Toobin on Willis disqualification ruling: ‘A very good day for Donald Trump’

Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin argued a Georgia judge’s criticism against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) in his ruling marks a “very good day” for former President Trump, because the case is “going nowhere.”

“Today was a very good day for Donald Trump. This case is going nowhere,” Toobin told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Friday.

Georgia Judge Scott McAfee released the highly anticipated ruling Friday, in which he determined Willis could proceed with her prosecution against Trump in her election interference case so long as she removes an investigator with whom she had a romantic relationship from the case.

Even though McAfee didn’t outright disqualify Willis for the potential conflict of interest, he handed down a scathing review of her conduct so far in the court proceedings.

The judge criticized public remarks by Willis in which she implied race might have been a factor in the case defendants made about her and the investigator, Nathan Wade. McAfee floated the idea of a potential gag order because of her comments.

He also criticized her for the “unorthodox decision” to participate in interviews with authors writing books about Trump’s prosecution, as well as the relationship she once had with Wade.

Despite the lack of disqualification, Toobin said he thinks that it is “extremely unlikely” that Willis’s case against Trump and the other co-defendants will go to trial before the fall.

“Think about this, there’s another racketeering case in Georgia where jury selection, not the trial, jury selection, has taken a year,” he said, as highlighted by Mediaite. “This case is never going to trial before the election.”

The judge’s ruling allows the case to move forward after either Willis or Wade steps aside. Shortly after McAfee’s decision was published, Wade submitted his resignation. Still, Toobin said the case is “an embarrassment.”

Trump and most of his other co-defendants in Willis’s case have pleaded not guilty to their charges. A trial date hasn’t been set yet, and defendants have various pending motions to get their cases tossed.

“All of this, Fani Willis has hung on, but this case is going nowhere,” Toobin said.