Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis finally responded Sunday to accusations leveled last week by one of Donald Trump’s co-defendants, who claimed in a court filing that she was romantically involved with an outside lawyer she hired to prosecute a racketeering case against the former president and his allies.
Taking the pulpit on Sunday at Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic Black church in Atlanta, Willis defended her hiring of special prosecutor Nathan Wade on account of his “impeccable credentials.” She did not, however, address the rumors of her romantic relationship with Wade—or the implication that she financially benefited as a result.
Though Willis conceded that she was “as flawed as they come,” she went on to indicate that the accusations of improper conduct against her and Wade are based in racism. Willis hired a total of three special prosecutors, but Wade, the only Black person on the team, was the only outside counsel targeted.
“Wait a minute, God,” Willis said from the pulpit, “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.
“Oh Lord, they’re going to be mad when they call us out on this nonsense,” she added. “First thing they’ll say, ‘Oh, she’s going to play the racism card now.’ But no, God, isn’t it them who are playing the race card when they only questioned one?
“Isn’t it them playing the race card when they constantly think I need someone from some other jurisdiction in some other state to tell me how to do a job I’ve been doing almost 30 years?”
Willis also struck out at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a prominent critic who last week called for the state’s attorney general to open an investigation into Willis’ hiring of Wade.
“I never want to be a Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has never met me but has allowed her spirit to be filled with hate,” Willis said.
The original accusations were first included in a motion filed on behalf of Michael Roman, a 2020 campaign official charged alongside Trump in the election subversion case brought by Willis. In the filing, Roman’s lawyers asked Judge Scott McAfee to have Willis booted from the case—or have it dismissed entirely.
The sweeping racketeering case saw Trump and 18 allies indicted for their allegedly illicit attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Hearings held over the past few months included incendiary testimony by Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, a pair of lawyers who took plea deals and agreed to testify against other defendants.
Fulton County churchgoers and faith leaders have continued to support Willis throughout the saga, casting skepticism on the veracity and relevance of the Trump camp’s claims.
“She’s been faithful to her oath and to the people of Fulton County,” Bishop Reginald Jackson of the Georgia African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) said.
That hasn’t stopped Trump and his allies from latching onto the allegations as proof of Willis’ corruption—while suggesting that the case is irreparably damaged as a result.
Just hours after Roman’s initial filing became public, Trump hailed the development on Truth Social.
“Has everybody seen the revelation, just announced in the Great State of Georgia, that the Fulton County D.A., Fani Willis, who Criminally Indicted your Favorite President, ME(!), & many other Innocent People/Patriots, HIRED & EXORBITANTLY PAID a “Romantic Partner” to Prosecute the 45th President of the United States of America, & then ‘financially benefitted from their relationship?’” Trump wrote.
“In other words, he was paid a ‘fortune,’ & then took ‘Beautiful’ Fani on expensive, but all paid for by Georgia, vacations to faraway lands!”
A hearing on the allegations against Willis is likely to take place in early February. The trial date for Donald Trump has not yet been set, though the prosecution previously proposed August 5, 2024 for the proceedings.
