Trump’s Georgia Case: State Investigations Create More Peril for Fani Willis – The New York Times
Trump Georgia Election Case
Advertisement
Supported by
A claim made about the prosecutor, Fani Willis, at a State Senate hearing proved false, but it hinted at the turbulence she might face even if an effort to disqualify her fails.
Danny Hakim and
Danny Hakim reported from New Jersey and Richard Fausset from Atlanta.
A new investigation unfolding at the Georgia State Capitol is previewing the turbulence that Fani T. Willis, the district attorney prosecuting Donald J. Trump, may face even if a judge allows her to keep the high-stakes case.
At a hearing on Wednesday before a special committee of the State Senate, which recently began investigating Ms. Willis, the defense lawyer leading the disqualification effort testified that Ms. Willis had once taken a large sum of money from her political campaign for her personal use.
The senator presiding over the hearing, Bill Cowsert, a Republican, was taken aback by the allegation. “I think all of us up here that have campaigns know that you can’t take campaign funds for personal use, right?” he asked.
The defense lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, told Mr. Cowsert that she was “not well versed in that area of law, but that is my understanding.” He replied, “It’s pretty black and white.”
There is no evidence to back up the allegation. In fact, Ms. Willis lent her first campaign nearly $50,000, drawn from a retirement account, and was paid back only a fraction of that, according to her office, campaign finance records and her past remarks.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Advertisement