A Georgia judge has denied Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s attempt to intervene in an effort by President Donald Trump and his former codefendants to recover nearly $17 million in legal fees following the collapse of her election interference case.
Trump’s Georgia defense attorney Steve Sadow confirmed the ruling in a statement, saying Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee rejected Willis’s motion to participate in the reimbursement dispute because she was disqualified from the case.
“Judge McAfee has properly denied DA Fani 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 said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
Trump and several former codefendants are seeking reimbursement under a Georgia law enacted last year that allows criminal defendants to recover attorney fees if the prosecuting district attorney is disqualified from the case.
Trump alone is seeking more than $6.2 million, while fee requests from other defendants push the total reimbursement sought to nearly $17 million, the Washington Examiner previously reported.
Willis, an elected Democrat, had attempted to intervene in the dispute, warning in court filings that forcing her office to cover the legal costs could consume a significant portion of its annual budget.
Her office argued it “has no intention of allowing Fulton County taxpayers” to pay what she described as “an absurd amount for such an absurd reason,” while challenging defendants’ expenses that included travel, meals, and other costs.
The reimbursement fight stems from the collapse of Willis’s racketeering case accusing Trump and 18 allies of attempting to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
Back in December, Trump’s former codefendant and lawyer, who helped him contest his 2020 election loss, John Eastman, told the Washington Examiner that most former defendants whose cases were dismissed were seeking compensation for years of legal work fighting the controversial case.
Georgia’s intermediate appeals court upheld McAfee’s disqualification of Willis from the prosecution after his finding that her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created an “appearance of impropriety.” The Georgia Supreme Court later declined to hear her appeal.
FANI WILLIS SLAMS $17 MILLION LEGAL FEES DEMAND FROM TRUMP AND FORMER CODEFENDANTS
After Willis was removed, the director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council for Georgia, Peter Skandalakis, assumed control of the case and moved to dismiss the charges, which McAfee granted the day before Thanksgiving.
It remains unclear whether Willis will seek appellate review of the judge’s decision denying her intervention in the fight over attorneys’ fees.