Fani Willis Has One ‘Last Opportunity,’ Legal Analyst Warns

Legal analyst and attorney Jonathan Turley said that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has one “last opportunity” to step aside in the case she built against former President Donald Trump.

Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted last August for allegedly attempting to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election win in Georgia. Trump, who is the presumed 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claimed the case is politically motivated against him.

In an attempt to get Willis and her team disqualified and the charges against them thrown out, some of the defendants, including Trump, argued that a personal relationship between Willis and her lead prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest. While Willis and Wade confirmed that they had been in a relationship, they said that neither had personally benefited from it.

On Friday, Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the election interference case, ruled that the evidence presented by the defense was “legally insufficient” to conclude that there was a conflict of interest, however, “the appearance of impropriety remains.”

He said Willis and her office would either need to step aside and let another district attorney take over the case, or Wade will have to withdraw himself from the case. Wade resigned hours after McAfee filed his decision.

Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday: “The real question now is whether Willis will take the last opportunity to do the right thing and withdraw from the case.”

He added: “It is unimaginable how any prosecutor with a modicum of ethical awareness could remain in the case after this damning opinion. Willis has consistently put her personal interests before those of her office. Judge McAfee just gave her an opportunity to rise to the occasion. While he laid out two options, he was strongly suggesting a third: remove yourself.”

Newsweek reached out to Willis’ office via email for comment.

Turley told Newsweek in an email on Saturday that Willis’ “team has experienced prosecutors who are already taking the lead. The insistence on remaining involved in the case seems more hubris and pride.”

He added: “It is hard to imagine that the team privately wants to carry this baggage into trial. The underlying racketeering theory is already highly controversial without the overlay of personal scandal involving the district attorney.”

Turley dug in further in a column posted to his website on Friday where he mentioned a speech Willis gave to a congregation at an Atlanta church in January, which McAfee called “legally improper” in his decision.

In her speech, which was given on the heels of defendant Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign staff, filing the initial motion to disqualify Willis, the district attorney complained that a Fulton County commissioner and others questioned her decision to hire Wade. She said that the effort against her was motivated by “playing the race card.”

Roman has pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him.

“Providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the District Attorney to wade further into,” McAfee wrote in his decision. However, the judge did say that the speech did not deny the opportunity for a fair trial and did not disqualify Willis.

‘Questionable Testimony’

Turley also brought up Willis’ testimony during her disqualification hearings in February. “Willis will now prosecute defendants for false statements as her own questionable testimony is likely to be investigated by the state and the bar,” Turley wrote on his website.

One contention made during these hearings was about the timeline of Willis’ and Wade’s relationship. The two said that their relationship started in the spring of 2022 after Willis hired Wade and ended in the summer of 2023.

However, the testimony from Robin Yearti, a longtime friend of Willis and a former district attorney office employee, contradicted this timeline. Yearti said that Willis and Wade’s relationship started shortly after they met at a conference in October 2019.

McAfee said in his decision that after looking at all the evidence and testimony, “neither side was able to conclusively establish by a preponderance of the evidence when the relationship evolved into a romantic one.”

Turley warned that more trouble could lie ahead for Willis and Wade.

“The problem for Willis is that the order of Judge McAfee does not end these inquiries. The state senate is pursuing these allegations and there remains a great deal of evidence that will be reviewed in the weeks to come,” Turley told Newsweek.

He added: “There could also be potential legal liability for Wade or Willis as well as bar proceedings. They will be either witnesses or the subjects of these proceedings. New evidence or allegations could raise additional objections to Judge McAfee as well as distract the staff.”