According to recent reports, Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the case against former President Donald Trump, made a donation to the campaign of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. McAfee allegedly made a small $150 donation in 2020 to Willis’s campaign prior to his appointment from Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
Atlanta-area criminal defense attorney and legal analyst Phillip Holloway noted the small amount the judge donated was “nominal,” but suggested that it should have been disclosed to the defendants so they could determine if they saw it as a potential conflict of interest with the case.
“The donation itself is more or less a token amount and was made prior to his becoming a judge,” Holloway said. “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.”
However, an Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney, Andrew Fleischman, disagreed with Holloway, claiming the donation did not need to be disclosed. According to Fleischman, such conduct is a “routine interaction between judges and attorneys. “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,” he said.
Reactions on social media have been varied to the news of Judge McAfee’s donation have varied, with some unconcerned with the small dollar amount and others adamant that it poses a clear conflict of interest in the case. Some users on X suggested McAfee has allowed Willis to get by with inexcusable conduct in court, perhaps due to the donation to her campaign.
“Judge McAfee donating to the Fani Willis campaign is the reason why Fani got away with her crazy in court stunts last week! She would have been held in contempt in any other court room for that! Will this be covered by the MSM? Of course NOT!” one person wrote on X. “And didn’t recuse himself…uh oh. Clear conflict of interest. No wonder he’s been lenient on corrupt Willis during court proceedings,” another person said.
“It’s $150. Calm down. Let’s at least wait until after his ruling before we start clawing out eyes. People can do one thing personally and professionally do something else. We need to trust that he will separate the two,” another user on X argued.
Another user wrote, “Nominal amount of $150, from before he was appointed by Kemp to judgeship. If he was in the bag against Trump, he would not have proceeded with the DQ hearing. Instead, he let Fanny demolish herself on the stand.
According to financial disclosures, McAfee has donated to a number of different campaigns of Georgia politicians. Said financials contributions include $200 to Gov. Kemp’s 2018 campaign and $200 to Republican state representative candidate Lyndsey Rudder in 2020. McAfee’s wife also donated to Willis’ campaign in both 2018 and 2020.
See footage below of Judge McAfee warning Fani Willis during court proceedings, warning her that her outbursts in court could lead him to strike her testimony.
Note: The featured image is a screenshot fro the embedded video.
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