A Georgia judge has ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis cannot intervene in a legal battle over nearly $17 million in legal fees sought by President Donald Trump and several of his former co-defendants following the collapse of her election interference case.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued the ruling this week, determining that Willis’ office is barred from participating in the dispute because it was previously disqualified from prosecuting the case.
Trump and 13 others were indicted in 2023 under Georgia’s racketeering statute over allegations they attempted to interfere with the state’s 2020 presidential election results.
The prosecution ultimately fell apart after the Georgia Court of Appeals removed Willis from the case due to a conflict of interest involving her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
After Willis was disqualified, special prosecutor Peter Skandalakis was appointed to oversee the case. However, he later declined to pursue the prosecution after Trump began his second presidential term.
Under Georgia law, defendants may seek reimbursement of legal costs if the prosecutor responsible for the case is disqualified. Trump and his co-defendants are now requesting approximately $16.8 million in attorney fees from Fulton County.
Willis attempted to intervene in the legal proceedings to challenge the compensation request and present arguments about the claimed legal expenses.
Judge McAfee rejected that effort, ruling that Willis’ office could not return to the case after being “wholly disqualified.”
The judge also said the interests Willis sought to represent were already being handled by the special prosecutor who took over the case after her removal.
However, McAfee allowed Fulton County itself to participate in the proceedings because the county would ultimately be responsible for paying any award if Trump and the other defendants prevail.
In her motion requesting intervention, Willis argued that preventing her office from participating in the dispute would violate due process because it would deny her the opportunity to challenge the requested legal fees.
“Without intervention by the District Attorney, any award would violate basic fundamental notions of due process by denying her an opportunity to be heard or even challenge the reasonableness of the claimed attorney fees before it is taken from her budget,” Willis’ office wrote.
The racketeering case against Trump collapsed in November 2025 following months of legal challenges, appeals, and jurisdictional disputes.
Willis had alleged that Trump and his allies formed a criminal enterprise to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing and described the case as politically motivated.
Critics of the prosecution have also pointed to reports that Willis met with then–Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House for several hours months before the indictment was filed.
The compensation dispute now moves forward as Trump and his former co-defendants attempt to recover the legal expenses incurred during the prosecution.
