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Taking place just a month after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) went into crisis mode in 2023. Controversy erupted last year after pro-Palestinian activists burst onto the stage at the opening ceremony with a slogan — “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” — banned in some countries and also used by Hamas in its own messaging against Israel. The festival was forced to apologize for the disruption of what is meant to be a safe space for civic debate. This year, its 37th edition self-reflected and recalibrated with a campaign and geopolitically curated programming that dealt in Israel-Palestine relations but also in protest and Western obliviousness. The documentary festival gave films like vérité-style Oscar documentary contender “No Other Land,” a portrait of West Bank destruction of a Palestinian settlement by the Israeli military, a fall season European platform after it won the Berlinale Documentary Award in February. But IDFA programmed many other nonfiction titles, putting a spotlight on the conflict in the Middle East, including Frontlight entry “The 1957 Transcripts,” about a massacre of Palestinian villagers in the Israeli town of Kfar Qasim that year. Meanwhile, IDFA commissioned its festival trailer from Netherlands-born Raul Balai and exiled Iranian artist Ehsan Fardjadniya, two artists who were critical of IDFA and other cultural institutions last fall. IndieWire spoke to IDFA artistic director Orwa Nyrabia — who is stepping down this year after running the fest’s programming since 2018 — about the intent before the trailer, which played before each of the films. The spot incorporates stock footage and artificial intelligence to directly comment on how such campaigns and institutional messaging deploy superficial signifiers of progress and diversity (think land acknowledgments that feel more tacked-on than actually conducive of change). Here, we see a picnicking Middle Eastern emigre couple ignorant (and therefore “complicit,” in the trailer’s words) to destruction booming around them. Per the festival , “Explosions in the distance shatter the calm as a voice-over introduces a harsh truth: many artists and other people with migrant backgrounds arrive in the West with a constructed image of a democratic, just, and open society. Instead, they face a more sobering reality.” “While trying to examine our way of work after the turmoil of IDFA last year, we reached out and collaborated and discussed and had long meetings internally with our staff but also many of the artists and filmmakers who protested IDFA last year,” Nyrabia said. “We decided to lower our fences and that our response to those who were critical to us was to invite them for a chat, and have serious discussions.” Through this process, he said, came Balai and Farjadniya. “They were really angry at us last year for the way we dealt with the protest of the opening night,” he said. “They got to the bottom of the discussion last year that was really about Gaza and what’s happening in Israel and Palestine, but behind that was another discussion,” which Nyrabia said was about how what “many cultural organizations and film festivals do as inclusion is pretty hypocritical, and whenever things go bad, we all show it is hypocritical, just a facade to earn some points. [The artists] presented this critique in the form of this video that they call ‘Dear IDFA,’ so they did present it as a letter to us that clearly as you see says, ‘We come to the West promised many things, and we end up feeling that we are only forced to be complicit.’ That’s why [in a cut-down version played before screenings] it is only saying, ‘I cannot not be complicit. Can you?’ Because it also is self-critical.” As IDFA is an ever-evolving cultural institution celebrated as the most important documentary film festival in Europe, Nyrabia said that’s also why he’s stepping down in a decision unrelated to last year’s turmoil. “Last year was quite a challenge because of the political climate, but we also went through the pandemic like everybody else,” he said. “We had big changes in the organization. We changed a lot of the structure, so that it’s now a year-round institute,” adding more cinemas and multifunctional spaces to broaden IDFA’s footprint in Amsterdam. “We’re doing a beautiful edition of the festival, so that’s a perfect time for me to change, to move on. And in a way, it’s safe for the organization, and it’s good for me. And I truly believe in change. I think it’s a big problem for cultural organizations when someone doing a job like mine stays too long. Maybe some shuffle is good for everyone,” Nyrabia said during an interview at the festival, where this year the team programmed more than 250 titles. See the 2024 IDFA award winners here . The top prize winner in the competition was “Trains,” a Polish archival documentary that doubles as an emotional history of 20th-century Europe, taking place entirely within trains and locomotive cars. Nyrabia called director Maciej J. Drygas “one of the greatest filmmakers who work exclusively with archives, and his new film is looking at the history of the world, mostly Europe ... through researching and knitting this history with images from trains.” A number of films that played IDFA, including holdovers from other European festivals, take a more poetic and experiential approach to the talking-heads documentaries that dominate American theaters and television. There was “Gunda,” director Victor Kossakovsky’s globe-trotting journey through the uses of concrete; “Architecton” from A24; or Olha Zhurba’s audiovisual album of the war in Ukraine, “Songs of Slow Burning Earth,” or Sergei Loznitsa’s own portrait of Russia’s war on Ukraine, “The Invasion” — all three deprive viewers of the context normally overwhelming two-hour documentary films. “It makes me happy because I think, to be honest, context has always been a very oppressive tool or request from bigger markets toward smaller market filmmakers,” he said. “In a way, nobody ever asked me if I knew what’s the difference between the ‘costumes’ of a Protestant or Catholic priest. I never had this context growing up. I learned it after watching a couple hundred of American or European films. Then I learned, I now know. I did not feel entitled to ask American filmmakers to give me context about the history of the U.S. in every film. I accepted that they invite me to fall into a moment in their history through this film, or in their lives. I accepted to go into it with an open heart.” He added of the distinctions in context between American and European documentaries overall, “I don’t know everything. It’s mostly American and Western European buyers and distributors and executives who look at the rest of the world demanding explanations — ‘we don’t know you, so we don’t understand, why don’t you explain your entire history to us in every film?’ That’s very problematic. We need to watch more films, and that’s how to start to context.” Starting today, a selection of IDFA films are available to watch online through December 31.
Special Counsel Jack Smith on Monday moved to dismiss the federal cases against US President-elect Donald Trump -- including one for election subversion -- citing an official policy of not prosecuting a sitting president. Trump, 78, was accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden and mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House, but neither case ever came to trial. Smith, in a filing with the district judge in Washington presiding over the election case, said it should be dropped in light of the long-standing Justice Department policy of not indicting or prosecuting a sitting president. He cited the same reasoning in withdrawing his appeal of a ruling by a district judge, a Trump appointee, who dismissed the classified documents case earlier this year. Smith asked District Judge Tanya Chutkan to dismiss the election interference case "without prejudice" -- leaving open the possibility it could be revived after Trump leaves office four years from now. The special counsel paused the election interference case this month after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 presidential election. "The Government's position on the merits of the defendant's prosecution has not changed," Smith said in the filing with Chutkan. "But the circumstances have." "It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President," Smith said. "As a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated." In a separate filing, Smith said he was withdrawing his appeal of the dismissal of the classified documents case against Trump but pursuing the case against his two co-defendants, Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira. Trump's communications director Steven Cheung welcomed the move to dismiss the election interference case, calling it a "major victory for the rule of law." "The American People and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country," Cheung said in a statement. Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding -- the session of Congress called to certify Biden's win, which was violently attacked on January 6, 2021, by a mob of the then-president's supporters. Trump is also accused of seeking to disenfranchise US voters with his false claims that he won the 2020 election. The former and incoming president also faces two state cases -- in New York and Georgia. He was convicted in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election to stop her from revealing an alleged 2006 sexual encounter. Judge Juan Merchan has postponed sentencing while he considers a request from Trump's lawyers that the conviction be thrown out in light of the Supreme Court ruling in July that an ex-president has broad immunity from prosecution. In Georgia, Trump faces racketeering charges over his efforts to subvert the 2020 election results in the southern state, but that case will likely be frozen while he is in office. cl/bgs
A popular video game developer has decided to pull content featuring Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor from sale, after a woman who said he raped her won a civil claim for damages against him. Nikita Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a civil case at the High Court in the Irish capital. The jury delivered its verdict on Friday. The total amount of damages awarded to Hand by the jury was 248,603.60 euros (£206,714.31). Mr McGregor made no comment as he left court but later posted on social media that he intends to appeal. The Irish athlete has featured in multiple video games, including voice-acting a character bearing his likeness in additional downloadable content in the Hitman series. Mr McGregor’s character featured as a target for the player-controlled assassin in the game. IO Interactive, the Danish developer and publisher of Hitman, said in a statement: “In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately. “We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. “Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr McGregor from our storefronts starting today.” Mr McGregor had faced an accusation that he “brutally raped and battered” Ms Hand at a hotel in south Dublin in December 2018. The Irish sports star previously told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand in a penthouse at the Beacon Hotel. Ms Hand was taken in an ambulance to the Rotunda Hospital the following day where she was assessed in the sexual assault treatment unit. A paramedic who examined Ms Hand the day after the assault had told the court she had not seen “someone so bruised” in a long time.45 years ago, an 11-year-old and his brother started a band. Redd Kross won’t quit
New study explores negative effect of unethical practices on buyer-supplier relationshipsJudge rejects request to sideline SJSU volleyball player
NoneHouse rejects Democratic efforts to force release of Matt Gaetz ethics reportNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes rose to more records Wednesday after tech companies talked up how much of a boost they’re getting from the artificial-intelligence boom. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to add to what’s set to be one of its best years of the millennium. It’s the 56th time the index has hit an all-time high this year after climbing in 11 of the last 12 days . The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 308 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite added 1.3% to its own record. Salesforce helped pull the market higher after delivering stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit fell just short. CEO Mark Benioff highlighted the company’s artificial-intelligence offering for customers, saying “the rise of autonomous AI agents is revolutionizing global labor, reshaping how industries operate and scale.” The stock price of the company, which helps businesses manage their customers, jumped 11%. Marvell Technology leaped even more after delivering better results than expected, up 23.2%. CEO Matt Murphy said the semiconductor supplier is seeing strong demand from AI and gave a forecast for profit in the upcoming quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. All the optimistic talk helped Nvidia , the company whose chips are powering much of the move into AI, rally 3.5%. It was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500 by far. They helped offset an 8.9% drop for Foot Locker, which reported profit and revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations. CEO Mary Dillon said the company is taking a more cautious view, and it cut its forecasts for sales and profit this year. Dillon pointed to how keen customers are for discounts and how soft demand has been outside of Thanksgiving week and other key selling periods. Retailers overall have offered mixed signals about how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain. Their spending has been one of the main reasons the U.S. economy has avoided a recession that earlier seemed inevitable after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to crush inflation. But shoppers are now contending with still-high prices and a slowing job market . This week’s highlight for Wall Street will be Friday’s jobs report from the U.S. government, which will show how many people employers hired and fired last month. A narrower report released Wednesday morning suggested employers in the private sector increased their payrolls by less last month than economists expected. Hiring in manufacturing was the weakest since the spring, according to Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. The report strengthened traders’ expectations that the Fed will cut its main interest rate again when it meets in two weeks. The Fed began easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high in September, hoping to offer more support for the job market. The central bank had appeared set to continue cutting rates into next year, but the election of Donald Trump has scrambled Wall Street’s expectations somewhat. Trump’s preference for higher tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , which could alter the Fed’s plans . Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the central bank can afford to cut rates cautiously because inflation has slowed from its peak two years ago and the economy remains sturdy. A separate report on Wednesday said health care, finance and other businesses in the U.S. services sector are continuing to grow, but not by as much as before and not by as much as economists expected. One respondent from the construction industry told the survey from the Institute for Supply Management that the Fed’s rate cuts haven't pulled down mortgage rates as much as hoped. Plus, “the unknown effect of tariffs clouds the future.” In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.18% from 4.23% late Tuesday. On Wall Street, Campbell’s sank 6.2% for one of the S&P 500’s sharper losses despite increasing its dividend and reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. Its revenue fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, and the National Football League’s Washington Commanders hired Campbell’s CEO Mark Clouse as its team president. Gains for airline stocks helped offset that drop after JetBlue Airways said it saw stronger bookings for travel in November and December following the presidential election. It also said it’s benefiting from lower fuel prices, as well as lower costs due to improved on-time performance. JetBlue jumped 8.3%, while Southwest Airlines climbed 3.5%. All told, the S&P 500 rose 36.61 points to 6,086.49. The Dow climbed 308.51 to 45,014.04, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 254.21 to 19,735.12. In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.4% following a night full of drama in Seoul. President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing possible impeachment after he suddenly declared martial law on Tuesday night, prompting troops to surround the parliament. He revoked the martial law declaration six hours later. In the crypto market , bitcoin climbed near $99,000 after Trump said he would nominate Paul Atkins , a cryptocurrency advocate, to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
For the first time since the Taliban takeover in 2021, a delegation from Afghanistan has been invited to the United Nations signature climate conference: the 29th Conference of Parties (COP). Following U.N. protocol, this year's host nation — Azerbaijan — issued the invite. It's not a full-blown invitation. Because the U.N. does not recognize the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan due to its repressive policies, the Afghan delegates — members of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA — cannot participate in decision-making events. Nonetheless, the Taliban has said it is eager to participate. "The Afghan delegation will discuss strengthening international cooperation in the field of environmental protection and climate change," stated a Taliban press release prior to the U.N. event. Afghan climate scientists and activists, even those critical of the Taliban, welcome this development. "I consider it a very important move because it paves the path to the negotiation with climate change funds, which halted their [Afghan] projects in the past three years," says Assem Mayar, a water resources expert and former lecturer at Kabul Polytechnic University. "Afghanistan is not officially in the agenda, but having NEPA delegates as observers makes a difference," says Abdulhadi Achakzai, a climate activist with a Kabul-based environmental nonprofit who participated in the summit as an observer. "Their participation initiates a trust-building effort between international stakeholders," he says, which is imperative if the world "is committed to combating the climate crisis." A hard-hit country Afghanistan is among the countries worst impacted by climate change, according to the U.N .; droughts and extreme temperatures have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in recent years. In 2019, Afghanistan was ranked sixth among countries most affected by climate impacts on the Global Climate Risk Index . And it is among the least prepared to cope with the crisis according to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index. And funding from international groups has been largely halted — part of the sanctions levied to protest Taliban policies that restrict human rights and women's rights. Since the Taliban takeover, Mayar said climate adaptation projects worth $826 million have been suspended, reducing the capacity of Afghans to respond to increasing climate disasters, including irrigation projects and renewable energy. Meanwhile, climate shocks have continued to batter Afghans. The country is currently experiencing its third consecutive drought in three years, punctuated by periods of deadly flash floods . According to U.N. data, about 120,000 people were affected by flash flooding and mudslides across the country so far this year. More specifically, extreme weather — including droughts, extreme temperature, floods, landslides, avalanches and storms— displaced at least 38,000 people in the first half of this year. Save The Children reports about half of those were children. "Mass migration is, in fact, one major concern and consequence of climate shocks," says Najibullah Sadid, an Afghan climate researcher from the University of Stuttgart. "People will abandon their land and even the country in search of livelihood." The poppy problem Severe droughts can also disrupt agriculture, which is the primary occupation in Afghanistan, driving farmers to turn to drought-resistant poppy cultivation instead of food crops. Poppy crops fetch higher prices, and so despite the Taliban's ban, Afghanistan has been among the leading producers. Sadid says he worries if more fields are dedicated to growing poppies instead of food crops, the food shortage will only worsen. The majority of the country already lives in poverty. And as climate change is expected to bring increasingly frequent and severe disasters, many Afghans face serious risk. Achakzai hopes to communicate the urgency of the crisis to stakeholders at the COP summit, which ends on Friday. Climate activists from Afghanistan organized a side event on Wednesday, where Afghan scientists and civilians spoke about the climate stresses facing Afghans. Various international agencies attended, says Achakzai, who observed some positive changes in international stakeholders' attitudes towards Afghanistan. "We hope the participants were [persuaded into] thinking that they can work with the Taliban to fight against the climate change crisis," he says. Running out of water Extreme drought has exacerbated the challenge of finding drinking water in many communities, Achakza says. "Underground water tables, which most Afghans rely on, are drying faster than they can be replenished." In a survey in Kabul conducted by Achakzai's organization, Environmental Protection, Training and Development Organization, researchers found that many communities were digging deeper wells to access groundwater — the primary source of water in the Afghan capital. Additionally, the study found that many people had migrated to Kabul, abandoning their land and agriculture due to lack of water. But in the city, they find that water isn't exactly plentiful. An October 2022 feasibility report from the Afghan Ministry of Water and Energy confirmed that the current underground water levels only meet about 40% of the city's expanding needs. As a result, families, especially children, spend considerable time and effort to procure water, "often having to walk for miles everyday, only to find water in contaminated sources or buy them from private tankers," Achakzai says. The next year is predicted to be drier than average, Mayar says, "and will result in more droughts in the country." A USAID-funded global network called the Famine Early Warning Systems confirmed this prediction with below average precipitation expected in coming months. What next for Afghanistan? With these predictions of prolonged droughts, Achakzai says it's imperative that the international community work to engage the current Afghan government to mitigate the impact of climate change. Mayar agrees it's critical for the world to find a way to work with or around the Taliban because the loss of international aid has been devastating. The U.S., for instance, reduced its financial support to humanitarian projects in the country from from $1.26 billion in 2022 to $377 million in 2023. What's more, many countries limit aid that can be sent to Afghanistan to only humanitarian needs and won't fund development projects. Mayar says developing a decentralized system that doesn't require Taliban involvement or approval to deliver aid could help support much-needed projects in the country. " I propose the accreditation of [Afghan] national NGOs [by international climate fund donors] to receive and implement projects within communities," he says. "In a scenario where the government isn't recognized, such a mechanism could be very helpful in ensuring climate finances reach those affected." The alternative — isolating Afghanistan from climate action — is grim, says these Mayar. "If we fail to facilitate a mechanism to help these communities, not only will the Afghan civilians bear the heaviest cost of climate change, but the impact of it will be felt across its borders." Sadid agrees. "If the world is sincere with Afghans, they will find a way to deliver climate funds to Afghanistan, as they found ways to deliver emergency aid in the last three years," he said, adding that "ignoring Afghanistan's climate crisis could prove expensive to the world." Ruchi Kumar is a journalist who reports on conflict, politics, development and culture in India and Afghanistan. She tweets at @RuchiKumarRuchi Kumar is a journalist who reports on conflict, politics, development and culture in India and Afghanistan. She tweets at @RuchiKumar Copyright 2024 NPRNoneINGLEWOOD, Calif. — Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins suffered a knee injury during the second quarter of Monday night's game against his former team, the Baltimore Ravens, and did not return. Dobbins had 40 yards on six carries before being injured. The Ravens drafted Dobbins in the second round in 2020 but he missed most of two seasons with injuries. He signed a one-year deal with the Chargers during the offseason. Dobbins entered the game third in the AFC in rushing with 726 yards and was averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He has been considered among the candidates for Comeback Player of the Year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon in last season's opener.
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By KATE BRUMBACK ATLANTA (AP) — A judge is weighing whether a Georgia state Senate committee has the right to subpoena testimony and documents from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as it looks into whether she has engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump. The Republican-led committee sent subpoenas to Willis in August seeking to compel her to testify at its September meeting and to produce scores of documents. The committee was formed earlier this year to examine allegations of “various forms of misconduct” by Willis, an elected Democrat, during her prosecution of Trump and others over their efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 election loss in Georgia. Willis’ attorney, former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes, told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram during a hearing Tuesday that although the Georgia General Assembly has subpoena power, that power is not automatically conferred on a single legislative chamber or its committees. Even if the committee did have such power, he argued, the subpoenas in question are overly broad and not related to a legitimate legislative need. Barnes said the focus on Willis and her investigation into Trump shows that the committee was politically motivated and not a legitimate inquiry into the practices of district attorneys’ offices: “What they were trying to do is chill the prosecution of Donald Trump and find out what they had.” Josh Belinfante, a lawyer representing the lawmakers, said there is nothing in the Georgia Constitution that prohibits the Senate from issuing a subpoena. The duly formed interim committee is looking into whether new legislation is needed to regulate the practices of district attorneys’ offices in the state, he argued. “They are investigating and making an inquiry into these allegations that may show that existing state laws, including those establishing the processes for selecting, hiring and compensating special assistant district attorneys, are inadequate,” Belinfante said. The resolution creating the committee focused in particular on Willis’ hiring of special prosecutor Nathan Wade , with whom she had a romantic relationship , to lead the prosecution against Trump and others. It says the relationship amounted to a “clear conflict of interest and a fraud upon the taxpayers” of the county and state. One of the committee’s subpoenas orders Wills to produce documents related to Wade, including documents related to his hiring and payment, documents related to money or items of value that Wade and Willis may have exchanged, text messages and emails between the two, and their phone records. The committee also requested any documents her office sent in response to requests from the U.S. House, as well as communications Willis and her office had with the White House, the U.S. Justice Department and the House relating to the 2020 presidential election. And they asked for documents related to federal grant money Willis’ office has received. Before the deadlines in the subpoenas, Willis challenged them in court. Willis’ challenge was pending in mid-September when she skipped a hearing during which the committee members had hoped to question her. In October, the committee asked Ingram to require Willis to comply with the subpoenas. The committee’s lawyers wrote in a court filing that Willis’ failure to do so had delayed its ability to finish its inquiry and to provide recommendations for any legislation or changes in appropriations that might result. Barnes also argued that once the regular legislative session has adjourned, which happened in March this year, legislative committees can meet to study issues and come up with recommendations but do not have the power to compel someone to appear or produce documents. Belinfante rejected that, saying the state Constitution expressly permits the creation of interim committees and allows them to make their rules. Even if these subpoenas were validly issued, Barnes argued, they ask for too much, including private and personal information that is not a legitimate target of a legislative subpoena. Related Articles National News | FACT FOCUS: Vermont ruling does not say schools can vaccinate children without parental consent National News | Are you a former SmileDirectClub customer? You might be eligible for a refund National News | Justice Department announces sweeping reforms to curb suicides in federal prisons and jails National News | Defense makes closing argument in murder trial of Cash App founder Bob Lee National News | A judge has once again rejected Musk’s multi-billion-dollar Tesla pay package. Now what? Belinfante said the lawmakers are simply trying to do their jobs. He asked that Willis be ordered to appear before the committee in early January. He also asked that she be ordered to provide the requested documents and explain what privilege justifies any that are excluded. With a glaring lack of state case law on the issue of the General Assembly’s subpoena power, that’s one issue Ingram will have to address. She said she will consider the arguments and release her order as soon as she can. Willis and Wade have acknowledged that they had a relationship but have said it began after he was hired and ended before the indictment against Trump was filed. Trump and other defendants argued that the relationship created a conflict of interest that should disqualify Willis and her office from continuing with her prosecution of the case. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March that Willis’ actions showed a “tremendous lapse in judgment,” but he did not find a conflict of interest that would disqualify Willis. He said she could continue her prosecution as long as Wade stepped aside, which he did. Trump and others have appealed that ruling to the Georgia Court of Appeals, and that appeal remains pending.