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Tag: Georgia election

  • Co-defendant in Trump's Georgia election case seeks to disqualify DA, alleging romantic relationship with prosecutor

    Co-defendant in Trump's Georgia election case seeks to disqualify DA, alleging romantic relationship with prosecutor

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    One of former president Donald Trump‘s co-defendants in his Georgia election interference case is seeking to dismiss the indictment against him and disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, alleging that she “engaged in a personal, romantic relationship” with one of the top prosecutors she brought in to work on the case, which allegedly resulted in financial gain for both of them.

    In a court filing Monday, former Trump campaign staff member Michael Roman accuses Willis of having potentially committed “an act to defraud the public of honest services” based on her “intentional failure” to disclose to alleged relationship that she allegedly “personally benefitted from.”

    “Accordingly, the district attorney and the special prosecutor have violated laws regulating the use of public monies, suffer from irreparable conflicts of interest, and have violated their oaths of office under the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct and should be disqualified from prosecuting this matter,” the 127-page filing from Roman’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, said.

    MORE: Timeline: Criminal probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia election results

    A spokesperson for the Fulton County DA said in a statement to ABC News that the office would “respond through appropriate court filings.”

    The filing alleges that, based on “discussions with individuals with knowledge,” Willis and a special prosecutor she brought in to lead the case, Nathan Wade, were “romantically involved” prior to her bringing him on to the case and continued their relationship during it, and accuses Willis of bringing Wade on as a special prosecutor without getting proper government authorization to appoint him as such.

    “Sources close to both the special prosecutor and the district attorney have confirmed they had an ongoing, personal relationship during the pendency of the special prosecutor’s divorce proceedings,” the filing says.

    The filing claims that Wade had a “lack of relevant experience” but that he has been paid approximately $650,000 in legal fees since being appointed to the role — which the filing claims was a “self-serving arrangement.”

    PHOTO: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government building, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

    PHOTO: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government building, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

    “Willis has benefitted substantially and directly, and continues to benefit, from this litigation because Wade is being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to prosecute this case on her behalf,” the filing claims. “In turn, Wade is taking Willis on, and paying for vacations across the world with money he is being paid by the Fulton County taxpayers and authorized solely by Willis.”

    Trump seized on the allegations in the filing, writing on social media, “ALL CHARGES AGAINST ME, AND OTHERS, SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY DROPPED, WITH APOLOGIES, AND MONETARY DAMAGES FOR THE ILLEGAL AND HIGHLY POLITICAL PERSECUTION OF INNOCENT PEOPLE.”

    Chris Timmons, a former Georgia prosecutor who is now an ABC News contributor, said that, “After preliminary review, I don’t think it puts the indictment in jeopardy — but it might result in some disqualification of prosecutors moving forward.”

    Roman, Trump, and 17 others pleaded not guilty in August to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jena Ellis and Scott Hall subsequently took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.

    The former president has blasted the district attorney’s investigation as being politically motivated.

    Co-defendant in Trump’s Georgia election case seeks to disqualify DA, alleging romantic relationship with prosecutor originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

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  • Judge orders immediate enforcement of Georgia election workers' $148M judgment against Giuliani

    Judge orders immediate enforcement of Georgia election workers' $148M judgment against Giuliani

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    A federal judge on Wednesday granted former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss’ request to expedite their $148 million judgment against Rudy Giuliani, saying that the mother and daughter have “good cause” to fear Giuliani may attempt to avoid paying them.

    Following a week-long trial, a federal jury last week ordered Giuliani to pay nearly $150 million to the two women for defaming them with false accusations that they committed election fraud while counting ballots in Georgia’s Fulton County on Election Day in 2020.

    MORE: Giuliani defamation trial: Jury awards election workers nearly $150 million

    Freeman and Moss subsequently asked the judge to “permit immediate enforcement” of the judgment out of concern that the former New York City mayor could attempt to “find a way to dissipate [his] assets before plaintiffs are able to recover.”

    Judge Beryl Howell agreed Wednesday that Giuliani’s record as an “unwilling and uncooperative litigant” provides the plaintiffs “good cause to believe that he will seek to dissipate or conceal his assets” before paying them.

    PHOTO: Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2023. (Jose Luis Magana/AP, FILE)

    PHOTO: Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2023. (Jose Luis Magana/AP, FILE)

    Howell added that other civil cases filed against Giuliani — including one filed by his former attorney, Robert Costello, and another filed by President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden — “raise the risk that Giuliani has even greater motivation to hide his financial assets from potential future judgments against him.”

    If Giuliani intends to appeal the judgment, which he has indicated he plans to do, he “would have to comply with the usual requirement of a full supersedeas bond,” Howell wrote, meaning that he may have to post a bond in the full amount of the judgment, Howell said.

    Judge orders immediate enforcement of Georgia election workers’ $148M judgment against Giuliani originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

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  • Giuliani’s Lawyer Whines That Defamation Damages Could ‘End’ Rudy

    Giuliani’s Lawyer Whines That Defamation Damages Could ‘End’ Rudy

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    Lawyers for Rudy Giuliani are begging jurors not to grant two Georgia election workers the up-to $43 million in damages they’ve requested in their defamation case against the former Trump attorney.

    Before the court on Monday, Giuliani’s lawyer Joe Sibley called the proposed damages “the civil equivalent of the death penalty.”

    “If you award them what they are asking for, it will be the end of Mr. Giuliani,” he said.

    In August, Giuliani was found liable for defaming Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, two Georgia election workers who he falsely accused of participating in vote manipulation in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. A jury trial, which began Monday, will determine how much Giuliani owes the two women in damages. Moss and Freeman have requested a sum between $15.3 million and $43 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

    The two women have publicly discussed the repercussions of Giuliani’s conspiracy theories about them. During testimony before the Jan. 6 Committee in June of last year, Moss recounted how she and her mother were publicly accused by Giuliani of having exchanged a “USB drive” full of votes. When asked what her mother had actually passed to her Moss replied that the object was “a ginger mint.”

    Moss also detailed the many threats made against her by Trump supporters, noting that they were told they should “hang for committing treason.” According to Moss, people went to her grandmother’s home and attempted to “burst down the door and conduct a citizen’s arrest of my mom and me.”

    Sibley argued on Monday that while Giuliani had committed defamation, as determined by the court, it was not Giuliani himself who had threatened and harassed Moss and Freeman.

    In August, Giuliani was one of 18 individuals indicted alongside former President Donald Trump in a sprawling Georgia RICO case regarding the cohort’s efforts to interfere with the results of the 2020 election in the state. The indictment specifically referenced Giuliani’s role in engineering intimidation and harassment against Freeman and Moss.

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