Co-defendant in Georgia Appeals Ruling from Fani Willis

A co-defendant in the Georgia criminal trial involving former President Donald Trump is appealing a judge’s decision to allow Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue in the case.

In a Friday filing at Fulton County Superior Court, attorneys said co-defendant Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official, was appealing Judge Scott McAfee’s decision not to disqualify Willis.

The Georgia Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over the appeal.

Roman’s filing came after the state’s appeals court on Wednesday agreed to hear former President Donald Trump’s bid to disqualify Willis due to an “improper” relationship with then-special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

The appellate court’s decision to hear the appeal before trial could cause further delays in the case, one of four criminal prosecutions Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is facing as he seeks to unseat Democrat President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election.

Trump and 18 co-defendants have been accused of trying to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia.

McAfee ruled March 15 that Trump and his co-defendants “failed to meet their burden” of proving that the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade was a “conflict of interest” or that Willis benefited from it.

However, citing “significant appearance of impropriety,” the judge said Willis must step aside from the Georgia election interference case or remove special prosecutor Wade before the case could proceed.

Soon thereafter, Wade offered his resignation in a letter to Willis, saying he was doing so “in the interest of democracy.”

Willis’ relationship with Wade became an issue in January after Roman filed a motion stating that the two attorneys have been “profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of taxpayers,” Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Reuters contributed to this story.