Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee was randomly assigned to oversee the racketeering case against former president Donald Trump and a cast of close advisers and allies who are accused of plotting to overthrow a legitimate election to keep Trump in power.
But the case has mostly been on hold for the past two months after one of Trump’s co-defendants accused Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) of hiring a “boyfriend” to lead the investigation and taking “vacations across the world” that he paid for, a claim Willis has vigorously denied. McAfee held an evidentiary hearing on the allegations that stretched more than 20 hours over four days and was broadcast live, including on McAfee’s courtroom YouTube channel.
Now he must decide what to do.
McAfee has given few hints on which way he’s leaning but has promised a decision by Friday.
“An order like this takes time to write. There’s a lot that I have to go through,” McAfee said in a local radio interview last week, adding that he already had a rough draft. “I am calling it as best I can and the law as I understand it.”
McAfee’s ruling is likely to be a career-defining moment for the 34-year-old rookie judge. His decision, whatever it is, will almost certainly be questioned by pundits and legal analysts because of its implications for Trump’s 2024 bid for the White House. And it is sure to draw political attacks — and probably harassment and threats — in an already contentious election year in which he, Willis and Trump will each be on the ballot.
Disqualifying Willis and her team of prosecutors would almost certainly delay, if not outright end the criminal case against Trump, one of four he faces. Allowing Willis to stay on the case is sure to spark defense requests for appeal — which McAfee would have to approve — and anger Trump’s supporters. Prosecutors have argued “mere appearance” should not be the standard for Willis’s removal, while defense attorneys have argued that’s more than enough.
The effort to remove Willis has unfolded like a legal soap opera, as embarrassing details emerged from Willis’s life and attorneys on both sides accused one another of lies and unethical conduct. A days-long evidentiary hearing included discussions of stockpiles of cash, tropical cruises and Willis’s preference of Grey Goose vodka over wine.
In a proceeding that seems almost tailored for high drama, McAfee has emerged in his own distinctive role — the youngest member of the Fulton County bench who has enjoyed a meteoric rise on the Georgia legal scene since he passed the bar a little over a decade ago. The mild-mannered judge has become quickly known for his calm, almost opaque demeanor in wrangling the sprawling case with its array of colorful defendants and lawyers with big, often clashing personalities that would test even the most experienced members of the judiciary.
The judge is already familiar with some of the players. One of McAfee’s earliest jobs was prosecuting homicides in the Fulton County district attorney’s office where Willis, at one point, was his supervisor. Willis confirmed in an interview with The Washington Post last year that McAfee had been one of her “baby attorneys” and was “immensely talented.”
McAfee, who also worked as a federal prosecutor, was appointed to the bench last year by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R). Lawyers on both sides of the election case have privately praised McAfee as an intelligent and thoughtful judge who so far has been fair about allowing all sides…
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