Defense attorney tells MSBNC that judge pulling DA Willis from Trump case could be ‘death knell’ for case

Federal criminal defense attorney Caroline Polisi said on Wednesday Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis’ prosecution of former President Trump could be the “death knell” if she is removed from the case.

While speaking to MSNBC anchor Ana Cabrera, the attorney acknowledged that the case would still be ongoing if Willis was disqualified from it by Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee because of her alleged affair with Nathan Wade, a prosecutor she hired for the case. However, she predicted that it could lose all momentum once it was reassigned to another governing body.

Polisi made the claim as Willis’ Georgia election interference case was hit by another string of setbacks, with McAfee throwing out six counts against Trump. 

McAfee said in an order Wednesday that the state failed to allege sufficient detail for six counts of “solicitation of violation of oath by public officer.”

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Federal defense attorney Caroline Polisi told MSNBC on Wednesday that D.A. Fani Willis being removed from her case to prosecute former President Trump could be the “death knell” for the case. 

Cabrera prompted Polisi, wondering if this news would have any influence or connection to McAfee’s potential decision barring Willis from the case for the inappropriate relationship she had allegedly had with Wade.

The host stated, “I just wonder if [McAfee] would go there. If he would dismiss charges if he’s planning to throw out the case or remove it from Fani Willis altogether as we await that decision over the question about whether there was misconduct with her relationship with Nathan Wade.”

Polisi replied by clarifying that both the judge tossing the charges and Willis’ alleged misconduct are completely separate and will be dealt with accordingly. She also noted that the case wouldn’t be kaput just because it was reassigned from Willis.

“It shouldn’t have anything to do with it,” the attorney told Cabrera, adding, “These are completely distinct legal issues, and certainly his decision on the disqualification, as we all know, does not kill the case in and of itself. He wouldn’t dismiss the indictment. It would just be reassigned to sort of a governing body in Georgia to then be reassigned.”

However, she noted this transfer could derail the case against Trump altogether, saying, “I myself feel, and many other people feel that that would, in effect, essentially be the death knell for this case because, uh, you know, another time when Fani Willis was, um, removed from a case for ­– in this very case – for a conflict of interest, that case is still languishing at that body.”

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Scott McAfee, Fulton County superior court judge, at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The judge overseeing Fulton County’s prosecution of Donald Trump and others over his alleged effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election held a two-day hearing to determine whether he should disqualify Fani Willis over claims she gained a financial and personal benefit from her romantic relationship with the lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade.  (Alyssa Pointer)

As NBC News reported at the time, Willis was disqualified in 2022 from prosecuting a Republican state senator who was running for lieutenant governor for conspiring to flip the 2020 election results as a “fake elector” because she had hosted a fundraiser for his Democratic opponent.

Polisi told Cabrera that that case “hasn’t been reassigned yet.” Citing that as an example of what could happen with Willis’ case against Trump, she added, “I don’t know that there are many other prosecutors in the state of Georgia that would want to take on this case, that have the resources, the expertise.” 

She added, “And so, this, you know, could be sort of death by a thousand cuts for this case.”

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