Fani Willis is aiming for 18 guilty pleas and 1 Trump trial: legal expert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis never wanted to prosecute 19 people for a massive conspiracy to overturn Georgia's presidential election, experts say. She wanted 18 witnesses and just one defendant – former President Donald Trump.

"This has been Willis’ strategy the whole time,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Salon on Thursday. “She wanted 18 guilty pleas and one trial against Donald Trump.”

Considering that Willis has already secured deals with three Trump attorneys and a bail bondsman, news that she's also discussed pleas with six more defendants shows that the strategy is working, Pace University law professor Bennett Gershman told Salon.

“The D.A.’s strategy is working almost to perfection," Gershman said. "She is continuing to build momentum.”

Gershman goes on to explain that each new plea deal adds pressure on the remaining holdouts to cop pleas for themselves.

“Several other co-defendants, seeing the others plead guilty and the far riskier consequences of not pleading and facing trial, will also take pleas and cooperate," he predicted.

Willis in August filed a 41-count indictment accusing the 19 of violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization act, court records show.

The top racketeering charge comes with a 20-year maximum prison sentence, typically doled out to organized crime magnates usually charged with RICO act violations.

That hefty sentence represents yet another ace in Willis's hand, as she's not going after mob bosses but attorneys and political operatives who've never before faced the prospect of time behind bars, argued Rahmani.

"Taking a no-time misdemeanor or felony deal is a no-brainer for co-defendants,” Rahmani said. “The offer is too good to pass up."

Texas attorney Paul Saputo contends Trump might be able to prove he didn't know 18 people were conspiring to break the law on his behalf, but it's not a great challenge to face.

Said Saputo, "Eventually, even a Trump card can't pull a joker out of the hat.”