On paper, the case advanced by the District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia, is perhaps the most serious of all those pending by former President Donald Trump.
The product of more than two years of research, Willis, the first woman to hold this position in the history of the state, accused the former president and 18 other people of orchestrating an entire plot with a mafia structure to alter the electoral results during the 2020 elections.
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Of those identified, at least half have pleaded guilty and are presumed to be collaborating with justice to even be direct witnesses against Trump when the time of trial arrives.
Is about an almost existential threat for the former Republican president, It is the only one among the four criminal proceedings he faces that he could not overturn if he wins the presidency next November because it is a state accusation and not a federal one.
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At least, that was the scenario until a few weeks ago when Michael Roman, one of those involved, dropped a bomb that has the process hanging in the balance.
Lawyers representing Roman accused prosecutor Willis of having a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to help in the investigation. Although the accusation is not related to the charges against Trump, Roman has asked the judge to disqualify her as the head of the process because she considers that there is a clear “conflict of interest.”
The process against Willis – which is not a trial – began last week and Judge Scott McAfee is expected to make a decision in the coming days. Something that should be taken with a grain of salt, since any path he chooses could have serious implications for the evolution of the case against Donald Trump..
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Willis and Wade, confronted with evidence, already recognized that a romantic relationship existed between them and have turned the episode into a television soap opera.
The lawyers allege that when Willis hired Wade, in November 2021, they were already a couple and since then she would have benefited financially from the appointment.
Throughout these two years, The special prosecutor would have received more than 650,000 dollars (about 2.5 billion Colombian pesos) as payment for his work. Funds, the indictment says, that he used to treat Willis to luxurious vacations in the Caribbean and the state of California, and to pay for gifts and visits to luxurious restaurants.
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The transactions presented also reveal that Willis paid Wade thousands of dollars in cash and kept large sums of cash in his home..
Racial discrimination and separate payments
The couple's version is completely different. According to the testimony of both, the relationship began when he had already been appointed to the position and ended in the summer of last year. Although they did indeed take trips together, they point out that each person paid for their share.
Regarding the cash that Willis paid to Wade, they warn that was, precisely, the value that corresponded to her for the journeys.
The suggestion here is that, perhaps, they used the method to avoid a bank record that would trigger suspicions. But, according to Willis, and this was corroborated by his father during a testimony he offered to the court, the use of cash – as well as the accumulation of liquid currency on one's property – is common among African Americans and an issue closely associated with racial discrimination.
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I always taught my kids to keep at least six months of cash on hand for eventualities.
“I always taught my children to keep at least six months of cash on hand for eventualities. It was common that one would not receive credit cards or traveler's checks because of the color of one's skin,” said Willis's father.
Wade, for her part, testified that the prosecutor always wanted to pay for her expenses because she is a “strong woman” who does not like to be invited. In any case, both assured that their relationship had no connection with the process against Trump nor did it affect the course of the investigation.
While that could be true, The central issue of the controversy is the beginning of the relationship. If it can be proven that it already existed before the hiring, Willis would have incurred an obvious ethical breach that would lead to his dismissal for appointing his partner to a position paid for by taxpayers..
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And several mutual friends have testified that the relationship had been going on since 2019. But, Willis's father maintained that he never heard from Wade until well into 2022.
What can happen with the case against Trump?
Although the accusations have nothing to do with the crime that Trump and the other defendants are accused of, any decision McAffee makes could have a huge impact on this process.
Even if he acquits Willis and keeps her in office, his credibility could suffer. Especially when looking for a jury that is impartial and does not take into account the gruesome relationship to issue a verdict.
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That is why many figures within the Democratic party, including Norm Eisen, former head of ethics issues in the White House during Barack Obama's administration, have asked him to resign.
For them, Willis's romance has become a distraction from what truly matters and could weaken a process that already has immense evidentiary material against Donald Trump.
But even if she does or McAffee ends up disqualifying her, the path forward will be very complex. In both scenarios, the case would go to another district attorney who would have to be appointed by the Georgia State Prosecutor's Council. And that new prosecutor would have the absolute power to decide if he wants to continue the process, add or subtract charges or even file the case.
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Even if it continues along the same path, the mere selection process and the time it would take for a new prosecutor to take on the case would postpone its resumption for several months. Something that works in Trump's favor considering that the trial, it is presumed, would take place after this year's presidential elections and, therefore, the outcome would be radically altered.
Trump is clear that arriving at the elections with a guilty verdict and facing a prison sentence is not the same as the same result when he is already reigning from the Oval Office. Of course, as long as he wins, if he loses, he will no longer have the temporary immunity offered by the White House.
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Trump, it is worth clarifying, faces a similar – and broader – case for interfering in the results of the last elections and the peaceful transition of power that could be resolved in the remainder of the year and derail his path to a new presidency. But Willis's novel has added one more edge to the already complex political panorama that is looming in the United States.
SERGIO GĂ“MEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
On X (formerly Twitter): @Sergom68
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