defense attorney

ATLANTA — The head of a nonpartisan agency tasked with finding a prosecutor to take over the Georgia election interference case against President Trump and others is asking for more time after a judge set a two-week deadline for that appointment to be made.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who’s overseeing the case, wrote in an order Friday that if the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council doesn’t appoint a new prosecutor or request a “particularized extension” within 14 days, he would dismiss it. The fate of the case has been in limbo since Fulton County District Atty. Fani Willis was disqualified from continuing the prosecution over an “appearance of impropriety” caused by a romantic relationship she had with the lead prosecutor.

Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, said in a court filing Monday that his office has yet to receive the physical case file and does not expect to receive it for about four weeks. He asked McAfee to reconsider his order or to give him at least 90 days after he receives the case file to appoint a new prosecutor.

Without the case file, Skandalakis wrote that he “cannot intelligently answer questions of anyone requested to take the appointment or to do his own due diligence in finding a prosecutor who is not encumbered by a significant appearance of impropriety.”

He noted the case is one of 21 waiting to have a prosecutor assigned by his office. So far in 2025, he wrote, 448 criminal matters have been referred to his office because of a conflict of interest or a recusal by the relevant elected prosecutor.

“Each case requires individual review and assignment due to the unique nature of conflicts and the facts and circumstances of the particular case,” he wrote. Because of the complexity of the election case and the extensive resources required to handle it, “it will require time” to find someone to take it on, the filing says.

Even if a new prosecutor is named, it is unlikely that any prosecution against Trump could move forward while he is the sitting president. But there are 14 other people still facing charges in the case, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.

If a new prosecutor is named, that person could continue on the track that Willis had charted, decide to pursue only some charges or dismiss the case altogether.

Willis announced the indictment against Trump and 18 others in August 2023. She used the state’s anti-racketeering law to allege a wide-ranging conspiracy to try to illegally overturn Trump’s narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Defense attorneys sought Willis’ removal after the revelation in January 2024 that she had engaged in a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. The defense attorneys said the relationship created a conflict of interest, alleging that Willis personally profited from the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations the pair took.

McAfee rebuked Willis, saying in an order in March 2024 that her actions showed a “tremendous lapse in judgment.” But he said he did not find a conflict of interest that would disqualify Willis. He ultimately ruled that Willis could remain on the case if Wade resigned, which the special prosecutor did hours later.

Defense attorneys appealed that ruling, and the Georgia Court of Appeals removed Willis from the case in December, citing an “appearance of impropriety.” The high court last month declined to hear Willis’ appeal, putting the case in the lap of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council.

Brumback writes for the Associated Press.

The legal team for Sean “Diddy” Combs has moved to get the disgraced music mogul released from prison ahead of his Oct. 3 sentencing. Less than a month ago, Combs was acquitted of the most damning charges in his high-profile sex-trafficking case.

Combs’ defense attorneys on Tuesday filed a motion requesting the Bad Boy Records founder’s release, outlining the terms for his bail, including a $50-million bond and travel restrictions. The motion, reviewed by The Times, is addressed to Judge Arun Subramanian and claims “there are exceptional circumstances warranting a departure from mandatory detention and ensuring that Sean Combs is released.”

In the 12-page filing, Combs’ lawyers make the case for his pre-sentence release, including that he shouldn’t be jailed for his “swinger” lifestyle and that he faces “ongoing threats of violence” at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Combs has been in federal custody in the notorious Brooklyn prison since his arrest in September.

The 55-year-old music star was cleared earlier this month of racketeering and sex trafficking but convicted on two counts of prostitution-related charges.

Combs was found guilty of violating the Mann Act by transporting male sex workers across state lines, but his attorneys argued that in similar convictions “the defendants were released pending sentencing.” Additionally, the filing puts a new spin on Combs’ relationships with ex-girlfriends Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and “Jane,” who went by a pseudonym. Each testified about the musician’s orgies known as “freak-offs” and made allegations about his violent behavior. The filing claims that the relationship Combs had with his exes was open, akin to swinging.

“In the the lifestyle he and other adults voluntarily chose, Mr. Combs would be called a swinger,” reads the motion, which later asserts that “Sean Combs should not be in jail for this conduct.”

Combs’ legal team insists in the motion that Combs “is not a risk of flight nor is he a danger to the community or to any specific people.” The motion also downplays the claims of domestic violence against Combs.

Notably, Combs was seen in security footage kicking and dragging Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel. The accuser identified as “Jane” had accused Combs of forced sex, physical violence and abuse.

Referring to earlier court proceedings, Combs’ attorneys note that the “defense admitted a history of domestic violence” but claimed in the motion that Combs struck “Jane” twice in June 2024 because she “provoked” him. The filing also says Combs enrolled in a domestic violence program prior to his arrest last year.

“As we said in court this jury gave [Combs] his life back, and he will not squander his second chance at life, nor would he do anything to further jeopardize his seven children not having a father, and four of his children not having a parent at all,” his defense team says in the motion, referring to the four children Combs shares with Kim Porter, who died in 2018.

According to the proposed bail package, Combs’ $50-million bond would be secured by his home in Miami, where he will live if released. Combs’ attorneys also say his travel would be limited to specific sites in Florida and New York for attorney meetings, and the airports required to travel between those destinations.

To ensure his release, Combs’ attorneys said he was open to the court adding more conditions — including house arrest, mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment — if deemed necessary.

Times editorial library director Cary Schneider contributed to this report