Last week it was revealed that Fulton County DA Fani Willis (D) allegedly had "romantic partner" and now Special Counsel Nathan Wade lead the prosecution of former and potentially future President Donald Trump when it comes to the 2020 election. As our sister site of RedState has covered, Willis responded to the "bombshell" report over the weekend at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where she found it fitting to bring up the race of the prosecution team involved in the case.
Nick Arama highlighted how not only were Willis' remarks racially motivated, but that she didn't even speak to claims about a romantic relationship. Willis pointed to how Anna Green Cross and John Floyd, also on the case, are white, but that it's she and Wade, who are black, being questioned. "Isn’t it them playing the race card when they constantly think I need someone from some other jurisdiction in some other state to tell me how to do a job I’ve been doing almost 30 years?" she asked, while she herself is the one playing the race card.
"I hired one white woman, a good personal friend and great lawyer, a superstar, I tell you," Willis said at the church. "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." She went on to say "first thing they say: ‘oh, she [is going to] play the race card now.' But no, God, isn’t it them who’s playing the race card when they only question one?"
Co-defendant Michael Roman told the Atlanta Constitution-Journal on Sunday that "The biggest difference between Ms. Cross, Mr. Floyd and Mr. Wade is that Ms. Willis is not in a relationship with Ms. Cross and Mr. Floyd."
Roman wants the charges dropped against him as a result of Willis not going about the proper formal process to appoint Wade, and "on the grounds that the district attorney and the special prosecutor have been engaged in an improper, clandestine personal relationship during the pendency of this case, which has resulted in the special prosecutor, and, in turn, the district attorney, profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of taxpayers."
During her remarks, Willis also noted that "we are all flawed, sinners, unworthy, imperfect, damaged," which may be relevant given that she's in a church setting, though it's also a particularly questionable place, at best, to address such charges. Arama also noted "Willis said that she would be filing a response formally in response to Roman on the allegations."
Beyond the tactic from the left to make everything about race, which it appears Willis might be looking to hide behind, it's also particularly curious that she wouldn't speak more directly to allegations. Roman's accusations are not about Cross and Floyd, and their race shouldn't matter. Roman's accusations are about Wade, and on the basis of romantic involvement.
Floyd may play further into this, though. A Monday report from the Daily Caller News Foundation, citing contract documents, indicated that Floyd was paid less, despite his expertise:
John Floyd, who wrote a book on federal and state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statutes and is considered Georgia’s top expert, entered into a contract with the Fulton County District Attorney’s office on March 10, 2021 at an hourly rate of $150 per hour, according to a contract obtained by the DCNF. Nathan Wade, who Willis appointed special prosecutor, was retained at a rate of $250 per hour, according to the contract contained in court documents — though Willis claimed Sunday all her special counsels were paid the same rate.
This is despite how Willis claimed in her remarks on Sunday that "I appointed three special counsels, as is my right to do, paid them all the same hourly rate."
As Matt has been covering, Willis' case is falling apart, and this certainly doesn't help the situation. Roman's allegations caught the eye of House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), who is demanding that Wade turn over communication he had with the Fulton County District Attorney's Office about concerns about political motivations.
When it comes to commenting on such a response from Willis, Bonchie at RedState aptly noted that "Fani Willis Is in Full Panic Mode," which certainly sounds about right.
Willis may not even be part of the case for much longer, as Law Professor Jonathan Turley offered. As the Daily Caller also covered on Monday, Turley told Fox News' "America Reports" co-host John Roberts that the situation "is a very serious problem for [Willis]," adding "it may not ultimately make a huge difference in the prosecution. It may result in her removal, might actually result in a delay, but it won’t necessarily result in the dismissal of the case against Trump."