The Georgia Court of Appeals halted the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants until a ruling is made on whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can prosecute it—all but ensuring the case will not go to trial ahead of the November election.
The decision to halt former President Donald Trump's Georgia case until a decision is made in the ... [+]
Wednesday’s decision prevents the case from moving forward until the court rules on Trump’s appeal that Willis should be disqualified over a relationship she had with a prosecutor on her team, which Trump’s lawyers alleged was a conflict of interest and violation of public money laws.
Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March that Willis did not need to be disqualified, but that she or the prosecutor she had a relationship with should step down from the case, which prosecutor Nathan Wade did promptly; Trump then appealed the decision.
Earlier this week, the appeals court scheduled a hearing in the appeal for Oct. 4, and it will have until mid-March 2025 to issue a ruling on whether Willis can continue on in the case—meaning it’s highly unlikely that the case will begin before the Nov. 8 presidential election.
McAfee had previously ruled that proceedings in the case, like the hearing of pretrial motions, could continue while Trump appealed his decision, CNN reported.
This story is breaking and will be updated.