ABC senior investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky responded to Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis being allowed to stay on Donald Trump’s Georgia prosecution provided her former lover Nathan Wade resigns on Saturday’s Good Morning America by labeling the whole situation as “bizarre” and simply part of her “personal life.”
Katersky began his report in studio by declaring that Willis’s “ex-boyfriend is now off the case, but the district attorney who is prosecuting Donald Trump in Georgia for election interference remains after a rather bizarre detour through her personal life and a really unflattering report from the judge.”
During his recorded report, Katersky reported, “This morning, Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis survives a two-month attempt by Donald Trump and some of his co-defendants to get her disqualified. They argued her romance with another prosecutor she hired for the case created a conflict of interest. Judge Scott McAfee decided ‘Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices,’ but made clear he thought Willis dating Nathan Wade showed a ‘tremendous lapse in judgement’ and created such ‘a significant appearance of impropriety’ he required Wade to withdraw if Willis wanted to stay.”
Katersky also reported that “Hours later, Wade resigned ‘to move this case forward as quickly as possible.’ But there is no trial date set and defense attorney Scott Grubman told ABC affiliate WSB there could be an appeal.”
If there is a conflict of interest or a “significant appearance of impropriety,” then it is not a “bizarre detour” into Willis’s “personal life.” She made her private life public by hiring Wade. The defense didn’t force her to do that, she made a choice, and if that causes the trial to be delayed, then she has nobody to blame but herself.
Here is a transcript for the March 16 show:
ABC Good Morning America
3/16/2024
7:09 AM ET
AARON KATERSKY: Good morning, Whit. Her ex-boyfriend is now off the case, but the district attorney who is prosecuting Donald Trump in Georgia for election interference remains after a rather bizarre detour through her personal life and a really unflattering report from the judge.
This morning, Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis survives a two-month attempt by Donald Trump and some of his co-defendants to get her disqualified. They argued her romance with another prosecutor she hired for the case created a conflict of interest. Judge Scott McAfee decided “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices,” but made clear he thought Willis dating Nathan Wade showed a “tremendous lapse in judgement” and created such “a significant appearance of impropriety” he required Wade to withdraw if Willis wanted to stay.
Hours later, Wade resigned “to move this case forward as quickly as possible.” But there is no trial date set and defense attorney Scott Grubman told ABC affiliate WSB there could be an appeal.