'Wholly disqualified': Judge blocks Fani Willis from returning to Trump case in battle over nearly $17 million in legal fees

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has mislaid yet different ineligible conflict arsenic a justice successful Georgia rejected her effort to effort and intervene successful a lawsuit worthy immoderate $16.85 cardinal successful attorneys fees.

President Donald Trump and respective erstwhile co-defendants successful the long-aborted racketeering (RICO) lawsuit brought by Willis precocious filed motions to recoup ineligible expenses nether a caller Peach State law.

That law, passed successful 2025, entitles defendants to a monetary grant if a authoritative is disqualified for "improper conduct."

The statute aligning with Willis's disqualification is neither a enigma nor an accident. In the Georgia authorities legislature, Republican allies of the 45th and 47th president passed SB 224 aft the prosecutor's lawsuit against Trump unraveled passim 2024.

Earlier this year, Trump's ineligible squad availed themselves of the rights established nether that instrumentality – offering 200 pages of invoices and billable hours totaling immoderate $6.26 cardinal for lawyers and different vendors employed successful beating the predetermination interference case.

Several different erstwhile co-defendants filed their ain motions successful excess of $10.79 cardinal spent defending against the RICO charges brought by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.

The elected authoritative was formally removed from overseeing the years-old lawsuit successful late December 2024, though advancement had stalled respective months before. On beingness enactment successful the appellate realm, the RICO prosecution lingered on, successful neutered form, for months.

In November 2025, the lawsuit was yet and everlastingly shuttered successful "the interests of justice" by the authoritative appointed successful Willis's absence.

That dismissal acceptable the signifier for the assorted recoupment motions.

"This dismissal paves the mode for the grant of tenable lawyer fees and litigation expenses," Trump's question reads. "Each of the indispensable elements person been met: DA Willis was disqualified based upon improper conduct, the transgression lawsuit was dismissed, and the transgression lawsuit was pending erstwhile the statute went into effect."

Willis pushed back, asking Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to intervene and situation the claimed "costs and fees."

In her question to enactment the proceedings, Willis pointed retired that the statute itself is "new and unchallenged" and "prescribes nary process different than a seat trial." The DA mused astir "errors successful the proceedings" that mightiness hap without a prosecutor's "participation."

"Without involution by the District Attorney, immoderate grant would interruption basal cardinal notions of owed process by denying her an accidental to beryllium heard oregon adjacent situation the reasonableness of the claimed lawyer fees earlier it is taken from her budget," Willis argued.

But the prosecutor's efforts were to nary avail.

On Monday, McAfee ruled that since Willis was "wholly disqualified" successful the underlying case, she cannot inject herself successful an ancillary facet of the lawsuit to support the interests of the territory attorney's office.

"[T]he question to intervene is denied," the bid reads.

The seat proceedings implicit the imaginable payments, however, volition not beryllium a cakewalk for the parties angling to beryllium paid. The state's Prosecuting Attorneys' Council (PAC) took implicit the lawsuit erstwhile Willis was removed and volition "adequately represent" the office's interests, McAfee found.

The justice besides determined Fulton County itself – a abstracted administrative entity from the DA's bureau – is allowed to intervene.

That's due to the fact that the region provides the "overwhelming root of funding" for the DA's office, McAfee noted, adding the "financial subordinate appears apt successful immoderate signifier to yet halt astatine the county's desk."

As for the arguments Willis raised successful her enactment motion, the tribunal recovered Willis would person to reprise and support the aforesaid decisions that led to her removal from the lawsuit by the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Ultimately, the determination implicit the magnitude claimed by the 14 antithetic defendants volition beryllium up to the judge, who acknowledged that everyone progressive is operating connected wholly caller territory.

"Novelty abounds," McAfee wrote.

Trump's pb lawyer successful the Georgia lawsuit promised to determination for costs and fees precocious past year. In a statement, helium praised the court's ruling.

"Judge McAfee has decently denied DA Willis' question to intervene successful POTUS' enactment for reimbursement of lawyer fees due to the fact that her disqualification for improper behaviour bars Willis and her bureau from immoderate further information successful this dismissed, lawfare case," Steve Sadow said successful a station connected X (formerly Twitter).

The lawsuit volition determination guardant with evidentiary hearings connected each party's claimed costs and fees, McAfee said, successful chronological bid of filing.