Embattled Georgia DA Fani Willis and Trump trial judge hit the campaign trail

In the high-stakes criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Georgia, the defendant isn’t the only one campaigning.

In the high-stakes criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Georgia, the defendant isn’t the only one campaigning. In an election year oddity, both the prosecutor, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and the judge presiding over the case, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, are fighting to keep their seats. “They probably a little nervous,” Willis said with a nod to her team as she took the stage at a recent Democratic Party awards dinner. “They write all these speeches and then I say what I wanna say.” Such is the high-wire act for the district attorney and the judge as they juggle their campaigns with their court calendars. Even though both incumbents are favored to win, their upcoming elections add a layer of uncertainty to the election interference case against Trump and his remaining co-defendants. The case is effectively at a standstill. It was sidetracked for months over whether Willis should be disqualified from the case after she had a romantic relationship with her lead prosecutor. She managed to stay on while he resigned. But now an appeals court said it will revisit the question of whether Willis should have been removed from the case. A legal argument before the Supreme Court over whether Trump has immunity from prosecution also remains an issue in the Georgia case and may not be decided until this summer.