Trump Co-Defendant Wins 3-Month Delay in Georgia Case

(Left) Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis at the Atlanta Police headquarters in Atlanta on May 3, 2023; (Right) Former President Donald Trump prepares to deliver remarks in Las Vegas on July 8, 2023. (Megan Varner, Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A Georgia judge on Thursday granted a co-defendant in the Georgia election case that also ensnared former President Donald Trump a three-month delay in his proceedings.

“All aspects of the case” will be halted for Sen. Shawn Still, a Republican, until April 18 because he’s a member of the Georgia General Assembly, the judge wrote on Thursday. But “provisions, including initial reciprocal discovery obligations, remain in place” for the meantime, the brief order said.

“Additional extensions will only be considered upon filing of a particularized motion containing a detailed, fact-based explanation of the need for the extension including the amount of time needed,” wrote Judge Scott McAfee.

In the case, Mr. Still was charged in Fulton County, Georgia, for stating that President Trump had won the state and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Mr. Still was the secretary of that meeting and is one of only three members of that group who was indicted. He faces seven counts, including the main racketeering charge as well as felony counts of impersonating a public officer, forgery, and attempting to file false documents and false statements and writings, all stemming from the elector meeting.

In arguing that his case should be delayed, Mr. Still wrote to the judge that he needs to perform his duties as a member of the state Legislature.

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“All other provisions, including initial reciprocal discovery obligations, remain in place,” his filing said. “Additional extensions will only be considered upon filing of a particularized motion containing a detailed, fact-based explanation of the need for the extension, including the amount of time needed.”

He was not in public office in December 2020 when the Republican electors met. He was elected in 2022 and is serving his first term.

Previously, Mr. Still and two other electors who were charged in the case alongside the former president attempted to move their charges to a federal court but were denied in September 2023. A district judge wrote in several rulings that Mr. Still, Cathy Latham, and David Shafer could not assert that they were acting as federal officials during the time that the electors document in late 2020.

Also in September, a three-person Georgia panel didn’t recommend that Mr. Still be temporarily removed from office while the case is pending, Garrison Douglas, a spokesman for Gov. Brian Kemp, said at the time.

As is required by state law, Mr. Kemp appointed Attorney General Chris Carr, as well as Republican state Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch and Republican state House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration. That group held a closed hearing several months ago to consider whether Mr. Still should be suspended, issuing a confidential recommendation to the Republican governor.

The state constitution requires that the commission recommend and the governor suspend an official if the panel “determines that the indictment relates to and adversely affects the administration of the office of the indicted public official and that the rights and interests of the public are adversely affected thereby.”

Case Derailed?

Mr. Still’s court victory comes as Michael Roman, another co-defendant in the Trump case in Georgia, alleged in bombshell court filings that the chief prosecutor, District Attorney Fani Willis, allegedly engaged in an “improper” relationship with a top prosecutor in the case, Nathan Wade. The filings also accuse Ms. Willis of potentially violating the law when her office allegedly provided more than $650,000 to Mr. Wade’s private law firm and took Ms. Willis on vacations.

The court filing provided few details about the alleged relationship, although neither Mr. Wade nor Ms. Willis have publicly denied the claims. The Epoch Times has contacted both parties for comment.

“Willis and Wade have engaged in a personal relationship both before and after Willis appointed Wade as the special prosecutor in the instant case,” Mr. Roman’s motion stated. “Willis and Wade were romantically involved prior to Willis awarding a contract for legal services with Wade. It is not entirely clear when the relationship began, but it began while Wade was married.”

Pallavi Bailey, a spokeswoman for Ms. Willis, said her office will respond to the claims “through appropriate court filings” in the coming days.

Mr. Wade, meanwhile, was seen at his law office near Atlanta on Thursday and answered at least one question from a New York Post reporter. He was photographed allegedly carrying a pistol in his hand.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.) this week filed a criminal misconduct complaint against Ms. Willis, a Democrat, after the allegation was made against her and Mr. Wade. The new allegations suggest there is an “unlawful partisan pattern“ on behalf of Ms. Willis that may ”illegally politicize and weaponize her public office” against the former president and the other co-defendants, Ms. Greene wrote.

As of Friday, Ms. Willis has not publicly responded to the Republican congresswoman’s referral.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.