Fani Willis begs court to throw out Trump’s motion to remove her from his case

Willis argued that she should be allowed to continue as lead prosecutor in the case because her secret lover Nathan Wade resigned as special prosecutor after Judge Scott McAfee decided in March that only one of them could remain on the case.

Trump's legal team said the embattled district attorney's motion is a "last ditch effort to stop any appellate review of DA Willis' misconduct."

Willis's Office argued in court documents that Judge McAfee's "concern with any potential 'questions' stemmed from Wade's continued presence in the case, a concern that was addressed when Wade withdrew." The defendants' "remaining evidence therefore relates to possible concerns about future appearances of impropriety that can no longer even come to pass," the court filing stated.

Judge McAfee was highly critical of Willis and Wade when he made his decision after hearing conflict of interest arguments about their secret relationship. Willis hired Wade as a special prosecutor on the 2020 election case against Trump and 18 co-defendants - in which they have been accused of attempting to overturn state election results - despite having a romantic relationship.

It was later revealed that Willis financially benefitted from dating Wade, who treated her to exotic vacations after raking in a lucrative salary on the case. However, the duo refuted allegations that they financially benefited from the case.

According to Willis' office, the arguments supporting the motion to disqualify her were rendered "a room without walls" after McAfee disregarded the testimony of star witness Terrance Bradley, Wade's former law partner and divorce attorney, due to credibility concerns.

Steve Sadow, Trump's lawyer, slammed the district attorney's motion and said it was "a last ditch effort to stop any appellate review of DA Willis' misconduct," adding that "the State's motion deliberately failed to mention that Judge McAfee's ruling stated an 'order of mendacity remains' from the hearing testimony by the DA and the State's witnesses. The judge also said there were 'reasonable questions' as to whether Willis and former prosecutor Wade testified untruthfully."

"The State has tried this gambit before with no success," he added.

The criminal case against Trump was suspended by the Court of Appeals last week until the higher court issues a decision regarding the petition to disqualify Willis. The trial against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will not proceed until appellate arguments are heard, which are tentatively scheduled for October 4.