The much-anticipated ruling on whether Fani T. Willis should be disqualified from prosecuting former President Donald J. Trump and 14 of his allies in Georgia came on Friday, requiring her to make an unusual decision.
Wade, a former boyfriend, withdraws from the case, which she hired him to manage.
For much of this year, headlines and hearings delving into the romantic relationship between the two prosecutors have overshadowed the case itself, in which the defendants are charged with conspiring to thwart the will of Georgia voters after Mr. Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.
Defense lawyers brought to light the relationship between the prosecutors, saying it had created an untenable conflict of interest.
But Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton Superior Court rejected that argument on Friday, while sharply criticizing Ms. Willis for a “tremendous lapse in judgment.”
Persons:
Willis, Donald J, Trump, Nathan J, Wade, Scott McAfee, ”
Organizations:
Fulton Superior Court
Locations:
Georgia, Fulton County ,, Fulton