A Fulton County choose on Monday rejected the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office’s attempt to withhold payment from President Donald Trump, ruling that the workplace stays disqualified whereas permitting Fulton County itself to be part of the combat over nearly $17 million in legal fees sought by former defendants.
The resolution from Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee units up the following section of litigation in the once-sweeping racketeering case, which collapsed after prosecutors dropped costs in opposition to Trump and a number of other allies.
Fourteen former defendants — together with Trump — at the moment are searching for $16,853,810.28 in legal professional’s fees and prices below a newly enacted Georgia law that permits defendants to get well bills when a prosecutor is disqualified.
McAfee’s order makes clear that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her workplace can not take part additional in the dispute as a result of they have been previously removed from the case over conflicts of curiosity.
The fight over attorneys’ fees stems from the collapse of the sweeping 2023 racketeering indictment introduced by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in opposition to former President Donald Trump and greater than a dozen allies.
Prosecutors had accused the group of collaborating in a coordinated effort to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results, alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy that included the creation of alternate electors and stress on state officers.
But the case unraveled after the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Willis and her workplace over a conflict of interest involving her relationship with a special prosecutor employed to work on the case.
The ruling decided the scenario created “an appearance of impropriety” that undermined public confidence in the prosecution.
With Willis eliminated and the case finally dropped, a number of former defendants moved to get well their legal expenses below a brand new Georgia regulation permitting reimbursement when a prosecutor is disqualified, organising the continuing dispute now earlier than the court docket.
Court: Disqualified DA’s workplace cannot return to the case
In his ruling, McAfee stated the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office failed to present it had a legal proper to intervene in the proceedings.
The court docket discovered that the state is already represented by a district attorney pro tempore appointed after Willis’ disqualification, that means the pursuits Willis cited — together with potential monetary impacts on the workplace’s funds — are already represented.
“Because the FCDA’s interests are adequately represented by the State, and as the office was “wholly disqualified,” the motion to intervene is denied,” McAfee wrote.
The choose additionally famous that lots of the arguments Willis’ workplace raised would require defending the very prosecutorial selections that the Georgia Court of Appeals decided have been compromised by a battle of curiosity.
Fulton County allowed to intervene
While Willis’ workplace was shut out, McAfee granted Fulton County’s request to intervene, permitting county officers to take part in the combat over the attorney-fee claims.
The county argued it has a direct monetary stake in the end result as a result of it gives a lot of the funding for the district legal professional’s workplace.
The choose agreed, writing that the “financial buck appears likely in some form to eventually stop at the county’s desk,” that means taxpayers may finally bear the price of any court-ordered funds.
McAfee stated the county may present essential perception into funds points and the connection between the district legal professional’s workplace and native authorities as the case strikes ahead.
Trump legal professional praises ruling
Trump legal professional Steve Sadow, posting on X, praised the choose’s resolution.
“Judge McAfee has properly denied DA Willis’ motion to intervene in POTUS’ action for reimbursement of attorney fees because her disqualification for improper conduct bars Willis and her office from any further participation in this dismissed, lawfare case,” Sadow wrote.
What occurs subsequent
The ruling clears the best way for evidentiary hearings on the requested legal professional’s fees, which may turn into one of many largest reimbursements ever tied to a dismissed felony prosecution in Georgia.
McAfee stated the court docket will hear arguments and evaluate proof from every of the 14 charge motions in chronological order to decide whether or not the legal prices claimed are affordable.
The charge battle may take a look at the scope of Georgia’s new regulation permitting defendants to get well legal prices when prosecutors are disqualified, a statute that has hardly ever been utilized since taking impact in 2025.
