'This should end the matter': Experts say Fani Willis team's response resolves allegations
February 02, 2024
The prosecutor handling Donald Trump's criminal case in Georgia has been accused of a number of improprieties, but legal experts say some of those may have been cleared up with responses from the prosecutors themselves.
Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis is accused of corruption in connection with a special prosecutor on her team. But he released a sworn affidavit confirming that they didn't have a relationship when he was hired, and that they paid for all of their travel separately.
This is the nail in the coffin for the Willis drama, according to some onlookers.
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"This should end the matter," said legal expert Ryan Goodman. He noted that he has been critical of Willis and the member of her team, called Nathan Wade.
"No relationship before or when hired by DA," Goodman added. "Shared costs equally."
Legal analyst Katie Phang also noted that the affidavit indicates Wade has been a lawyer since 1999 and that he had to "resign from his three judicial appointments" to take on the Trump case.
The Guardian's Hugo Lowell also chimed in on the development, saying the case for dismissing Willis is a tough one.
"Hard to make case that Fulton County DA Fani Willis should be disqualified after affidavit submitted by Nathan Wade — they shared travel expenses, meaning there was no burden only on Wade, any travel was paid w personal funds, and no Trump RICO case income was shared," the reporter said.
Lowell added, "The question now is prob whether Judge McAfee will use the standard of 'appearance of impropriety' — which doesn’t seem to be met either, at this point — like McBurney did when Willis was previously DQ’d. But denial of the DQ motion could be appealed, which would add delay."
Law professor Randall Eliason hailed Willis' response to the bid to oust her, but still said she made a "strategic error."
"DA Fani Willis has filed a strong opposition to the motion to disqualify," the expert said Friday. "But it was a strategic error to stay silent and let the allegations fester in the media for nearly a month instead of making a strong statement including these points right after it was filed."