Tipsheet

Fani Willis Challenger Debates Empty Podium After DA Skips Face-Off

Mia Cathell
Mia Cathell  |  May 01, 2024 1:30 PM

Ahead of early voting in Georgia's general primary, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis decidedly skipped taking the debate stage over the weekend, forcing her opponent to face off with an empty podium for a palpably awkward 15-minute period.

Willis was a no-show at the county's Democratic debate Sunday evening, opting instead to host the annual "Fani T. Willis Self-Care Fair," while Georgia voters geared up to head to the polls this week. The incumbent Atlanta prosecutor is seeking a second term as she staves off a myriad of compounding scandals, for which many critics hope Willis will pay the price at the ballot box.

What was supposed to be a back-and-forth showdown consisting of three rounds turned into a one-man roast session. Alone on stage, her challenger, Christian Wise Smith, used the time and opportunity to thrash Willis on several fronts, one of them being her affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to helm the prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

One of the journalists on the panel asking candidates questions, Atlanta Journal-Constitution senior reporter Tamar Hallerman, noted the DA's office "devoting substantial taxpayer resources" to prosecuting Trump in the sprawling Georgia RICO case.

"You pay one attorney nearly $1 million to handle one case," Wise Smith said of Willis paying her lover over $710,000 in taxpayer-funded legal fees for his work on the Trump case. Wade spent portions of his paychecks—coming from the county's coffers—on luxury trips around the world with Willis, including trysts the two took together in Aruba, Belize, and the Bahamas.

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The salacious revelations were aired during weeks of disqualification proceedings over prosecutorial misconduct claims leveled against Willis. However, the hearings only resulted in Wade's resignation. Willis was allowed to remain as part of the judge's ultimatum, so long as Wade went. Trump and his co-defendants have taken the matter to the state's Court of Appeals, which is expected to rule soon (by the May 13 deadline) on whether or not they'll hear his appeal on the non-disqualification decision.

Wise Smith, a former Fulton County prosecutor, mentioned working in the DA's office for far less income. "My salary was significantly less than what that attorney was paid, and I was responsible for handling a lot more cases than one," he quipped.

According to the county contracts, Willis paid Wade at a higher rate ($250 an hour) than Georgia's top racketeering expert (only $200 hourly). Willis argued that her "southern gentleman" "made much more money [...] because Wade did much more work."

Wise Smith indicated that other criminal cases have been neglected across the crime-ridden county as a result of the chief prosecutor's relentless pursuit of taking down Trump. "Women [in Fulton County] don't feel safe stopping at the gas pump at night. I know victims of domestic violence who feel like their cases are being neglected and overlooked," Wise Smith said.

"That leaves the rest of us vulnerable," he asserted. "That hurts everyone else in Fulton County."

At one point, Wise Smith was allowed to pose a question of his own to Willis and offer a 30-second rebuttal of how he believed she would answer if she were present. Wise Smith gestured towards the spot where Willis should have stood, and the camera cut to the unoccupied podium, which was purposefully left vacant to "represent" the Democrat DA, a moderator announced.

"My question for you is: Where are you?" Wise Smith asked an absent Willis. "You know, I'm here because I care about the citizens and the families of Fulton County. But it's my understanding that you may have attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner. You might be fundraising across the country, but what about us here in Fulton County? What are you doing to address the issues in the jail? What are you doing to address the backlog? Where are you, Ms. Willis?" he asked again.

"That's what we want to know," Wise Smith added.

As for a rebuttal, Wise Smith said he could not speak for Willis, but "her absence is all the response that we need."

Apparently, Willis bailed because she was too busy "schmoozing" with Washington elites late Saturday evening. As photographed by The Grio, a black-lifestyle news outlet, Willis was spotted wearing a blue ballgown at the swanky White House dinner in D.C. where guests rubbed elbows with celebrities, politicians, and high-level officials in the Biden administration.

Wise Smith has since challenged Willis to a rematch, according to a press release shared with Fox News.

"Ignoring a community-organized event while violent crime escalates, to schmooze with politicos while an 'SNL' comedian roasts the entire political process, tells me where her allegiances lie," Wise Smith's communications director Michael Ceraso said.

"And it's not with the voters of Fulton County," Ceraso added.

Wise Smith harped again on the DA's office having its hands full with the Trump case and consequently leaving "everyday Georgians trapped in a flawed criminal justice system to fend largely for themselves as the high-profile case gobbles up limited energy and resources..." Wise Smith said, "Politics do not keep the families and residents of Fulton County safe. Action does."

"Yet, I haven't heard Fani Willis put forth a plan that indicates she's concerned about the real issues keeping voters awake at night..." Wise Smith stated. "There is no reason we can't reschedule the debate. We are happy to work with her team to do it."

Earlier in the month, Willis had declined the debate invitation from the Atlanta Press Club, which sponsored Sunday's event.

"Fani appreciates the invitation and under other circumstances she would participate, but after careful consideration, she must decline," the Willis reelection campaign said, according to Atlanta News First. "We are not doing interviews that include discussion of the substance of high-profile cases the office is prosecuting, particularly the election interference prosecution..."

"We understand that she cannot insist that panelists and her opponent avoid certain subjects, and consequently, her participation means likely repeatedly being unable to respond to questions, as well as risking saying something that defense counsel could make an issue in ongoing litigation," the statement from the campaign continued, though that policy never stopped Willis before.

In response, the Atlanta Press Club's spokesperson Lauri Strauss, organizer of the non-profit's debate series, said they're "disappointed" with Willis's decision not to participate. "We believe it is the responsibility of people running for public office to answer questions from their local media that will help inform voters before they cast their ballots," Strauss said in a statement.

Willis, overwhelmingly favored to win the DA's race, will face Wise Smith in the state's May 21 primary. Wise Smith was previously defeated by Willis when she won the 2020 election, and he lost the 2022 contest for Georgia attorney general.

Ex-Trump lawyer Courtney Kramer is also running to unseat Willis. The Republican contender reportedly worked as a litigation consultant for Trump's legal team in Georgia following the 2020 election and served as special counsel for the Georgia GOP.