MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann suggested that Fani Willis, the Fulton County District Attorney leading the election interference case against former President Trump and his allies, should step down from the case.
A judge ruled Friday that Willis or Nathan Wade, a prosecutor on the case with whom she had a romantic relationship, must step down given what the judge said was an appearance of conflict of interest in the racketeering case.
“[T]he established record now highlights a significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
Weissmann, a former assistant U.S. attorney, said Willis should be the one to go.
“The key is how to go forward, because clearly Wade is off, but I think that this is such a huge body blow, almost a fatal blow to Fani Willis,” he said during an appearance on “Morning Joe.”
“I think the way forward is she has to voluntarily recuse herself. I don’t know that she has it in her, but I think she has to say I’m going to appoint a chief assistant who is going to oversee this case. She clearly has no credibility with this judge.”
Weissmann’s comments were first highlighted by Mediaite.
Other legal experts argued Friday that the judge’s ruling should be a welcome development for the prosecution.
“If I’m the DA, I am breathing a heavy sigh of relief right now because this language,” CNN’s Elie Honig said. “Yeah, we will see it in the media and maybe the jury pool will see it. You can filter that out later, but they have survived. Your goal here is to survive and carry on with the case.”
Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination, has repeatedly said the charges against him are political and designed to stop him from winning the White House this fall.
