CNN
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Former special counsel Nathan Wade says he “absolutely” believes Donald Trump will be tried in Georgia for 2020 election interference, even if Trump wins a second term and is in the White House at that point.
Wade resigned from the case in March amid allegations of an inappropriate romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, but in an exclusive interview with CNN’s “The Source,” he said he remains close friends with Willis.
The question of whether a sitting U.S. president can be tried on state-level criminal charges has never been litigated before. Wade said in an interview Wednesday that he expects prosecutors and lawyers would have to confront this unprecedented scenario if Trump wins the 2024 election.
Asked if it was possible that Trump could be tried in the Peach State during his second term, Wade said, “I believe that could happen.”
“I don’t think that’s a good thing for the rest of the world, but I certainly don’t think there’s anything that would prevent it from happening,” Wade said.
Wade’s interview came after a Georgia appeals court stayed the election interference conspiracy case against Trump and co-conspirators until the judges decide whether Willis should be removed from the case. Trump, who has sought to postpone the legal challenge until at least 2025, has argued that her affair with Wade also disqualifies her.
The court’s recent order to pause the case is the latest sign that the trial won’t take place before the November presidential election. The appeals court is expected to rule on the disqualification issue by March 2025, but could rule sooner.
In new papers filed Wednesday, Willis asked the state Court of Appeals to dismiss his appeal of Judge Scott McAfee’s original order for “insufficient evidence.”
“With this case now on the docket, the State of Georgia, through District Attorney Fani T. Willis of the Judicial District of Atlanta, moves to dismiss the appeal as prematurely granted because there is insufficient evidence to support the vacating of the order at issue based on the trial court’s clear findings of fact,” the district attorney’s office filing read.
This story has been updated with additional reports.
