New Laws, Court Rulings Pile Up Against DA Fani Willis as Trump Election Case Collapses

District Attorney Fani Willis of Fulton County, Georgia, has faced yet another major setback—including being disqualified from prosecuting the high-profile election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others.

Disqualification Over Personal Relationship

The trouble began when it came to light that Willis had assigned her romantic partner, Nathan Wade, as the lead prosecutor in the case. In December, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that the mere appearance of bias required her removal—even without proof of an actual conflict of interest. While the court didn’t dismiss the case in its entirety, it stripped Willis and her team of prosecutorial authority in the matter.

Willis has appealed to the state Supreme Court, arguing in her January filing that no prior Georgia court has disqualified a district attorney based only on an appearance issue, without demonstrable misconduct. As of now, the Supreme Court has yet to decide whether it will hear the appeal.

New State Law Targets Prosecutorial Misconduct

Meanwhile, Governor Brian Kemp—who is a Republican—has signed into law Senate Bill 244, prompted by the controversy surrounding the Trump case. The new measure requires the state to reimburse defendants for legal expenses if a prosecutor is disqualified for misconduct and the charges against those defendants are eventually dropped.

Steven Sadow—Trump’s defense attorney in the case—called the law a crucial step forward. He told media outlets that it “represents a major turning point in holding unethical, opportunistic, and deceitful prosecutors accountable for their misconduct.”

Under the new law, qualified defendants are entitled to “all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred” if the prosecutor is later removed for misconduct and charges are dismissed. However, in Trump’s case, the charges have not yet been dismissed, so reimbursement isn’t yet on the table, regardless of the substantial legal fees—reportedly over $4 million—that his team has already incurred.

Senator Bradley Beach, the law’s sponsor, acknowledged that the high-profile nature of the Trump prosecution helped spur the legislation.

Additional Sanctions and Legal Challenges

Willis’s troubles extend beyond the election case. In March, she was ordered to pay more than $54,000 in legal costs after her office failed to comply with records requests. The judge ruled that her office acted in “bad faith” when withholding documents from defense counsel Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Trump aide Michael Roman, also a defendant in the election interference case.

This noncompliance stemmed from Merchant’s repeated requests under Georgia’s Open Records Act. The court found that the DA’s office had approached her requests differently—improperly—compared to others, revealing an “open hostility” to her inquiries.

A Tumultuous Case Collapsed by Ethics Concerns

Since bringing charges in 2023 against Trump and 18 others for allegedly plotting to subvert Georgia’s 2020 election results, Willis has repeatedly come under scrutiny. After the disqualification ruling, her case has lost a key prosecutorial force—and momentum has stalled. Trump, who has consistently denounced the case as politically motivated, welcomed the court’s decision and used it to bolster his claims of bias.

Willis has attempted to defend her handling of the matter, arguing that enforcing election accountability and maintaining prosecutorial independence shouldn’t hinge on personal relationships. Critics, however, argue that the optics of hiring a romantic partner to lead a politically explosive case was ill-advised and undermined public confidence.

Together, the disqualification, legal injunctions, and new state law have created a ripple effect. Pending appeals, further legal developments, and whether the Supreme Court will review Willis’s disqualification have made clear that the case—once among the most watched prosecutions in the nation—has become mired in procedural and ethical controversy.

What’s Next

If the Georgia Supreme Court upholds the disqualification, Willis will remain off the Trump case for good. Defense lawyers anticipate pushing to have the charges dismissed or, at a minimum, seek reimbursement under the new law if dismissal occurs.

Should the high court side with Willis and reinstate her authority, it could reopen contentious debates over prosecutorial ethics, judicial discretion, and political influence. Until then, the case stands at a crossroads—and tells a cautionary story about what a personal relationship and ethical oversight can do to even the most powerful prosecutions.