Judge Scott McAfee’s ruling against Fani Willis is “not a good look” for the district attorney’s office and amounts to a major gift for the defense, CNN legal analyst Michael Moore said Friday.
McAfee declined to disqualify Willis from the case, but declared she or special prosecutor Nathan Wade must step down from the case to resolve an “appearance of impropriety” related to an alleged financial conflict of interest. The judge’s decision reflects poorly on the prosecution and Willis will likely face more legal pushback, Moore said on “CNN News Central.”
“This was a self-inflicted wound that should have been healed and taken care of months ago,” Moore said. “But basically they just let it get infected now to this place where the district attorney has been called by a court that she has to practice in front of and her office has to practice in front of, she’s been called now unprofessional. And this frankly … is a gift to the defense, I believe, as they will use this as they talk about whether or not the case has merit or whether or not it was brought for other reasons, whether or not it’s a professional prosecutor and all that. We’re going to hear all that down the road.”
“But we’re also going to hear, I expect, comments from the Georgia legislature, as they have moved forward with their panel inquiry into her conduct,” Moore added. “We’re going to hear now this finding echoed around the halls of Congress by the likes of people like Jim Jordan and things like that. So this is not a good day for the state and it’s not a good look for the state.”
McAfee found that defendants had “failed to meet their burden of proving that the District Attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest in this case through her personal relationship and recurring travels with her lead prosecutor.” However, he asserted the record “highlights a significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team,” stating that Wade must either withdraw or Willis and her whole office can decide to step aside.
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman alleged in a Jan. 8 motion that Willis financially benefited from appointing Wade to the case because of the lavish outings they undertook using funds the special prosecutor’s law firm received from Fulton County. The district attorney may also face a referral to the bar, legal experts have said.
“I don’t think politically she’s got to worry,” Moore said. “I mean, she’s in a democratic county. She’s liked by many people in her personal and professional capacity. I don’t think she’s got to worry about whether or not somebody runs against her and uses this as some big trumpet that they’re going to beat her at the polls. This is about how the case looks going forward and now whether or not when a representation is made by the state in court, whether or not the judge believes that, and so this paints the entire picture.”
Moore also said the case will likely not be decided before the election in November regardless of who prosecutes it.
