Scandal-plagued Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was nowhere to be seen Sunday at the Democratic Party’s first debate as she tries to win reelection.
Willis has courted controversy during the prosecution of the county’s election interference case against Donald Trump as it was revealed she had a past relationship with special counsel Nathan Wade.
Her conduct was examined in a series of sensational hearings, with High Court Judge Scott McAfee ultimately sentencing her for a ‘massive error of judgement’ and for acting ‘unprofessionally’.
However, she escaped with just a slap on the wrist after McAfee dramatically ruled that she could remain in the Trump election interference case if Wade removed himself.
On Sunday, she skipped the party’s first primary debate, leaving opponent Christian Wise Smith to speak to an empty stage.
It appears she isn’t too concerned about the scandal affecting her re-election chances, as she skipped the party’s first primary debate, leaving opponent Christian Wise Smith to speak to an empty stage.
Willis speaks at a news conference alongside prosecutor Nathan Wade after a grand jury returned charges against former President Donald Trump
Willis chose instead co-organizing an annual ‘self-care fair’ for crime victims, despite early voting from Monday.
Smith hammered Willis’ decision to hire Wade to prosecute Trump.
“That issue is important to us in Fulton County and to many people across the country … but you have to do things differently,” he said during the debate.
“Paying one attorney nearly a million dollars to handle one case leaves the rest of us vulnerable, and that hurts everyone in Fulton County.”
Smith will no doubt be hoping the no-show will improve his chances Fox 5 Atlanta Polls show Willis still dominating the race by 70 points.
Wade headed the team of lawyers Willis had assembled to prosecute the case since the previous president and 18 others were indicted in August, but their relationship raised concerns that the couple could pursue financial gain through the proceedings.
Willis, 53, has said she is “not embarrassed” by the relationship and that efforts by his defense team to “slow down” the progress of the case against Trump have been unsuccessful.
‘I don’t feel like my reputation needs to be reclaimed. Let’s just say it for the record: I’m not ashamed of what I did,” she said CNN at a community event in College Park, Atlanta in late March.
Smith hammered Willis’ decision to hire Wade to prosecute Trump
Scandal-plagued Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was nowhere to be seen at the Democratic Party’s first debate on Sunday as she tries to win re-election
Willis instead chose to co-host an annual “self-care fair” for crime victims, despite early voting that began Monday
‘I think my biggest crime is having a relationship with a man, but I don’t find that embarrassing in any way.
“I know I didn’t do anything illegal.”
Referring to two months of hearings and trials over her romantic relationship, she added: “While that was going on, we were writing responsive briefs, we were still dealing with the matter in a way that needed to be done.
‘I don’t feel like we’ve slowed down at all. I think there are attempts to slow this train down, but the train is coming.”
Her latest comments come as attorneys continue to make claims about her handling of a sweeping prosecution against the former president and current presumptive Republican Party nominee.
Trump faces four felony charges — including separate federal and state charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.
His team has fought to have the cases delayed and dismissed, arguing that political opponents are unfairly targeting him.
Willis watches a hearing on the Georgia election interference case
Defense attorneys claim Willis hired Wade to profit from Trump’s prosecution through their romantic relationship.
Supreme Court Justice Scott McAfee said there was not enough evidence to prove these claims, but reprimanded Willis for what he called a “massive error in judgment.”
Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University who is following the case, criticized her comments in a post on X.
“If I were Fani Willis, I would just not talk to the media at all right now, just out of an abundance of caution,” Kreis said.
In a 23-page ruling, Judge Scott McAfee excoriated Willis for a “massive error in judgment” and for “unprofessional conduct” but said she could stay on the case if Wade resigned.
He reasoned that not enough evidence had been presented to establish that her romantic relationship with Wade amounted to an “actual conflict of interest.”
Trump’s lawyers denounced the decision to let Willis stay on the case and said they would pursue “all legal options” in response.
At a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, earlier in March, Trump went after Wade, drawing on his lack of experience prosecuting crimes in Atlanta before being asked to lead the election interference case, saying, “That has he’s never done it before.’
“But he did something different before he did with Fani, he did that in full,” Trump added, referring to their romantic relationships.
“He’s good at that, I think,” Trump said as the crowd laughed.