Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was the target of harsh criticism from CNN legal analyst Elie Honig this week, after the judge who’s overseeing the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump thew out some of the charges that were filed against him.
On Wednesday, Honig appeared on CNN, just two days before Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Willis can remain on the case against Trump, as long as her lover, special prosecutor Natan Wade, is removed.
As Honig said about the charges being thrown out:
“I don’t think this ruling changes the type of evidence that the DA’s going to be able to introduce, but it does knock out some of the charges, and look, it’s embarrassing for prosecutors. It’s a screwup by prosecutors when you bring a charge and then a judge throws it out before it even goes to trial.”
This week, McAfee tossed six charges against Trump and his co-defendants out. In his ruling, he said that prosecutors didn’t provide sufficient detail to the defendants so they could mount a defense.
Honig referred to the separate misconduct trial against Willis when she said:
“There have been several screwups, frankly, by the DA throughout the history of this case. Going back to the investigative phase, the DA got herself disqualified from a small piece of the case because she created a political conflict of interest.”
McAfee ruled a few days after Honig’s appearance that Willis could stay on as the head of the case against Trump in Georgia, despite allegations of misconduct for not disclosing a romantic relationship she had with Wade, who she hired as a special prosecutor on the case.
Wade, though, must be removed from the case for Willis to stay on.
In the ruling, McAfee said that either Willis or Wade would have to depart from the case, as an “odor of mendacity remains” about the circumstances of their romantic relationship.
Willis wasn’t disqualified from leading the case, which could be seen in a small vacuum as a win for her. However, her relationship with Wade has now become the focal point of the case, drawing all the attention away from Trump, his co-defendants and the charges they’re facing.
While McAfee said the relationship between the two came after “bad choices,” he added that, “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices — even repeatedly.”
The relationship was brought into the spotlight earlier this year, when one of Trump’s co-defendants in the case, Mike Roman, filed a motion seeking for Willis to be disqualified because of her “improper” relationship with Wade.
Wade apparently used a lot of the money he received as salary from the case on luxurious trips he took with Willis. The defendants in the case alleged that this proved that Willis was profiting financially from her relationship with Wade, though Willis said she reimbursed him with cash.
