Trump pushes legal challenges in two cases
Donald Trump’s legal team pursued two legal challenges leading up to the Easter weekend.
One of these challenges involves appealing a ruling by a Georgia judge that permitted Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain involved in an election subversion case.
Additionally, they seek to prevent the expansion of a gag order, which restricts Mr. Trump’s ability to speak, in a New York hush-money case.
These are the primary legal battles among the four faced by the Republican presidential nominee, and they are the most likely to be addressed in court before the US elections.
Mr. Trump has entered a plea of not guilty in all cases and has asserted that he is a victim of political persecution.
In the Georgia case, Mr. Trump and his co-defendants stand accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. They have alleged that Ms. Willis had a financial stake in an improper romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a prosecutor she appointed to lead the case.
Judge Scott McAfee, overseeing the proceedings, conducted two weeks of tumultuous hearings that included passionate testimony from Ms. Willis. While she admitted to the relationship, she denied any financial gain from it.
Ultimately, the judge ruled in favor of Ms. Willis, though he acknowledged that the relationship raised concerns about impropriety and called for either Mr. Wade or Ms. Willis to step down. Mr. Wade resigned within hours.
In a 51-page motion filed on Friday before the Georgia Court of Appeals, Mr. Trump and eight of his co-defendants argued Ms. Willis should also be removed – which would greatly delay the case or could lead to it being dismissed.
Mr. Trump and other co-defendants’ lawyers said Mr. Wade’s resignation did not sufficiently address the “appearance of impropriety” that “cast a pall over these entire proceedings”.
“The trial court was bound by existing case law to not only require Wade’s disqualification (which occurred) but also to require the disqualification of DA Willis and her entire office,” the attorneys said in the filing.
CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, has reported that Ms Willis intends to play a prominent role in the case, which the judge has ordered to proceed if Mr Trump appeals.
Meanwhile, in New York, Mr Trump is embroiled in other legal battles while he awaits the start of his first criminal trial over the alleged falsification of business records related to a payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
This week, the justice in the case, Juan Merchan, granted a request from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to impose a gag order on Mr Trump barring him from making statements about jurors and witnesses or intimidating court staff.
On Friday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sought to clarify – and possibly expand – the gag order barring Mr Trump from attacking court staff and their family members.
His motion came after Mr Trump insulted Justice Merchan’s daughter in a social media post before the gag order was issued.
Mr. Bragg asked Justice Merchan to “make abundantly clear” that the gag order applied to “family members of the Court”, the district attorney, and other individuals mentioned in the gag order.
He also asked the judge to “warn” Mr. Trump “and direct him to immediately desist”.
If Mr Trump does not, the prosecutor argues, he should face sanctions.
The former president’s attorney, Todd Blanche, denied that his client had violated the gag order and argued that the judge’s daughter was not a part of it.
He wrote that there was nothing wrong with the social media posts.
“Contrary to the People’s suggestion, the Court cannot ‘direct’ President Trump to do something that the gag order does not require,” he said.
