ATLANTA — The Fulton County District Attorney has some choices to make now about how to proceed in the Georgia 2020 election interference case.
A court order released Friday said either special prosecutor Nathan Wade or district attorney Fani Willis needs to go, in light of the appearance of a conflict of interest rooted in their personal relationship.
In an update, Wade resigned as special prosecutor from the case. He sent a letter to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office informing Willis of his decision.
What's next for DA Fani Willis?
Former DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan predicts Willis will replace Nathan Wade as lead prosecutor of the Trump case. He believes Willis herself would take the lead in court against the former president and his codefendants.
"Knowing Ms. Willis, she’s going to take this on herself," Morgan told 11Alive, Friday.
Though some D.A.s rarely appear in court themselves, Willis has plenty of experience in high-profile courtroom drama. A decade ago, she was one of the lead attorneys in a racketeering case involving Atlanta public school employees.
The court also gave Willis the option of hiring another special counsel.
"She asked me if I’d be interested in being special prosecutor," recalled Marietta's attorney and former Gov. Roy Barnes in February during a hearing. He turned her down. Law enforcement agencies have investigated threats made against some involved in the case.
Morgan said it can be tricky running a government agency like a D.A.’s office while also taking the lead on a big criminal case. Morgan did it 20 years ago, successfully prosecuting former DeKalb Sheriff Sidney Dorsey in a murder case.
He said he leaned on the D.A. office’s staff to administer the sprawling government office in his absence.
"If you’ve got the right staff, just as I did during the two years I did the Dorsey (case), I was able to laser focus on the Dorsey case because I had excellent people running the office. And that’s what it’s going to take," Morgan said.
Morgan said he wouldn’t be surprised if Willis replaces Wade not with another courtroom prosecutor – but instead with an office manager while she’s in the courtroom.
That said, she could surprise a lot of people and find a freelance prosecutor to replace Wade.
John Acevedo, a visiting associate professor of practice at Emory University School of Law, also weighed in on who Willis's next pick could be.
"I don't think she would step in herself, simply because, as the district attorney, she has so many other cases she needs to monitor and keep track of," Acevedo said.
He said the easiest option, in his opinion, is to pick someone already on the team.
"Wade had attorneys assisting him," Acevedo said. "If one of those attorneys could step up and take over the prosecution, I think that would be the easiest and the fastest answer here, simply because they would never have to be brought up to speed on the facts or the charges. They could simply step in."
Acevedo said he could see someone like attorney John Floyd filling the role.
"He has experience," Acevedo said, referring to his RICO experience in prior years. "He's in private practice and has done both defense and prosecution. He helped very early in the case here. He was not named the special prosecutor, but because he had that experience early on with the indictments before the grand jury, he's someone who knows the ins and outs of the case, the evidence, and could therefore take over with very little time."
Acevedo added he thinks Willis will have a decision within the next week in order to keep the delay at a minimum and 'reassert her office's ability and authority over this case.'