Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told reporters this week she is the only DA in the country with enough “courage” to prosecute former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case.
During an Easter event in College Park Saturday for families in need, Willis, 52, spoke to the media for the first time since a judge ruled she could remain on the case.
“There’s one district attorney in the state – and really around the country – that has had the courage to do this, and she continues to do it,” Willis told FOX 5 Atlanta. “The case landed in Fulton County, not by anything that I did, but by the actions of others, and when a case lands in my jurisdiction, I’m going to prosecute it, and that’s the end of that.”
Fulton County DA Fani Willis speaking to the media during an Easter event on Saturday. (WAGA)
Defense attorneys have accused Willis of mishandling the case, alleging that she hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade to profit from the Trump prosecution through their romantic relationship.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove those claims but rebuked Willis for what he called a “tremendous lapse in judgment.”
Judge McAfee has allowed attorneys for Trump’s codefendants to appeal his ruling that she could stay on the case after the withdrawal of special prosecutor Wade.
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In remarks to Atlanta News First, Willis implored the media to focus on “the charges, the facts, and the law and leave all the drama behind.”
“I’m 52 years old. It really ain’t that interesting if I’m in a relationship or not. If just ain’t. It’s not cool to anybody, and it ain’t that sensational of a story,” Willis said.
Willis also told CNN that the prosecution against Trump hasn’t been delayed by proceedings over her romantic relationship.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)
“I don’t feel like we have been slowed down at all,” Willis said. “I think there are efforts to slow down the train, but the train is coming.”
She also said she didn’t believe her reputation needed to be reclaimed and that she hadn’t done anything embarrassing.
“I’m not embarrassed by anything I’ve done,” Willis said. “I guess my greatest crime is that I had a relationship with a man, but that’s not something I find embarrassing in any way.”
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On Twitter, Trump attorney Steve Sadow accused Willis of ignoring Judge McAffee’s warning “in his disqualification order about talking about the case in a public forum.”
“Does this surprise anyone?” Sadow tweeted.
In a follow-up tweet, Sadow wrote: “Does political ambition, opportunism, and pretentiousness equal courage? NO!”
Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State University law professor who’s been following the case, criticized her comments in a post on X.
“If I were Fani Willis, I would simply not talk to the media at all at this point just out of an abundance of caution,” Kreis said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the DA’s office for comment.
Trump faces four felony indictments — including separate federal and state cases for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election that he lost to President Joe Biden — but has fought to delay and dismiss the cases, arguing that political opponents are wrongly targeting him.
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Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is presiding over the criminal trial of Trump’s alleged hush-money payments to an adult film star. New York Attorney General Letitia James brought a case against Trump in October, alleging that he inflated his assets and committed fraud. And Special Counsel Jack Smith charged last summer that Trump plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
