Fani Willis paints allegations of misconduct and home-wrecking as racist

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis broke her silence Sunday after a week of criticism over allegations of misconduct behind the scenes of Trump's Georgia election interference case as well as of home-wrecking.

In her Sunday address to a congregation at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, Willis denied neither allegations of bedding a married subordinate nor of taking fancy trips on his dime. She also did not deny the suggestion that she coordinated with elements of the Biden White House and Jan. 6 committee to take down the Democratic president's top rival.

Rather, the Democratic DA attempted to cast herself as a victim of racial animus, one who has been selected for greatness by God.

What's the background?

A motion was filed Jan. 8 to disqualify Willis and her alleged lover, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, from prosecuting the election interference case of one of former President Donald Trump's co-defendants in Georgia, Michael Roman.

The motion claimed that Willis, who has since been subpoenaed to testify in Wade's divorce case, was embroiled in "an improper, clandestine personal relationship" with Wade — a married attorney she appointed without the approval of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners as required by law — whose apparent lack of experience has been subjected to greater scrutiny in recent days.

The motion further alleged that Willis' "apparent intentional failure to disclose her conflict of interest to Fulton County and the Court, combined with her decision to employ the special prosecutor based on her own personal interests may well be an act to defraud the public of honest services since the district attorney 'personally benefitted from an undisclosed conflict of interest.'"

Extra to exposing Willis to a possible federal criminal investigation, the motion prompted additional concerns over the Biden White House's direct involvement in the prosecution of the Republican front-runner.

Blaze News previously noted that Willis and Wade met with elements of the Biden White House before and after their recommendation of charges against Trump at taxpayers' expense. The duo also appear to have coordinated with Jan. 6 committee staff over the period of months when building their case against Trump in Georgia.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a complaint with Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia AG Carr Wednesday, requesting that they order "the immediate and formal criminal investigation into the alleged criminal misconduct" by Willis, along with Wade.

Victims of a closer look

Willis set the stage early in her 35-minute address Saturday by suggesting that Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream was still a "work in progress" and that "Americans have normalized ... cruelty, they've normalized bigotry, they've normalized hate."

According to Willis, critiques of her leadership and hiring decisions are motivated not by concerns over fairness, lawfulness, or conflicts of interest, but by hate — specifically, racial animus.

"They call me the N-word more than they call me Fani," said Willis. "[God,] you did not tell me as a woman of color it would not matter what I did. My motive, my talent, my ability, and my character would be constantly attacked."

The Democratic DA made clear who she had in mind when denouncing her critics: "God, I do not want to be like those that attack me. I never want to be a Marjorie Taylor Greene who has never met me but has allowed her spirit to be filled with hate. ... How did such a woman come to think that it was normal and normalized that another woman was worthy of such cruelty?"

After painting Greene as a villain and suggesting God used the congresswoman to test her, Willis attempted to drum up sympathy, recalling the recent instance where she was allegedly swatted — something Greene has been subjected to several times.

Willis then singled out Fulton County Commissioner Bridget Thorne for criticizing her appointment of Wade. According to the DA, those critical of Wade's appointment were "playing the race card."

"I'm a little confused. I appointed three special counselors. It's my right to do. Paid them all the same hourly rate. They only attacked one," said Willis. "I hired one white woman, a good personal friend and a great lawyer; a superstar, I tell you. I hired one white man — brilliant — my friend and a great lawyer. And I hired one Black man, another superstar, a great friend and a great lawyer."

There are presently no allegations that Willis had an affair with the other special counselors or traveled the world at their expense.

Willis went on to defend Wade's "impeccable credentials" without naming him, saying, "The Black [man] I chose has been a judge for more than 10 years; run a private practice more than 20; represented businesses and civil litigation. ... Served a prosecutor, a criminal defense lawyer, special assistant attorney general."

Wade was formerly a prosecutor in Cobb County, where he never prosecuted a felony case, according to the motion. Newsweek noted that Willis' alleged lover ran three times to become a judge in Cobb County Superior Court between 2012 and 2016 but failed in all three instances.

Politico reported that Willis' "impeccable" pick was found in contempt in August 2023 for "willfully" defying a court order, having refused to turn over documents concerning his income. The income of interest appears to have been the nearly $700,000 Wade has been paid from the Fulton County DA's office, which Willis signs off on.

Willis stressed, "You cannot expect black women to be perfect and save the world. We need to be allowed to stumble."

The Democratic DA is scheduled to stumble into Wade's acrimonious divorce proceedings to testify on Jan. 23.

Roman's defense attorney who filed the motion, Ashleigh Merchant, told WSB-TV over the weekend that she has eyewitnesses who can confirm Willis' affair with Wade.

"I would never have filed something like this if I didn’t have multiple sources to corroborate," said Merchant. "We look forward to litigating this motion in court where we can bring forward all of our evidence."

Jeff DiSantis, a spokesman for Willis' office, maintains that her office will respond to the allegations in court filings.

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