Donald Trump's Georgia attorneys respond to latest claims from DA Fani Willis – Atlanta News First
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Former President Donald Trump’s Georgia attorneys have filed a response to Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ assertions she should not be disqualified from continuing her investigation into the nation’s 45th chief executive.
Trump attorneys Steve Sadow and Jennifer Little filed their response in Fulton County Superior Court. The filing cites Atlanta News First’s transcripts of Willis’ remarks to Big Bethel AME Church, in which she addressed accusations she and a special prosecutor in the case have engaged in an improper affair.
Her comments came one day before the nation marked the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Wednesday’s court filing highlighted some of Willis’ comments, including this passage of her speech:
“Lord, your flawed, hard-headed and imperfect child – I’m a little confused. I appointed three special counsel, as is my right to do. Paid them all the same hourly rate. They only attack one. I hired one white woman, a good personal friend and great lawyer. A superstar, I tell you, I hired one white man, brilliant, my friend and a great lawyer. And I hired one black man. Another superstar a great friend and a great lawyer. Oh, Lord, they‘re going to be mad when I call them out on this nonsense.”
Trump – Reply by Lindsey Basye on Scribd
“President Trump’s filing focuses on the DA’s disingenuous, untrue claim that her racially charged MLK holiday weekend ‘church speech’ was somehow not aimed at this case, the defendants, or defense counsel,” Sadow said in a separate statement. “Her claim utterly lacks plausibility.
“Our filing argues persuasively that, contrary to the DA’s response, Georgia law authorizes and compels the disqualification of the DA for her extrajudicial prosecutorial comments in violation of her special ethical responsibilities as a prosecutor,” Sadow said. “Once again, President Trump respectfully asserts that the DA’s egregious misconduct requires the dismissal of the indictment and her disqualification.”
On Friday, Willis responded to allegations she and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she hired to assist in her investigation and subsequent indictment of Trump, have engaged in an improper, romantic affair.
In a court filing made in Fulton County Superior Court, Willis’ office said she “has no financial conflict of interest that constitutes a legal basis for disqualification,” and “has no personal conflict of interest that justifies her disqualification personally or that of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.”
In an affidavit inside the 176-page filing, Wade admits he and Willis developed a “personal relationship” on top of their pre-existing friendship. However, he specified that they were not in a relationship before or during the time Willis hired Wade as a special prosecutor in 2021.
Willis issued dozens of indictments in August 2023 accusing Trump and his allies of trying to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
Her indictments say Trump and his allies suggested Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger could find enough votes for him to win the battleground state; harassed an election worker who faced false claims of fraud; and attempted to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of electors favorable to Trump.
But in early January, Trump co-defendant Michael Roman and his attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, made a bombshell court filing that sent the nation’s most watched political case into a new level of shock waves. That court filing accused Willis and Wade of having a romantic affair; claimed the duo took lavish vacations together; and that Wade used part of his salary from the district attorney’s office to travel with Willis.
Merchant also claimed to have discovered “outside of court filings” that Willis and Wade went on trips together.
Roman is a former White House aide who served as the director of Trump’s election day operations. Prosecutors allege Roman was involved in efforts to put forth a set of fake electors after the 2020 election, a charge to which Roman has pleaded not guilty.
The court document claims the relationship began before Wade was appointed to the case. Roman and his attorney claim Willis also failed to get county approval to appoint Wade as special prosecutor.
Roman’s attorney is asking the court to disqualify both Willis and Wade from prosecuting the organized crime case and drop all the charges against Roman. The filing also charges Wade has personally and financially benefited from the relationship, and demands the charges against Roman be dismissed.
This story is developing.
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