The troubled criminal racketeering case brought by the District Attorney of Fulton County, Fani Willis, has taken another turn as the prosecutor charged with replacing Ms. Willis, Peter Skandalakis, has appointed himself to succeed her. He will now decide whether to pursue the case or drop it.    

November 14 was the deadline imposed by Judge Scott McAfee for an independent group, the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, to appoint a new prosecutor to replace Ms. Willis, who was disqualified on account of her secret romance with her handpicked special prosecutor, Nathan Wade. Ms. Willis was disqualified by the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Steven Sadow, tells the Sun in an emailed statement that “This politically charged prosecution has to come to an end. We remain confident that a fair and impartial review will lead to a dismissal of the case against President Trump.”

Judge McAfee’s order initially gave the council just 14 days to find a replacement, far less than the 90 days the group requested. Judge McAfee then granted a further extension to November 14. Ms. Willis was permanently barred from the case in September after the Georgia Supreme Court declined to revisit the disqualification handed down by the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Mr. Skandalakis, in a letter to Judge McAfee, admits that his selection of  himself “reflects my inability to secure another conflict prosecutor to assume responsibility for this case. Several prosecutors were contacted and, while all were respectful and professional, each declined the appointment.” Mr. Trump has pardoned several of the defendants, though the pardon power does not extend to state prosecutions, only federal ones. 

Mr. Skandalakis adds that “While it would have been simple to allow Judge McAfee’s deadline to lapse or to inform the Court that no conflict prosecutor could be secured — thereby allowing the case to be dismissed for want of prosecution — I did not believe that to be the right course of action.”

The veteran prosecutor, a Republican, allows that “I have not had sufficient time to complete my review” but asserts that “With Judge McAfee’s deadline now upon us and my review still ongoing, I have

determined that the best course of action is to appoint myself to the case. This will allow me to complete a comprehensive review and make an informed decision regarding how best to proceed.”

Mr. Skandalakis declares that his “only objective is to ensure that this case is handled properly, fairly, and with full transparency discharging my duties without fear, favor, or affection.” Mr. Skandalakis was previously tasked with finding a replacement for Ms. Willis for her prosecution of Georgia’s lieutenant governor, Burt Jones. Ms. Willis was disqualified after she hosted a fundraiser for a political opponent of Mr. Jones. Mr. Skandalakis ultimately decided not to prosecute Mr. Jones, who is now running for governor.

The question of whether to disqualify Ms. Willis was first heard by Judge McAfee. The defendants in the case adduced evidence that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade were romantically involved even as her office was paying him some $600,000. The two also took vacations together to destinations like Belize, Arub, and Napa Valley while he was leading the racketeering case.

Ms. Willis’s defendants also adduced evidence that appears to suggest that the affair between Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade began before he was hired. Cellular telephone data shows that the two made thousands of phone calls and exchanged thousands of texts before Mr. Wade joined her office. Ms. Willis represented that the two were merely friends. 

The Georgia Court of Appeals reversed Judge McAfee to find that “this was the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings.” The appellate court ruled that Judge McAfee’s ruling  “did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.”   

Judge McAfee found that Ms. Willis’s behavior emitted an “odor of mendacity” and “was legally improper” but reasoned that the damage to the defendants could be cured if Mr. Wade, who has never prosecuted a felony before, resigned. He has since declared to ABC News that workplace affairs are “as American as apple pie.” Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade have been spotted together at an airport terminal and during the roadside arrest of Ms. Willis’s daughter.