Judge McAfee's Upcoming Election Adds 'New Dimension' to Trump Georgia Case

Judge Scott McAfee presides during final arguments in the District Attorney Fani Willis disqualification hearing at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. He must run for reelection this month.

Judge Scott McAfee’s requirement to run for reelection in Georgia could “add a whole new dimension” to Donald Trump’s election interference case in the state, a former U.S. attorney has said.

McAfee, a Superior Court judge in Fulton County, will rule in the case against the former president and 18 others—who are accused in a 41-count indictment of trying to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia—when it goes to trial.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges against him and has said the case is politically motivated because he is the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination.

The case has been delayed thanks to a hearing that will determine whether Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney prosecuting Trump, should remain on the case after Michael Roman, a former Trump staffer and co-defendant, accused her in a court filing of having an affair with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor.

He also alleged the pair benefited financially from taxpayers’ money, as Wade has earned more than $650,000 from the district attorney’s office since he began working on the case and has paid, the filing said, for vacations for the couple.

Roman’s attorneys have argued that the relationship between the district attorney and the special prosecutor is a conflict of interest, and that Willis should be removed from the case and the charges against Roman dropped.

Though Willis and Wade have admitted to having a personal relationship, they have denied a conflict of interest, saying the relationship did not begin until after Wade was appointed to the case. They have also denied the allegation of financial impropriety.

McAfee, who is presiding over the hearing, will decide whether to remove Willis from the case.

Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor, said in her legal blog Civil Discourse Sunday that McAfee’s role in Georgia may also attract interest.

McAfee was appointed to the bench in 2023 by Brian Kemp, Georgia’s Republican governor, to fill a vacancy and must run for election this year.

“Presumably, Judge McAfee will run for reelection, which may add a whole new dimension to the past few weeks of theatrics in the Fulton County case,” Vance wrote.

Newsweek called the Superior Court of Fulton County for comment. A member of staff said they would relay a message to McAfee.

McAfee was Georgia’s inspector general from 2021 to 2023. He also previously served as a senior assistant district attorney in Fulton County and as an assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

His campaign website says: “Scott is running for election in 2024 so that he can continue serving our community by clearing the COVID backlog, giving everyone their fair day in court, and keeping our community safe.”

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