieutenant governor’s race.

It is now up to a state agency called the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia to find a special prosecutor to investigate Mr. Jones, who has denied any wrongdoing. The head of the agency, Peter J. Skandalakis, has for months said little about the selection process.

In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Skandalakis, a Republican and former district attorney, confirmed that he would unilaterally choose the prosecutor for the Jones case. He said he had already ruled out some district attorneys, either because their staffs were too small to take on the extra work or because choosing them might seem overly partisan.

Willis was blocked from investigating Jones on July 25, 2022.

Since then, Mr. Skandalakis has issued regular statements that he's diligently seeking a special prosecutor. Selection has been hampered by concerns about partisanship and by lack of resources.
.

All of Georgia’s 50 district attorneys are elected in partisan contests. Mr. Skandalakis could try to find a private lawyer to take the case to diffuse partisan tensions. But the law, he said, would limit him from paying an outside lawyer more than $70 per hour.

So if the case against Trump et al. is to proceed, there's no real choice other than Willis' team in Atlanta.

[Juvenal]

Fani Willis can stay on Trump Georgia case, judge rules, as Wade resigns
.

ATLANTA — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against former president Donald Trump and his allies ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) may continue with the prosecution but only if Nathan Wade, the lead prosecutor she appointed and had a romantic relationship with, exited the case. Hours later, Wade resigned, citing his commitment to “democracy” and making sure the case moves forward “as quickly as possible.”

[Mountain Man]

The entire case should be tossed based on prosecutorial misconduct. It's all fruit from a poison tree at this point.

[Starlight]

The entire case should be tossed based on prosecutorial misconduct. It's all fruit from a poison tree at this point.

"Trump, who I hero-worship, should be allowed to get away with all crimes, because other people are bad."

[Stoic]

So if the case against Trump et al. is to proceed, there's no real choice other than Willis' team in Atlanta.

Not to mention, Wade can easily be replaced, if a replacement is even necessary.

Willis is also unlikely to delay the case by seeking an external replacement for Wade.

"There are several other assistant district attorneys who have been working on this case, who are more than capable of taking over as lead prosecutor," Pines said. "There is no need to look further than her own office to prosecute this case."

Former federal prosecutor and elected state attorney Michael McAuliffe agreed, telling Newsweek that the prosecution is "fully capable of proceeding without delay." And Wilson added that with Atlanta lawyer John Floyd on the prosecution, Willis' office should already have the best of the best working on the case.

"I'm not sure why she would try to find a replacement," Wilson said. "John Floyd is on the team, and he literally wrote the book on RICO. He should be more than qualified to handle such a case."

source

[Mountain Man]

"Trump, who I hero-worship, should be allowed to get away with all crimes, because other people are bad."

You do love your straw men, don't you?

[rogue06]

So if the case against Trump et al. is to proceed, there's no real choice other than Willis' team in Atlanta.

She is corrupt. Period. Unfit. Period.

If necessary, they need to start over with a new prosecutor. That this is the case is not the fault of OMB no matter how one tries to spin it (and no, I'm not saying that's what you are doing).