by Jeroslyn JoVonn
March 10, 2026
The ruling units the stage for the subsequent section of litigation within the once-expansive racketeering case.
Fulton County (GA) District Legal professional Fani Willis and her workplace weren’t capable of keep away from paying practically $17 million in authorized charges requested by President Donald Trump and his co-defendants.
On March 9, Superior Court docket Choose Scott McAfee denied Willis’ bid to keep away from the fee, ruling that her workplace stays disqualified from the case, CBS Information stories. He did enable Fulton County to hitch the dispute over the 14 former defendants—together with Trump—who at the moment are searching for $16,853,810.28 in attorneys’ charges and prices beneath a newly enacted Georgia legislation that allows defendants to recuperate bills when a prosecutor is disqualified.
The ruling units the stage for the subsequent section of litigation within the once-expansive racketeering case, which unraveled after prosecutors dropped prices towards Trump and a number of other of his allies following Willis and her workplace’s disqualification over conflicts of curiosity. McAfee’s order additionally makes clear that Willis and her workplace can not participate within the dispute shifting ahead as a consequence of their removing from the case.
“As a result of the FCDA’s pursuits are adequately represented by the State, and because the workplace was ‘wholly disqualified,’ the movement to intervene is denied,” McAfee wrote.
Though Willis has been barred from collaborating, Fulton County might be allowed to enter the dispute. The decide reached a special conclusion relating to the county as a company entity, noting that as a result of it supplies the “overwhelming supply of funding” for the district lawyer’s workplace, the “monetary buck” for the $16.8 million demand would doubtless fall to the county.
“Novelty abounds,” McAfee wrote, including that the courtroom should now navigate largely uncharted procedural territory to find out whether or not the $16.8 million in requested charges, spanning 14 totally different defendants, is affordable.
The Georgia election interference case towards Trump and a number of other co-defendants, first introduced as a sweeping racketeering indictment in August 2023, has now reached “judicial finality” after its dismissal in late 2025. The prosecution collapsed following a collection of appeals, disqualifications, and jurisdictional challenges after Trump’s re-election.
The case in the end unraveled after Willis was eliminated over an “look of impropriety” tied to her relationship with particular prosecutor Nathan Wade. Though the matter was briefly transferred to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, particular prosecutor Peter Skandalakis later dropped all prices, citing the pursuits of justice and the authorized immunity of a sitting president.
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