WASHINGTON: A Georgia appeals court will hear arguments in October on whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting Donald Trump for trying to overturn his 2020 defeat, a schedule that will likely postpone that trial until after the Nov. 5 election.
At issue is whether the prosecution is tainted as a result of Willis’ past affair with her one-time top deputy whom she hired to work on the probe.
Trump’s legal team has sought to use the affair as a reason to try to derail the case but the judge overseeing the trial said in March that Willis could remain on the case.
The Georgia election interference case is one of three criminal trials that Trump still faces, though all three have been delayed for a variety of reasons.
Last week, Trump became the first former president in US history to be convicted of a crime after a jury in New York City found him guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the weeks before the 2016 election.
The Georgia appeals court did not specify when in October it will hear arguments on whether to disqualify Willis, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the case will be heard Oct. 4.
Willis is also separately expected to ask the court to overturn a lower court ruling that dismissed several counts against Trump in the 2020 election subversion case on the grounds that the indictment was not detailed enough to sustain those charges.
Georgia appeals court to weigh Fani Willis’ role in Trump case in October
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Georgia appeals court to weigh Fani Willis’ role in Trump case in October
- The Georgia election interference case is one of three criminal trials that Trump still faces, though all three have been delayed for a variety of reasons
Kyrgyzstan parliament speaker resigns after spy chief sacking
- Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness
BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan’s parliament speaker said Thursday he would step down, two days after President Sadyr Japarov dismissed the Central Asian country’s powerful secret service chief and arrested political figures who called for early elections.
In a surprise move, Japarov had sacked his one-time close ally — spy chief Kamchybek Tashiev — in a decision Bishkek said was meant to “prevent division in society.”
Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness, though marked by political volatility.
Rights groups have accused him of authoritarian tendencies, as he seeks to assert his control and cast himself as a bringer of stability.
Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu — close to the sacked security boss — told MPs he would step down, insisting that he was not resigning under pressure.
“Reforms initiated by the president must be carried out. Political stability is indispensable,” he said.
Kyrgyzstan has in recent years been de-facto governed by the Japarov-Tashiev tandem.
Both came to power in the wake of the 2020 revolution — the third since Bishkek gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Several NGOs have in recent months denounced the deterioration of freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.
Japarov had unexpectedly sacked Tashiev and three of his deputies on Tuesday, also weakening the powers of the secret services.
Japarov rarely speaks publicly. His spokesman had said the decision was taken “in the interests of the state, with the aim of preventing divisions within society, including between government structures, and to strengthen unity.”
Tashiev was in Germany for health treatment when the sacking was announced and had said it was a “total surprise” to him.
The decision came the day after the publication of an open letter from 75 political figures and ex-officials calling to bring forward presidential elections — scheduled for January 2027.
Five of those who signed the letter — which criticized the economic situation in the country — were arrested Wednesday on charges of organizing mass riots.
