Trump joins effort to get Fulton County DA dismissed from 2020 election case over affair allegations

USA 26 January, 2024 22:37

Donald Trump’s attorneys are joining calls for the dismissal of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the 2020 election subversion case against the former president and his co-defendants in Georgia, pointing to alleged misconduct between Willis and her lead prosecutor.

In a filing in Fulton County Superior Court on Thursday, Trump’s attorneys joined an effort to dismiss the case brought by one of his co-defendants, who alleged in a previous court filing that Willis was engaged in a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor on the case and has benefitted financially when he took her on vacations.

The filing also points to public comments Willis recently made defending her choice to select the lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade, arguing that she violated Georgia rules for prosecutors.

“The motion filed today on behalf of President Trump seeks to hold District Attorney Willis legally accountable both for the misconduct alleged in a motion filed by Mr. Roman as well as her extrajudicial public statements falsely and intentionally injecting race into this case,” Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow, wrote in a statement.

In comments Willis made at Atlanta’s Big Bethel A.M.E. Church earlier this month, the DA defended her team of prosecutors in the case, calling into question why only one of the three prosecutors was being attacked.

“Is it that some will never see a Black man as qualified – no matter his achievements? What more can one achieve? The other two have never been judges, but no one questions their credentials,” Willis remarked.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment on the latest filing.

Trump’s attorneys claim that Willis made a “calculated effort to foment racial bias” against the defendants with her comments, which run the risk of prejudicing the public and prospective jurors.

“The DA’s comments directly ran afoul of Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct,” Trump attorneys wrote in the filing, adding that the maximum penalty for the alleged violation is disbarment.

“Her attempt to foment racial animus and prejudice against the defendants in order to divert and deflect attention away from her alleged improprieties calls out for the sanctions of dismissal and disqualification,” Sadow said in his statement.