Election fraud trial

Trump celebrates further success with stalling tactics

Trump wants to delay his trials for as long as possible.

(Bild: Getty Images/ Mary Altaffer-Pool)

Another legal success for former President Donald Trump: an appeals court will deal with the question of whether the lead prosecutor in the election fraud case against Trump in the US state of Georgia can continue her investigation. 

The court in Atlanta announced on Wednesday that it had granted a corresponding request by Trump. This is likely to delay the start of a possible trial. In March, a court ruled that public prosecutor Fani Willis did not have to be removed from the case. The judge responsible, Scott McAfee, ruled that the evidence provided by the other side was not sufficient to prove that Willis had a conflict of interest.

Ex-president wanted to overturn election
Trump and several other people have been charged in Georgia for their attempts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the state. The Republican had lost to Democrat Joe Biden at the time. Trump is accused of attempting to retrospectively change the election result by exerting pressure on political leaders in the federal government and in states such as Georgia.

Prosecutor Fani Willis has to wait.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Alex Slitz)

However, the focus of the proceedings in Georgia has recently been on prosecutor Willis. Lawyers for Trump and other defendants accused her of having unlawfully benefited financially from a relationship with another prosecutor in the case. The accusation was that prosecutor Nathan Wade was overpaid in his position and had invited Willis on luxury vacations together. Willis denied this. Judge McAfee ruled that the relationship gave rise to an "appearance of impropriety" and that this had to be dispelled. Wade then withdrew from the proceedings.

Postponement for an indefinite period
It remains to be seen when the Court of Appeal in Georgia will now make a decision. This can still be appealed to the state supreme court. If Willis is removed from the case, the proceedings could collapse.

Trump already achieved a legal success on Tuesday. In the affair surrounding the taking of secret government documents, the official start of the trial against him in Florida was postponed indefinitely. In total, Trump is accused in four criminal proceedings - in addition to the proceedings in Georgia and Florida, there is another election fraud trial in the US capital Washington and a hush money trial in New York. This is the only trial against Trump that has officially begun so far. For weeks, Trump has regularly sat in court for hours on end. After the US presidential election in November, he wants to move back into the White House.