Former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said Friday that the judge “cut the legs out” from the prosecution’s office in Trump’s Georgia case.
Judge Scott McAfee ruled on Friday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must step down from the election interference case against former President Donald Trump unless she removes her former romantic partner and special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, from it over an “appearance of impropriety.” Whitaker told Fox News host Martha MacCallum that the judge’s “blistering” opinion showed that Willis has “no credibility.”
“Well, obviously the result was not what I think some people hoped for, but this opinion is blistering as it relates to DA Willis and Wade and others,” Whitaker said. “I mean, it, you know, said she was unprofessional, said she lacked judgment.”
“But the line that just struck me was that he said, ‘An odor of mendacity remains,’” he continued. “I mean, that essentially says, your office and you as a DA have no credibility with me as a judge. And I just think that is, uh, you know, essentially says that you are lying, we know you’re lying, and we’re not gonna trust anything you say in this case from now on. That’s a big deal.”
“So why did you think he didn’t remove her from that case given all that strong language, Matt?” MacCallum asked. (RELATED: Former Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe Blames ‘Inexperienced’ Nathan Wade For Trump Charge Dismissal)
“Well, I think, it’s, again, the bar is very, very high to remove not only a DA, but the office as a whole. You needed to show an actual conflict, and he just didn’t think the evidence was there,” Whitaker told MacCallum. “Obviously, it was hard for the defendants to create that evidence since she controlled all the documents, all the information, lied about it. And so, he just didn’t feel he could get to that, uh, result. But I think he cut the legs out so much of the office, and continuing this prosecution is gonna be hard for her to remain no matter what.”
Wade resigned Friday from working on the Georgia case, saving Willis and her entire office from having to step aside.