Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis remains under pressure as she awaits the judge’s decision in her ethics hearing “within the next two weeks.”
The timing of the relationship between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade is still up for debate. Per Newsweek, “In a Monday court filing, Cindi Lee Yeager, a co-chief deputy district attorney for the Cobb County, Georgia, district attorney’s office, countered evidence from Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former divorce lawyer, who testified in support of the pair’s reported relationship timeline.”
According to Yeager, Bradley allegedly told her that the affair between Willis and Wade had started earlier than they have been testifying.
What’s at stake? Will Willis will be removed from the Donald Trump case, where he is charged with election racketeering? If so, her removal could “endanger the entire prosecution,” CNN reports.
On top of the ethics hearing, a Georgia state Senate committee was convened in January to investigate the “allegations of wrongdoing…by Willis.” This committee can subpoena individuals and compel them to testify under oath, but they do not possess the power to “remove Willis from the case.”
Willis believes the Senate investigation is a result of political machinations.
But Bill Cowsert, Republican state senator and chairman of the committee, says their goal is “to determine whether there has been improper behavior. Whether it’s been financially irregularities, and whether state laws have been broken.”
“That’s the role of this committee, get to the facts, get the truth and see if we need to build in more guardrails in Georgia law to prevent apparent conflicts of interests, abuse of the public trust, misuse of tax funds,” continued Cowsert.
“I think it’s all just a political quest. I think that people are angry because I’m going to do the right thing and I’m going to stand up for justice,” said Willis.
On Wednesday, the committee called its first witness to the stand, Ashleigh Merchant, the defense attorney for one of Donald Trump’s co-defendants. Merchant did not offer up much new information, but hammered down on the veracity of the timeline.
When Merchant was asked why she was trying to kick Willis and Wade “off the case,” Merchant maintained that the relationship had begun before Willis hired Wade “and that both were benefiting financially from the long trial.”
In other developments, Georgia Governor Bill Kemp has indicated that he would “sign a new bill which would give a state commission powers to discipline and remove prosecutors. The state House sent the bill to the Republican governor for approval, having voted for it 97-73 on Tuesday, with Democrats voicing their disapproval of it.”
If this bill becomes law, it could also be used for Willis’ removal.