Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)
Georgia Republican State Senator Jason Anavitarte told Fox News Digital it is "indisputable" that Willis "willfully concealed" her relationship with Wade.
"Rather than owning up to the relationship, admitting poor judgement and removing SADA Wade from this case as soon as it was revealed, DA Willis doubled down and spent the better part of 3 months continuing to obfuscate if not downright lie to the court," Anavitarte said.
"Judge McAfee openly acknowledged that there is an ‘odor of mendacity' and "reasonable questions about whether the DA and…SADA testified untruthfully.’ Despite all this, Judge McAfee chose to offer DA Willis an escape hatch that should have been voluntarily activated as soon as the relationship was uncovered, firing Nathan Wade," he continued. "To me, that is wholly insufficient. Prosecutors should be held to the highest ethical standard. Clearly Judge McAfee failed in this account. Now it is incumbent on the nearly created Prosecuting Attorney Qualification Commission to determine whether DA Willis committed perjury. I suspect complaints to that end are forthcoming."
REPUBLICANS HAMMER JUDGE MCAFEE'S RULING IN FANI WILLIS CASE, CALLING IT 'ELECTION INTERFERENCE'
Special prosecutor Nathan Wade sits in court during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)
"Of course, I support the judge's ruling for the case to move forward. I hope that the district attorney will make the needed separation there so that the case can move forward, and that the evidence and facts will come out, and a jury, the peers of all those involved, will make a determination and find guilt or innocence."
McAfee said in his ruling that the defendants "failed to meet their burden of proving that the District Attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest in this case through her personal relationship and recurring travels with her lead prosecutor."
"However, the established record now highlights a significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team – an appearance that must be removed through the State’s selection of one of two options," he wrote, adding that Willis and her whole office can choose to step aside, or Wade can withdraw from the case.
On Friday afternoon, Wade announced that he is stepping down from the case in the interest of "democracy."
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
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