Judge in Georgia Case Donated to Fani Willis Campaign

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who was appointed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp, has a little secret in his closet.

It turns out that McAfee donated to the campaign of Fulton County DA Fani Willis.

The problem, according to legal experts, is that McAfee did not disclose the donation.

Conflict of Interest

So, if you have watched the trial to see if Willis should be disqualified or not from the Trump case, it would be hard to argue that McAfee has been giving her favorable treatment.

He has corrected her several times while testifying, and he was clearly getting agitated with her behavior and attitude during this part of the trial.

Even so, McAfee made a $150 donation to her campaign that was reportedly never disclosed.

At the time, McAfee had not yet been appointed to the bench, working as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Criminal defense attorney and legal analyst Philip Holloway believes that could be a problem for McAfee.

He stated, “The donation itself is more or less a token amount and was made prior to his becoming a judge.

“But failure to disclose to the defendants a political donation to the prosecutor can be seen as a present appearance of a conflict of interest. Judges are required to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.”

Looking at McAfee’s other donations, it would appear that he was more or less donating to every candidate that he came in contact with for work.

He donated to Kemp and state House candidate Lyndsey Rudder, a Republican. His wife also donated to Willis’ campaign, with all donations being $200 or less.

While Holloway says this could lead to McAfee being removed from the case, Andrew Fleischman, an Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney, does not see it that way.

He stated, “It is such a routine part of how Georgia judges and attorneys interact that I don’t think it should have been disclosed, necessarily, past the mandatory disclosures.”

I don’t think it will be an issue based on how McAfee has handled Willis so far, but you better believe that if Willis is permitted to stay on this case, Trump’s attorneys are going to start to pick at that to support their case.