A judge in the U.S. state of Georgia has denied an attempt by Fani Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, to intervene in litigation over the recovery of legal fees linked to the now-dismissed election case against Donald Trump and several co-defendants.
The ruling, issued by Scott McAfee of the Fulton County Superior Court, allows efforts to recover nearly $17 million in attorney fees and related costs to proceed following the collapse of the high-profile prosecution last year. In August 2023, Trump and 18 others were indicted in Fulton County on allegations that they took part in a coordinated effort to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results, which delivered a narrow victory for Joe Biden. The case was dismissed in November after a series of legal challenges, prompting Trump and several co-defendants to seek reimbursement for legal expenses incurred while defending against the charges. Willis’s office later sought to intervene in the reimbursement litigation in an effort to block the claims. However, Judge McAfee ruled that the district attorney’s office lacked legal standing to participate because Willis had previously been disqualified from the case. In his decision, McAfee noted that the state’s interests are already represented by a temporary district attorney appointed following Willis’s removal, making further involvement by her office unnecessary. While the court rejected Willis’s request, it did grant Fulton County permission to intervene, as the county funds much of the district attorney’s office and could face financial liability if reimbursements are ordered. The dispute centers on a Georgia law enacted in 2025 that allows defendants to recover attorney fees when a prosecutor is disqualified and a case is subsequently dismissed. Trump alone is seeking more than $6.2 million in legal fees under the statute.
