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A Georgia Senate committee met this week to examine the conduct of Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis – the prosecutor who gained national notoriety last summer when she pushed for criminal charges against former U.S. president Donald Trump. In August, Willis convened a grand jury which ultimately indicted Trump and several of his political allies for allegedly conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Willis’ employment of her former romantic partner, Nathan Wade, led defense attorneys to allege a conflict of interest – and corruption.
Fulton County superior court judge Scott McAfee presided over proceedings examining both Willis and Wade’s conduct; and is expected to rule on a motion to remove Willis from the prosecution by the end of the month.
Through the proceedings and related filings, numerous potential improprieties have been documented. Some of the unearthed scandals include Willis’ repeated meetings with Joe Biden‘s White House counsel prior to Trump’s indictment, Wade’s exorbitant billing of Willis’ office for consultation (despite his lack of experience in racketeering prosecution), and lavish vacations Willis and Wade took together (largely at Wade’s expense) while the pair purported to have an arm’s length professional relationship.
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Regardless of whether Willis’ misconduct meets McAfee’s standard for removing her from this case, filings and testimony implicating her in numerous unethical abuses of her prosecutorial authority have sparked a debate over how to appropriately investigate her conduct at the state level. Georgia governor Brian Kemp declined to launch a criminal probe into Willis’ conduct, suggesting the Georgia Senate impanel an oversight committee to investigate her conduct.
The subsequently impaneled committee, armed with subpoena power, called defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant to inquire about the evidence she compiled against Willis and Wade. Merchant represents Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, who wasn’t initially recommended for indictment by the grand jury, and whom Merchant argues was added to the case to extend the duration of the litigation, allowing Wade to inappropriately bill the county for more hours of consultation.
Merchant testified to her belief that Wade and Willis had been romantic partners prior to his employment by the Fulton County district attorney’s office, citing a text message from Wade’s former law partner saying the attorneys were “absolutely” involved prior to her taking office and stating the relationship started “when she left the DA’s office and was a judge in South Fulton.”
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When Willis took office, she retained numerous private attorneys to assist in legal matters – a common practice for prosecutors seeing outside expertise. Notably, Merchant documented Wade’s receipt of a significantly higher rate of compensation than one of the state’s top racketeering experts – despite a lack of experience in racketeering prosecution – calling the payments “very irregular.”
Financial documentation also showed Wade booked numerous international vacations for himself and for Willis. Willis testified that she paid her portion of the costs in cash, and that she routinely made large cash expenditures. Wills’ father told members of the media, “it’s a black thing, most black folks, they hide cash, they keep cash.”
Committee chairman Bill Cowsert expressed concern over Willis’ contribution to the book “Find Me The Votes” in which she discussed her prosecutorial decisions and strategies in the election interference case, asking her if that constituted “a violation of ethical obligations.”
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Merchant testified for more than two hours, clarifying for senators the meaning of many of the evidentiary documents published throughout the election interference litigation. Her testimony was cut short by her need to get to court – although the prospect of her returning for further questioning was raised by Cowsert.
Regardless of the outcome of the Georgia Senate investigation, Trump will still face state and federal election interference cases – as well as criminal charges stemming from his alleged mishandling of classified documents and a Manhattan case related to the payment of hush money to multiple porn stars, including Stormy Daniels.
Still, proceedings like the Georgia Senate investigation stand to have significant electoral impacts, as they allow defense attorneys to publicly demonstrate clear ties between ostensibly independent state prosecutors and the White House.
Count on FITSNews to provide continued coverage of the 2024 presidential election and its associated legal battles as the election enters its next phase.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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3 comments
What Opie doesn’t tell you in his blahg post–
Michael Roman was part of the fake electors conspiracy. The allegation of White House involvement comes solely from him, his attorney, and an anonymous Twitter user.
Ha Ha! Change your handle to Mr. B.S. A’Plenty.
Republicans don’t like how Dear Leader is treated so they retaliate, oh no, who could have seen that coming?