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Georgia prosecutors have requested a 90-day extension to nominate a brand new lawyer within the election interference case in opposition to President Donald Trump and 14 co-defendants, citing a heavy backlog and the case’s complexity.
The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia has been tasked with changing Fulton County District Lawyer Fani Willis after she was completely sidelined from prosecuting the case in opposition to final month.
The council’s govt director, Pete Skandalakis, filed an extension request on Friday to call a district lawyer professional tempore, writing that stated the case file is so giant that PACGA doesn’t count on to obtain it for about 4 weeks, that means an appointment might not come till January or February 2026.
President Donald Trump (left) and Fulton County District Lawyer Fani Willis (proper). Prosecutors in Georgia are looking for extra time to nominate a brand new lawyer after Willis was disqualified from dealing with Trump’s election interference case. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Pictures; Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Pictures)
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Skandalakis requested the court docket for as much as 90 days after receiving the complete case file to make that appointment.
He stated the council is at present managing 21 pending appointments and has dealt with 448 battle referrals statewide to this point this yr.
“Because of the complexity of this case and the huge personnel and assets required to deal with a case of this nature, it would require time to hunt a District Lawyer Professional Tempore prepared to tackle this prosecution,” the movement reads.
“With out having the file, the undersigned can’t intelligently reply questions of anybody requested to take the appointment or to do his personal diligence find a prosecutor who isn’t encumbered by a big look of impropriety,” the movement provides.
The request got here three days after a Fulton County decide warned that the case could possibly be dismissed “for need of prosecution” until a substitute prosecutor was named or an extension was requested inside 14 days, in response to Fox Atlanta.
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Whereas some early motions and hearings targeted on Trump personally, the ultimate disqualification utilized to the whole case introduced underneath the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act — not simply to Trump’s particular person counts.
The brand new movement lists all 15 defendants, together with Trump, his private lawyer Rudy Giuliani, constitutional legislation professor John Eastman, and former White Home Chief of Workers Mark Meadows, amongst others. 4 defendants have already pleaded responsible within the case.
A Georgia decide has dominated that state lawmakers can subpoena Fulton County District Lawyer Fani Willis as a part of an inquiry into whether or not she has engaged in misconduct throughout her prosecution of Trump. (Alyssa Pointer)
The Georgia Courtroom of Appeals in December dominated that Willis and her workplace couldn’t proceed to prosecute the case, citing an “look of impropriety” stemming from her romantic relationship with particular prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Willis appealed to the Georgia Supreme Courtroom in January, however final month the excessive court docket declined in a 4-3 choice to take up the case. One decide didn’t take part and one other was disqualified.
Skandalakis stated final month that after a brand new prosecutor is appointed it will likely be “as much as her or him what to do with the case.”
That particular person might proceed on the observe Willis had taken, pursue just some fees, or dismiss the case altogether. Discovering a prosecutor prepared to deal with it could possibly be troublesome, given its complexity and the assets required.
Even when a brand new prosecutor tries to observe Willis’ path, it appears unlikely Trump could possibly be prosecuted now that he’s the sitting president.
Willis’ indictment accused Trump of pressuring officers to overturn the 2020 vote in Georgia, organizing “faux electors” and harassing election staff.
Then Fulton County Particular Prosecutor Nathan Wade testifies throughout a listening to within the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump on the Fulton County Courthouse on Feb. 15, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. The Georgia Courtroom of Appeals in December dominated that Willis and her workplace couldn’t proceed to prosecute the case, citing an “look of impropriety” stemming from her romantic relationship with Wade. (Alyssa Pointer)
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A Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others in August 2023, and Trump surrendered on the Fulton County Jail on Aug. 24. That’s when the now-famous mugshot was taken — the primary ever for a U.S. president.
Throughout the Georgia case, it got here to mild that Willis was in a romantic relationship with Wade, the particular prosecutor she had employed to assist lead the case.
The pair finally acknowledged the connection however argued it had no affect on the prosecution. Wade later resigned, however the controversy continued and the Courtroom of Appeals dominated Willis and her complete workplace needed to be disqualified as a result of look of impropriety.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
