Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis spoke Sunday morning at a church in Atlanta, where she made emotional remarks as she admitted for the first time to the affair allegations leveled against her last week. Donald Trump's interference case.
“I hope it doesn't sound like what I've been through this week,” he joked, speaking Sunday at Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a service celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
One of former President Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia election meddling case is seeking to dismiss the charges against him and disqualify DA Willis. The case allegedly resulted in financial gain for both of them.
In a court filing Monday, former Trump campaign staff member Michael Roman accused Willis of “defrauding the public of honest services” based on his “intentional failure to disclose an alleged personally beneficial relationship.” “
The 127-page filing by Roman's attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, alleges that the attorney, Nathan Wade, “lacks relevant experience” but has been paid about $650,000 in legal fees since being appointed to the role. “Self-service arrangement.” Trump's lawyer told the court on Friday that he is considering joining the complaint against Willis.
In his comments broadcast live on Sunday, Willis repeatedly referred to himself as “flawed” and “imperfect.”
Willis said he was “a little confused” why so many people questioned the decision to bring multiple special prosecutors into the case, and while he didn't name Wade, he called him a “great friend” who was paid equally to others. An elaborate defense of his “impassioned credentials” for the job — suggesting the attacks on him were racially motivated.
“I hired three special counsels. It was my right to do that. I paid them an hourly rate,” Willis said. “They only attack one. I hired a white woman: a good personal friend and a great lawyer, a superstar, I tell you. I hired a white man: smart, my friend and a great lawyer. I hired a black man. , another superstar, a great friend and a great advocate.”
Willis has never denied or directly addressed allegations that she and Wade had an inappropriate relationship. He went on to say about Wade's resume that he was paid more than double when he was hired by Republicans in another state, and that he “worked as a prosecutor, a criminal defense attorney, a special assistant attorney general.”
“Are they playing the race card when they question just one person?” she said.
Willis' emotional speech, which lasted more than 30 minutes, detailed Sunday's Fulton County DA and the difficulties he faced in handling the Trump case. She spoke of being “lonely”, “lonely”, “stabbed in the back” and facing constant death threats that drove her out of the house.
“I'm tired of being treated badly,” he said.
Willis read a letter to God this week in which he said he felt “unworthy” of the job: “Lord, even now, I feel unworthy of honor,” he said as he read the letter. It seems to choke.
“Being a divorced single mother who didn't belong to the right social groups. Didn't necessarily come from the right family. Didn't have the right pedigree. The task was too much for humble me,” Willis said.
Speaking about the threats against him, often motivated by race, he and his family members' lives are “always under threat, I don't think it's normal if there aren't two death threats a week.”
“They call me the N-word more than they call me Fanny,” he said, while noting that his home had been destroyed “many times for bombs.” He said he now spends “most days and nights” alone.
Willis specifically called out Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Green.
“I never want to be like my attackers. I never want to be like Marjorie Taylor Green, who never met me but allowed her spirit to be filled with hate,” he said.
Still, Willis touted his team's track record, saying they had “wins, wins, wins” and had a 95% confidence rate.
“I am thankful for every attack that makes me stronger,” he said.
Merchant pushed back on Willis' comments at church Sunday, saying the charges against him and the special prosecutor were racially motivated, saying “it had nothing to do with the color of his skin.”
“If anyone doubts our claim [Nathan] Wade is inexperienced, ask him how many RICO cases he's handled. Ask him how many crimes he's committed,” the businessman told ABC News.
According to Merchant, the difference between Wade and the other special prosecutors brought in to work on the case are the relationship allegations.
“The biggest difference between Ms. Cross, Mr. Floyd and Mr. Wade is that Ms. Willis is not in a relationship with Ms. Cross and Mr. Floyd,” Merchant said. “And neither Ms. Cross nor Mr. Floyd took Ms. Willis on cruises to California, Florida, or the Caribbean.”
The businessman reiterated that he would “never file a petition for which we do not have evidence.”
“If the allegations have to be proved in open court, we are ready and welcome the opportunity,” he said.
Roman, Trump and 17 others pleaded guilty in August to all charges in a grand fraud indictment for attempting to alter the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Defendants Kenneth Chesbro, Sidney Powell, Jena Ellis and Scott Hall took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against the other defendants.
The former president has slammed the district collector's investigation as politically motivated.
