Georgia appeals court sets December hearing in Trump effort to disqualify DA Fani Willis

July 16 (UPI) -- The Georgia Court of Appeals has scheduled hearings in Donald Trump 's effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the former president's election interference case for December, a month after the presidential election.

Lawyers for the convicted president have been seeking to remove Willis over her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, whom she appointed as special prosecutor in the case accusing Trump and 18 co-defendants for trying to subvert the 2020 presidential elections results in the southern state.

The former president's lawyers claim that both Willis and Wade financially benefited from his appointment due to their romance.

In March, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled against Trump, finding that there was no conflict of interest due the Willis-Wade relationship, but recognized that one could see it as such and said Willis could stay on the case if Wade resigned, which he did.

Trump's lawyers then appealed the decision in May, with McAfee last month putting the entire case on hold amid the appeal process.

On Tuesday, the Georgia Court of Appeals approved the request for oral arguments, and scheduled the hearings for Dec. 5, exactly one month after the presidential elections.

The ruling is another legal victory for Trump, who was officially announced Monday as the Republican nominee for president, as the strategy of his legal teams in all the cases appears to be to delay trial until after the general election.

The election is scheduled for Nov. 5. Trump is again challenging President Joe Biden for the White House.

Along with the Georgia case, in which the former president pleaded not guilty to all 10 charges, he also faces four federal charges in connection to attempts to subvert the 2020 presidential election, culminating with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection attempt at the Capitol.

However, that case has been stalled as the conservative-leaning Supreme Court earlier this month ruled he was entitled to some immunity for official acts. It is now up to the lower court to determined whether the acts Trump was accused of can be considered official.

Trump is also the first former president to be convicted of a crime.

He was found guilty by a New York jury in late May on 34 counts for doctoring business records to hide hush money payments made to a porn star in the run out to the 2016 presidential election over fears her going public about their alleged affair would cost him votes.

He faces up to four years' imprisonment and was to be sentenced July 11, but that hearing was pushed to September over potential implications of the Supreme Court ruling. Trump has appealed the case and is seeking to have the conviction dismissed on the grounds of the immunity ruling, despite his election interference crimes being committed before he was in office.

On Monday, a Trump-appointed judge dismissed a fourth indictment filed against Trump that accused him of illegally retaining classified documents after he left the White House.

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon ruled the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith who indicted Trump in the case was unconstitutional. The Justice Department swiftly appealed the ruling.