Willis's Current Status
These are excerpts from a recent
New York Times article:
After revelations of Fani T. Willis’s romance with a subordinate sent the Georgia criminal case against Donald J. Trump down a two-month detour worthy of a soap opera, a judge’s ruling on Friday resolved a major cliffhanger. Ms. Willis could continue prosecuting the case, so long as her ex-boyfriend withdrew from it.
Her troubles are far from over
The defense effort to disqualify Ms. Willis began in early January, upending the case and making it unlikely to reach trial before [November]
Any attempts to appeal Friday’s ruling could delay matters even further. (Trump is likely to appeal.)
Republicans have smelled blood. The G.O.P. lawmakers who dominate Georgia politics have created new ways to investigate Ms. Willis ...
... last week, a young lawyer named Courtney Kramer, a former intern in the Trump White House, announced that she would run against Ms. Willis in this year’s race for district attorney. Ms. Kramer’s campaign, while unlikely to succeed in heavily Democratic Fulton County, could amplify criticism of Ms. Willis and the case.
Mr. Trump has made Ms. Willis’s troubles a recurring talking point at rallies
On Thursday, Jim Jordan sent a letter to Ms. Willis threatening to invoke contempt of Congress proceedings against her if she did not turn over certain documents related to her office’s use of federal funds.
All of these attacks could help to sow doubts about the district attorney and her case in the minds of future jurors.
As the pressure has mounted, Ms. Willis has responded with fierce defiance.
[Some of the original 19 defendants have pleaded out.] It is unclear whether the events of the last two months will make further plea [and cooperation] talks [with other defendants] less likely.
[The judge] suggested that he was open to issuing a gag order that would block Ms. Willis from mentioning the case in public from now on.
... like Mr. Trump, [Willis] does not shy away from the spotlight. And like Mr. Trump, her talkative, combative nature has won her enthusiastic fans.
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Not mentioned in the NY Times article is the grievance that has been filed with the GA BAR by a Fulton County resident. That's another non-case front on which Willis must now fight. Additional BAR complaints filed by additional parties may follow.
One or more complaints have also been filed with the Fulton County Board of Ethics.
My view: While she is a proven RICO prosecutor, Willis has an ego and it is getting the best of her. Now facing fights on multiple fronts, the intense pressure and Willis's wounded ego may distract her in the game and prompt her to keep her eye OFF the ball. That would mean the case would not get her best efforts. Her totally avoidable and idiotic romantic misconduct has already created a soap-opera detour that delayed the trial by two months. It may have weakened her ability to flip additional defendants.
Above, I agreed with attorney Wiessmann who called for her recusal. But there is some question about that. It may be if she officially recuses herself from the case, she must recuse her entire office and turn the case over to another prosecutor assigned by the state. If that is true, her best move would be to appoint a lead prosecutor (a RICO expert in her office named Floyd), and let him take point.
In the interests of successful prosecution, she should withdraw from the spotlight and maintain a behind-the-scenes supervisory role. But that is difficult to do when she is up for re-election, has a vocal, Trump-loyal opponent, and will be forced to answer the ethics and BAR complaints.
It may already be too late, but Willis could take an important lesson from Jack Smith. He almost never speaks in public about his cases. And when he does, it's only about something that has already been filed in court. In other words, Smith speaks through his filings. Willis should at least try to do the same. But unlike Willis, Smith has not committed the blunders Willis has, and as a result, he is not forced into the spotlight like Willis will be.
Will Willis learn any lessons from this? Will she be productively chastened? I don't know, but it won't take long to find out. Willis now stands in dire need of an attorney who can provide objective guidance for her benefit and the benefit of the case. She is a deeply wounded figure with numerous fights on her hands. She may already be doomed, and if she cannot rise above her own ego, she is certainly doomed.
That said, there is another possibility. Willis may persist and even double down in her fiercely defiant responses. She may be just getting warmed up and is ready to bring a fight to Trump he cannot withstand. If so, this already ugly contest will get more ugly until it is resolved one way or another.
thehill.com
