THE WILLIS DECISION SEEMS LIKE HUR REPORT 2.0

NBC reports:

A Georgia judge ruled Friday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should not be disqualified from prosecuting the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and several co-defendants — with one major condition.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee found the "appearance of impropriety" brought about by Willis' romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade should result in either Willis and her office leaving the case — or just Wade, whom she'd appointed to head the case.

The choice is likely to be an easy one: If Willis were to remove herself, the case would come to a halt, but having Wade leave will ensure the case continues without further delay.

The Washington Post calls this "a significant legal victory for Willis." Marcy Wheeler says, "The prosecution will go forward." But will it? And will Willis stay on?

Trump's lawyers clearly want to appeal the ruling:

Sounds like Trump's lawyers will ask the Judge for permission to appeal his ruling that Willis isn't disqualified. pic.twitter.com/gI8mgV8b8g

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) March 15, 2024

And by astonishing coincidence, Georgia's governor just so happens to have signed a law this week that could be used to remove Willis:

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a law Wednesday that lets a state commission begin operating with powers to discipline and remove prosecutors, potentially disrupting Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the fact that this decision frees Willis to proceed for now but criticizes Willis "tremendous lapse in judgment" and "the unprofessional manner of the district attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing" reminds me of the Hur Report's conclusion that Joe Biden mismanaged classified documents but couldn't be successfully prosecuted because he comes off as an "elderly man with a poor memory." It also reminds me of the original FBI report that cleared Hillary Clinton in the summer of 2016 while chastising her for "extremely careless" email handling. In each case, Republicans were able to continue complaining about pro-Democratic bias even as a Democrat's actions were condemned in a very public manner. Democrats get hobbled; Republicans get to continue playing the victim card. Rinse and repeat.