Fani Willis once again cries racism — this time smearing investigators looking into her possible misconduct



Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has an apparent tendency of ascribing race-based antipathies to her critics. Willis leaned once more into the trend when campaigning for re-election on "The Rachel Maddow Show" Monday, while also casting doubt on the legitimacy of her scrutineers.

Willis questions elected officials' legitimacy

The titular talking head of the MSNBC show cited a recent op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution penned by three Democratic lawmakers in Georgia, which suggested that the recent efforts to hold Willis accountable for alleged misconduct are instead an effort to "tarnish Willis' reputation, delegitimize the judicial process and the rule of law, and distract from the substantive facts of the case."

The op-ed also called the allegations so far raised against Willis "dubious," despite even Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee acknowledging the Democratic prosecutor's "bad choices," her "tremendous lapse in judgment," her "legally improper" remarks, and her prosecutions' encumbrance "by an appearance of impropriety."

Maddow said, "This strikes me very close to my heart because I feel like this is one of the first times I've seen people stand up for you on this point."

Maddow then asked Willis whether she agreed with her fellow Democrats' assessment that she was a noble victim.

"Well, as you know — let's start with the federal government and Jim Jordan. Jim Jordan has time after time after time attacked my office with no legitimate purpose," said Willis. "Anyone who knows Jim Jordan's history knows that he only has the purpose of trying to interfere in a criminal investigation."

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) launched a legitimate inquiry into the alleged collusion between Willis and the Jan. 6 Committee in December 2023.

Willis, facing off Tuesday against fellow leftist Christian Wise Smith in the Democratic primary, told Maddow that she has complied with subpoenas from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, even though she reportedlydragged her feet on producing requested documents regarding her office's use of federal funds in March, such that Jordan felt compelled to threaten her with contempt of Congress.

Willis, whose supporters concern-mongered in the Journal-Constitution about delegitimizing efforts, said Jordan was "illegitimate in his position and it's disgusting."

'They are trying to attack me at every level.'

"Now at the state level, they've decided to follow this clown's lead," continued Willis. "And they want to now try to interfere in an investigation and it's not legitimate either."

Contrary to Willis' suggestion, the Georgia Senate Special Committee is also legitimate, having been approved by the democratically elected members of the Georgia state Senate in January and tasked with investigating Willis for possible misconduct.

"They are trying to attack me at every level," said Willis, before launching into a brief campaign speech and preemptively belittling the Republican candidate for the DA's post, Courtney Kramer.

Maddow thanked Willis for dealing with "slings and arrows."

'Racially charged'

Extra to casting doubt on the legitimacy of official investigations, Willis insinuated criticism of her was racially motivated.

"Georgia had never had a prosecutorial oversight committee," Willis told Rachel Maddow. "All of a sudden, 14 minorities were elected to office to serve as district attorney. And now all of a sudden they need an oversight committee to look after district attorneys because they want to tell us how to prosecute and who to prosecute and where we should put our resources, as opposed to allowing the voters that put us in these seats to make those determinations."

'But apparently we now need daddy to tell us how to do our job.'

"Most of the population has elected these minority DAs to serve them and has trusted their judgment," continued Willis. "But apparently we now need daddy to tell us how to do our job."

Willis made a similar claim earlier this month, telling reporters, "Isn't it interesting when we got a bunch of African American DAs, now we need a daddy to tell us what to do?"

Willis' intimation that race played a factor in the formation of the oversight committee is hardly the first time she has projected racism where there was ostensibly none.

Earlier this year, Steve Sadow, the lead lawyer for former President Donald Trump in his Georgia election interference case, pressed Willis' team after they failed to respond to his emails. Daysha Young, an executive district attorney in Fulton County, initially responded by writing that she and Willis "are both aware, especially as an African American woman some find it difficult to treat us respectfully."

Sadow said Young's comments were "offensive, uncalled for and untrue."

Willis weighed into the email chain saying, "In the legal community (and the world at large) some people will never be able to respect African Americans and/or women as their equal and counterpart."

"Some are so used to doing it they are not even aware they are doing it while others are intentional in their continued disrespect," added Willis.

Blaze News previously reported that in a Jan. 14 address to a congregation at Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Willis suggested that critiques of her leadership and hiring decisions were motivated not by concerns over fairness, lawfulness, or conflicts of interest but by hate — specifically, racial animus.

"They call me the N-word more than they call me Fani," said Willis. "[God,] you did not tell me as a woman of color it would not matter what I did. My motive, my talent, my ability, and my character would be constantly attacked."

According to Willis, those who criticized her appointing her lover as special prosecutor in the Trump case were "playing the race card."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Blaze Media investigation triggers congressional inquiry into alleged Capitol Police perjury



A Blaze Media investigation has triggered a congressional inquiry into alleged U.S. Capitol Police perjury, according to a Friday analysis by Blaze News investigative journalist Steve Baker.

What are the details?

U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) — who chairs the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, which has jurisdiction over Capitol Police — penned a March 1 letter to USCP Chief J. Thomas Manger, Baker noted.

The four-page missive demanded two things: more complete information about a 2016 disciplinary report concerning Special Agent David Lazarus — and details about an internal affairs investigation of Lazarus last November that stemmed directly from Blaze Media’s reporting, Baker wrote.

Loudermilk's letter notes that on Nov. 7, 2023, Lazarus was referred to the USCP Office of Professional Responsibility "for allegedly not being truthful in testimony in a high-profile criminal court case involving an incident in the Capitol building on January 6, 2021."

In the letter, Loudermilk asserted what Baker's investigation of Lazarus last October uncovered: Lazarus could not have witnessed on Jan. 6 what he testified to have seen during the Oath Keepers trial since video evidence shows Lazarus was in another part of the Capitol at the time.

Proof of Perjury | The Truth About January 6 youtu.be

What's more, neither Capitol Police nor the Justice Department made the Capitol CCTV videos of Lazarus’ movements in the Capitol on January 6 available to the Oath Keepers' defense teams, Baker said.

More from Baker's Friday analysis:

Loudermilk’s letter also provides an additional detail that, if true, would raise additional questions about federal prosecutors’ conduct of the Oath Keepers’ trial. According to Loudermilk, OPR investigators “relied on the statements of a federal prosecutor in the case in which Special Agent Lazarus was called as a witness.”

Blaze Media also learned from a congressional source that federal prosecutors “were definitely consulted/interviewed” by Capitol Police investigators during their inquiry in November.

Loudermilk's letter adds that OPR interviewed Lazarus on Dec. 18, 2023, and when an investigating USCP officer asked Lazarus if he committed perjury in his testimony, Lazarus responded, “No.”

But Loudermilk wasn't done with Lazarus.

Baker also reported in his Friday analysis that a former high-ranking USCP officer — who asked for anonymity out of fear of retaliation — had told Blaze Media about a "past disciplinary event that cast doubt on Lazarus’ trial testimony and his credibility in general."
More from Baker's analysis:
In 2016, Lazarus, who was assigned to the Dignitary Protection Division, was involved in the cover-up of an incident in which he was discovered to be drinking on duty. Lying in an internal affairs investigation is a “terminable” offense. At the very least, the incident should have been made known to the Oath Keepers’ defense team, which might have used the knowledge to impeach Lazarus’ testimony during cross-examination.

But Lazarus wasn’t fired. And the Oath Keepers’ lawyers were left in the dark.

Baker added in his Friday analysis that USCP leadership and their general counsel, Thomas “Tad” DiBiase, have resisted the efforts of Blaze Media — and even those of Loudermilk's committee — to acquire the 2016 OPR disciplinary report on Lazarus. However, Baker also reported that a senior aide with Loudermilk's committee has seen the OPR report and said its contents are “nuclear.”

In regard to the allegation that Lazarus was drinking alcohol while on duty in 2016, Loudermilk's letter revealed that despite the OPR sustaining the allegation — as well as approval of that recommendation by the USCP Inspector for the USCP Dignitary Protection Division Commander — it was all overruled by the USCP Office of General Counsel. Loudermilk's letter also said "it appears that Agent Lazarus may have intentionally given false or misleading statements" during the 2016 investigation.

In addition, Baker added in his Friday analysis that Blaze Media has learned from Oath Keeper defense attorneys that neither the USCP nor federal prosecutors disclosed Lazarus’ 2016 OPR investigation to them before his October 31, 2022, testimony.

Now what?

Loudermilk concluded his letter to USCP Chief Manger with the following:

The incomplete OPR investigation regarding Special Agent Lazarus’ testimony regarding the incident in the Capitol on January 6, 2021, coupled with the OGC overruling the recommendation of OPR and a Division Commander regarding Special Agent Lazarus’ violation of USCP policy, and the possibility Special Agent Lazarus made false statements, raises significant questions about USCP’s internal accountability and discipline structure. The lack of a robust investigation into the allegations that Agent Lazarus potentially lied under oath is unacceptable.

To better understand USCP’s internal processes and guidelines for discipline, I ask that you provide the Subcommittee with the complete USCP guidelines for OPR discipline and any additional information that informed the outcomes of these OPR investigations.

Capitol Police on Friday didn't immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment on Baker's latest analysis.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Defense attorney in Trump's Georgia case tees up Fani Willis for renewed scrutiny with damning testimony



The Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations learned this week that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may not have been entirely forthright when answering questions about her timely visits to Washington, D.C., or when asking the county for millions of dollars in taxpayer funds.

While the panel is powerless to oust Willis from office, damning insights gleaned from testimony heard Wednesday could nevertheless help to blow up the Democrat's career.

Quick background

Willis' year got off to a rough start when an attorney for one of the co-defendants in former President Donald Trump's Georgia case filed a motion to disqualify her. Attorney Ashleigh Merchant's Jan. 8 court filing accused Willis of pursuing the case despite a conflict of interest and engaging in other improprieties.

In the months since, Merchant has proven a thorn in the Democrat's side, exposing Willis to scrutiny over her affair with Nathan Wade — the allegedly underqualified man she ultimately appointed top Trump prosecutor — and other possibly compromising choices.

While the last two months were particularly rocky, it appears Willis' year may get a whole lot worse.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has yet to determine whether Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the Georgia case for what defense attorney Craig Gillen characterized as "systematic misconduct"; however, other officials are looking into possible wrongdoing on Willis' part in the meantime — including members of a state Senate special committee.

Merchant testified before the Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations for over three hours Wednesday, intimating the Georgia case is compromised not only by those directly involved but by its possible connection to the Biden White House as well.

A timely visit to DC

Merchant highlighted a White House record during her testimony Wednesday that indicates Willis met with Vice President Kamala Harris on Feb. 28, 2023, just months before Trump's Georgia indictment.

"My understanding is that it's highly regulated who can access the White House," said Merchant. "So you have to apply ahead of time."

The record suggests the meeting took place on a "side lawn/tent" at the U.S. Naval Observatory where 456 people were present for what appears to have been an invitation-only Black History Month event.

— (@)

Mike Howell of the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project similarly made a note of the White House record in January.

— (@)

When asked about her trips to Washington, D.C., during her ethics hearing in Fulton County Superior Court earlier this month, Willis said, "I know that I have been to D.C. — I did an interview with Howard University. I went to D.C. for that. Seems like I been to D.C. one other time. Oh! I went to D.C. for the Global Summit."

A defense attorney asked Willis, "When you went to D.C., did you go to the White House?"

Willis answered under oath, "I did not go to the White House."

A spokesman for the DA's office told CNN that there was no "secret meeting" between Willis and Harris in February 2023. The spokesman suggested further that Willis did not even meet Harris at the black history event and only saw her on stage from a distance.

Blaze News reached out to the White House regarding whether Willis met with Harris on Feb. 28 or other occasions but did not immediately receive a response.

While it remains unclear whether Willis personally met with Harris, her lover was certainly up close and personal with elements of the Biden White House ahead of the Trump indictment.

Blaze News previously reported that invoices included in Merchant's motion to disqualify indicate that Nathan Wade had an eight-hour meeting on May 23, 2022, with "White House Counsel" and another eight-hour White House meeting on Nov. 11, 2022.

Merchant appeared reluctant to explicitly accuse Willis and Wade of conspiring with the Biden administration to kneecap the Republican front-runner.

Money problems

Merchant told the committee that after Willis pleaded with the Fulton County Board of Commissioners in 2021 for millions of dollars to fight the rise in crime and the backlog of homicide cases resultant of COVID-19, she allegedly ended up using a sizeable portion of the taxpayer funds on Trump's election case.

The Democratic DA then hired Wade in a manner such that she could allegedly dodge oversight and pay him more than the other much more experienced prosecutors.

Whereas Wade, previously a middling associate municipal court judge in Marietta, reportedly entered into a contract with Willis' office on Nov. 1, 2021, at a rate of $250 per hour, John Floyd, one of Georgia's top experts on federal and state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statutes, entered into a contract on March 10 of that year at a rate of $150 per hour.

An extra $100 an hour would have gone the distance when paying down Wade's and Willis' luxurious vacations together.

Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert, the chair of the committee, appeared particularly interested in Wade's apparently uncustomary tendency to submit invoices to the DA's office charging by blocks of hours rather than in hourly increments.

Merchant told lawmakers that Floyd and prosecutor Anna Cross alternatively submitted itemized invoices and were both paid a great deal less than Willis' lover, reported WAGA-TV. Whereas Wade reportedly received roughly $700,000 for his work, Cross received $100,000, and Floyd brought in even less.

Republican lawmakers also puzzled over why the Democratic DA needed to hire special prosecutors in the first place.

"Why wouldn't you just hire more assistant DAs and have them in-house?" asked Cowsert.

According to Merchant, Willis would have run afoul of nepotism rules if she hired Wade. Additionally, as a special prosecutor, Wade stood to make far more money than an assistant DA, whose pay rate is set by statute. Whereas assistant DAs make roughly $175,000 per year, Wade has cleared substantially more.

The Washington Times reported that the Georgia Senate's special committee has alluded to the presence of whistleblowers in Willis' office who are willing to spill the beans.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Nathan Wade's divorce attorney provides Trump attorneys with little extra to damn Fani Willis in ethics hearing



Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis faces the possibility of disqualification from former President Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case over misconduct allegations. If Willis' preferred narrative and the timeline it hinges on fail to hold up in court, then the consequences could be more dire than a simple ouster.

Attorneys for Trump and those of his co-defendants pinned their hopes on additional testimony from Terrence Bradley, the former partner of and divorce attorney for Nathan Wade. After all, Bradley previously indicated to Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, that Willis began her affair with Wade prior to appointing him top prosecutor in the Georgia case.

However, during his testimony Tuesday, Bradley provided the defense with little more with which to professionally damn Willis.

Bradley — alleged by an attorney for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman to have "non-privileged, personal knowledge that the romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began prior to Willis being sworn as the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia in January 2021" — took the stand in Willis' misconduct hearing earlier this month. When pressed for details about the affair he may have gleaned from conversations with Wade, Bradley repeatedly cited attorney-client privilege.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee determined Monday after a closed-door meeting with Bradley that the divorce attorney must testify again, but this time without being able to withhold potentially damning revelations that may have cropped up in his communications with Willis' lover on the basis of attorney-client privilege.

McAfee said in an email obtained by CNN, "Based on the in camera hearing with Bradley, the Court believes that the interested parties did not meet their burden of establishing that the communication(s) are covered by attorney-client privilege and therefore the hearing can resume as to Mr. Bradley's examination."

Of particular interest to the defense is the timeline for the affair. A relationship pre-dating Wade's appointment could be seized upon to suggest conflict of interest and more.

Shortly after taking the stand Tuesday afternoon, Bradley acknowledged he had previously asserted in a text message to Ashleigh Merchant, Roman's attorney, that Willis and Wade started their affair prior to November 2021. However, Bradley told the court that he had been "speculating" when confidently making assertions about Willis and Wade's relationship.

Defense attorney Richard Rice suggested to Bradley that "'speculation' is a kind of weaselly lawyer word."

Bradley ostensibly developed selective amnesia during the hearing, indicating he was unable to recall roughly when Willis and Wade starting seeing one another.

"I do not have knowledge of it starting or when it started," said Bradley.

Throughout Tuesday's hearing, CNN indicated Judge McAfee was taking note of when Bradley indicated he could not remember or could not recall information.

Defense attorneys also pressed Bradley Tuesday about responding "looks good" to Merchant's January motion to disqualify Willis — a motion that made note of Bradley's insights into the affair. Bradley suggested his response was in reference to a section in the filing concerning money related to his law firm.

"I think I remember there was a line of, about the accuracy of how much money that my office … had received and whether or not that was going to be in the motion or not," said Bradley.

Defense attorneys underscored that Bradley also failed to flag what he now regards as speculation in the motion as such ahead of its filing.

Hours of questioning Tuesday ostensibly yielded no substantial new insights. However, the defense may already have enough to cast doubt on Willis' preferred timeline.

While Willis confirmed the affair in a Feb. 2 court filing, the filing suggested the "personal relationship between Special Prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis" and that "Willis has no personal conflict of interest that justifies her disqualification personally or that of the Fulton County District Attorney' Office."

Included in the Feb. 2 filing was an affidavit from Wade stating the affair did not begin until after his Nov. 1 appointment as special counsel and that they did not begin dating until November 2022. When testifying in court earlier this month, the lovers suggested that their romantic relationship lasted from spring 2022 until summer 2023.

There are some indications, however, that the Democratic DA and the Trump prosecutor may have misled the court.

Blaze News previously reported that Robin Yeartie, a former "good friend" of Willis and Fulton County DA employee, told the court that it was her understanding that Wade and Willis were romantically involved as early as 2019.

When asked whether the relationship was in fact romantic, Yeartie told Trump's attorney Steve Sadow that she observed them "hugging" and "kissing" long before Wade's 2021 appointment.

Beside Yeartie's testimony, there is also apparently a mountain of phone records suggesting Willis and Wade had a closer relationship outside their timeline than they first let on.

Citing data collected from Wade's cellphone, an affidavit submitted Friday by Trump's legal team claimed that Wade visited Willis' home between January and November 2021 at least 35 times, usually in the evening for "an extended period of time." On at least two occasions, Wade allegedly came over to the DA's Hapeville residence late at night then left early in the morning.

Data collected from Wade's cellphone also indicated that he and Willis exchanged over 2,000 phone calls and roughly 10,000 text messages in 2021 prior to his appointment.

Judge McAfee indicated that he will hear arguments Friday and determine whether to reopen evidence and explore the findings concerning the cellphone data.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Fani Willis' old friend strikes damning blow to the Democratic DA's preferred narrative during misconduct hearing



Not long into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' misconduct hearing Thursday, a witness provided a damning indication that the Black Panther's daughter and her lover may have been less than honest with the court about their potentially compromising affair.

Whereas Willis would prefer Judge Scott McAfee to think her affair started in 2022, it may actually have started as early as October 2019.

Quick background

Willis' lawyers filed a document with the Fulton County Superior Court on Feb. 2 confirming the Democratic DA had been romantically involved with Nathan Wade — the allegedly underqualified man she appointed top prosecutor in former President Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case.

This admission came weeks after a lawyer for one of Trump's co-defendants filed a motion to disqualify Willis, alleging she was embroiled in "an improper, clandestine personal relationship" with Wade; that the relationship was to her financial benefit; and that the affair may have involved possible criminality.

The Feb. 2 filing from the DA's office stressed the "personal relationship between Special Prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis" and that "Willis has no personal conflict of interest that justifies her disqualification personally or that of the Fulton County District Attorney' Office."

Furthermore, the filing suggested that the affair did not start until after Wade's November 2021 appointment as special counsel. Wade made expressly clear in his affidavit that they did not start dating until 2022.

Blaze News previously reported that a new complaint indicated Friday that attorney Terrence Bradley, a former friend and business associate of Wade's, has "non-privileged, personal knowledge that the romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began prior to Willis being sworn as the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia in January 2021."

Bradley is apparently not the only person who could cast doubt on the Democratic DA's preferred timeline.

Longtime bedfellows

Attorney Ashleigh Merchant telegraphed how Willis' misconduct hearing might go down at the outset, including what a former friend and employee of the Democratic DA might say on the stand.

— (@)

While much went to plan, there was nevertheless at least one surprise before lunch.

Bradley, for instance, clammed up about the timeline of the affair, testifying that the Georgia Bar Association told him that he might be risking his license by divulging his communications with his former divorce client, Nathan Wade.

— (@)

Judge McAfee suggested in response that Bradley was making a "broader representation of attorney-client privilege than I've ever heard," reported the New York Times.

Merchant, who filed the original motion to disqualify Willis in January on behalf of Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, pivoted from Bradley to Robin Yeartie, a former "good friend" of Willis and Fulton County DA employee who Merchant indicated "has a lot of personal knowledge."

McAfee allowed Yeartie to take the stand despite the DA's office's desperate attempts to quash the subpoena to call her.

"From everything that you saw, heard, witnessed, it is your understanding that they were in a romantic relationship beginning in 2019?" asked Merchant.

Yeartie responded, "Yes."

"You have no doubt that their romantic relationship was in effect from 2019 until the last time you spoke with her?" asked Merchant.

"No doubt," responded Yeartie.

According to Willis' old friend, the Democratic DA and Wade began their relationship in earnest shortly after a conference in November 2019.

When Merchant pressed Yeartie on whether the relationship was in fact romantic, Yeartie answered in the affirmative, later telling Trump's lawyer Steve Sadow that she observed them "hugging" and "kissing" long before Wade's 2021 appointment.

— (@)

After the court heard from Yeartie, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution highlighted that Wade doubled down on his claim that his relationship with Willis began in 2022. He also kept to the script about how the costs pertaining to his trips with Willis were usually settled more or less equitably.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Fani Willis' alleged lover's divorce case has been unsealed — and there are receipts



A Cobb County judge has unsealed the divorce case for the lead Trump prosecutor in Georgia. Some suspect this exposure may in turn seal the fate of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis — Nathan Wade's alleged lover — as it pertains to her role prosecuting former President Donald Trump's controversial election interference case.

After all, any damning records pertaining to the alleged affair between Willis and Wade will now be public.

Willis did, however, receive some good news this week. Superior Judge Henry Thompson indicated Monday she will not have to testify in Wade's divorce case as originally planned; at least not until her alleged lover has been questioned under oath about his finances and their supposed affair, reported WAGA-TV.

The Black Panther's daughter still faces mounting scrutiny outside the divorce proceedings.

A Fulton County commissioner is now demanding answers from the Democratic DA concerning her relationship with Wade, keen to know whether or not everything is above board at the DA's office.

Allegations

Earlier this month, a court motion to disqualify Willis, filed on behalf of one of Trump's co-defendants, called out the Democratic DA for alleged misconduct and possible criminality.

The broad outlines of the recent allegations against Willis are as follows:

  • Willis was secretly embroiled in an "improper, clandestine personal relationship" with Nathan Wade, a married attorney;
  • Despite Wade's lack of relevant experience and her failure to secure county approval, Willis appointed Wade top prosecutor on the Trump election interference case;
  • Willis paid him better than at least one other special counsel, despite recently telling a church full of people otherwise;
  • Wade filed for divorce the day after entering his contract with the Fulton County District Attorney's Office then proceeded to conceal relevant financial information from his estranged wife and the court, ultimately resulting in a contempt of court charge;
  • That financial information might illuminate how Wade allegedly used Fulton County funds received by his law firm to pay for luxurious international and domestic vacations he ultimately took with Willis; and
  • The arrangement between Wade and Willis was not only unethical but may have involved the commission of a federal crime prosecutable under the federal racketeering statute.

Extra to alleged misconduct and possible criminality, the motion to disqualify appeared to also indicate that the Fulton County DA's office coordinated with the Biden White House in its effort to prosecute the Democratic incumbent's top political rival.

Willis has since attempted to paint herself as a victim, intimating the allegations against her are the stuff of racially-motivated fantasy.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing The State v. Donald John Trump, has scheduled a Feb. 15 evidentiary hearing to take up the misconduct allegations.

Receipts

Lawyers for Joycelyn Wade filed a motion in her divorce case Friday, which included credit card statements that appear to show Wade paid Willis' way for joint getaways, including airline trips to Miami in October 2022 and to San Francisco in April 2023, according to the Washington Post.

The motion indicated that previously omitted discovery responses "demonstrated that [Wade] had paid for and taken trips unrelated to his work with the Fulton County District Attorney's office. ... The evidence is clear that Ms. Willis was an intended travel partner for at least some of these trips as indicated by flights he purchased for her to accompany him."

The New York Times reported that Willis' lawyer, Cinque Axam, attempted Monday to once again keep her client out of the divorce case, suggesting the Democratic DA does not have a unique insight into the case and "does not share any accounts" with Wade.

Andrea Dyer Hastings, Joycelyn Wade's lawyer, referred to Willis as the "alleged paramour of my client's husband" and told the judge, "I want to know about how he's been spending his money."

"I have reasons to believe he's spending it on another woman," said Hastings. "That's my client's money. And I want to ask questions about that."

Another investigation

Atlanta News First reported that within hours of the travel receipts coming to light Friday, Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis sent a letter to Willis concerning the allegations that she "misused County funds and accepted valuable gifts and personal benefits from a contractor/recipient of County funds."

"Separate from any potential inquiry by the State of Georgia, this situation requires confirmation of whether County funds provided for the operation of your office and its prosecutorial function were used in an appropriate manner, and whether any payments of County funds to Mr. Wade were converted to your personal gain in the form of subsidized travel or other gifts," added Ellis, who serves as audit committee chair.

The commissioner's allusion to a state inquiry appears to be in reference to the investigation demanded earlier this month by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene filed a complaint on Jan. 10 with Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr requesting they order "the immediate and formal criminal investigation into the alleged criminal misconduct" by Willis, along with Wade.

Ellis requested in his letter that Willis provide various materials, including invoices for services, costs, and fees submitted for payment by special prosecutors that have been received by her office since 2021 as well as details pertaining to the relevant professional experiences of her appointees.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The tables turn: Judge orders Fulton County DA Fani Willis to respond to misconduct allegations, orders court date



A Georgia judge has scheduled a hearing to address the misconduct allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D).

On Thursday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee scheduled a Feb. 15 hearing to address the serious allegations of misconduct that surfaced against Willis last week. He ordered Willis to respond to the allegations in writing by Feb. 2

Last week, Michael Roman, one of the co-defendants in the election interference case targeting former President Donald Trump, filed a motion to disqualify Willis and to dismiss the case.

The filing argues that such action is required because Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade "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 the taxpayers."

Moreover, the filing claims that Willis personally benefited from the "lucrative" contract the DA's office signed with Wade — benefits that include vacations and cruises — and that she was the sole authorizer of that contract.

Public records show that Wade has been paid at least $653,880 to work on the case, more than a half-million dollars more than other special prosecutors working the case, WXIA-TV reported.

While Roman's filing is short on direct evidence, it repeatedly cites "sources" close to both Willis and Wade as the basis of the allegations. Roman's attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, has promised that "concrete evidence" will be presented in court. Some of that evidence, she has said, is found in Wade's divorce proceedings, which were sealed in 2022.

Importantly, Willis has been subpoenaed to give a pretrial deposition in that divorce case. But she filed a motion on Thursday arguing her testimony is not necessary.

In her filing, Willis claimed that Joycelyn Wade is "obstructing and interfering with an ongoing criminal prosecution," accusing her of having "conspired with interested parties in the criminal election interference case to use the civil discovery process to annoy, embarrass and oppress District Attorney Willis."

The filing, however, "did not address the nature of the relationship between Willis and Wade," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution observed.

For her part, Willis attributed the scrutiny of her personal life to racial animus.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Fani Willis appears to have fibbed in church when contesting preferential treatment of her alleged lover



Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has begun to reap the whirlwind over a number of improprieties she is alleged to have committed in recent months and years. Willis went to church Sunday, but rather than confess to sin, she stressed her virtue in a dramatized back-and-forth with God.

The trouble about Willis' testimonial before God is that it does not appear to have been entirely honest.

During her remarks at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta Sunday, Willis claimed that she paid all three special counsels on the Trump election interference case in Georgia at the same rate. Documents reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation appear to indicate otherwise.

What's the background?

A motion to disqualify Willis and her appointee, Trump prosecutor Nathan Wade, was filed on behalf of Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the Trump case, on Jan. 8. The motion accused Willis of being embroiled in "an improper, clandestine personal relationship" with Wade, a married attorney she later hired without the approval of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.

Wade — whose apparent lack of relevant experience and past failures to become a Cobb County Superior Court judge evidently did not deter Willis from appointing him — filed for divorce the day after starting his contract as a prosecutor on the Georgia case, which has since reportedly earned him nearly $700,000.

The motion further claims that Wade, whose payments Willis authorizes, paid for his lover's luxurious international and domestic vacations, possibly running afoul of the federal racketeering statute.

The author of the motion, Roman's defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, recently indicated she has "multiple sources to corroborate" the claims, specifically those concerning Willis' affair with Wade.

Extra to the affair, the motion highlighted how Willis and Wade met with elements of the Biden White House and Jan. 6 committee while building their case against former President Donald Trump — suggestive of possible politically motivated coordination between the Fulton County District Attorney's Office and top Democrats seeking to incarcerate their leading rival.

The judge overseeing Trump's election interference case in Georgia indicated there could be a hearing in February to examine the allegations brought against Willis, reported Just the News.

Tall tales and victimhood

Following days of silence concerning the motion to disqualify and the damning allegations therein, Willis took the podium Sunday at a church in Atlanta and issued a 35-minute screed. Blaze News previously reported that she ultimately cast herself as the victim of racial animus and denounced her critics as "race card"-playing bigots.

Willis did not explicitly deny the allegations recently leveled against her. Instead, the Democrat defended against alternate accusations she appears to have fabricated from whole cloth.

"I'm a little confused. I appointed three special counselors. It's my right to do. Paid them all the same hourly rate. They only attacked one," said Willis. "I hired one white woman, a good personal friend and a great lawyer; a superstar, I tell you. 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."

Merchant said of Willis' speech, "Nothing she said today changes any of the important arguments raised in our motion and does not change the unfortunate facts surrounding her appointment of Wade," reported the New York Times.

After all, the key contention in the motion to disqualify was not that Wade was paid more or less than his peers, but that he allegedly bedded his would-be boss, then, once under her employ, used taxpayer funds to take her on extravagant vacations. Nevertheless, Willis' rebuke to the phantasmal accusation exposed her to additional scrutiny — granted she did ostensibly pay Wade more than one of the other special counsels.

The lover's premium

The Daily Caller obtained the professional services agreements between Willis' office and two of her special counsels: Wade, previously a middling associate municipal court judge in Marietta, and John Floyd, one of Georgia's top experts on federal and state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statutes.

Floyd entered into a contract with Willis' office on March 10, 2021, at an hourly rate of $150 per hour.

Wade entered into a contract with Willis' office in Nov. 1, 2021, at an hourly rate of $250 per hour.

This additional $100 per hour would likely go a long way on the Norweigan and Royal Carribean cruise lines, in New York City, Napa Valley, Florida, and other destinations Wade is alleged to have taken his supposed lover.

The third special counsel, Anna Cross, who entered into a contract with Fulton County at an hourly rate of $250 on July 15, 2022, ultimately ended up making as much as Wade per hour.

The one exception nevertheless casts doubt on Willis' claim in church that she "paid them all the same hourly rate.

Keith Adams, an Atlanta defense attorney who recently represented rapper Jeffery Lamar Williams in the RICO case brought against him, told the Caller, "Obviously the appropriate fee paid to special counsel would depend on the subject matter, the level of complexity, the level of expertise required, the level of experience of the attorney, and to some extent, the funds available to pay said attorney."

"It may be that the special counsel is being paid from a completely separate budget that is not subject to the same budgetary limitations and is left to the discretion of the district attorney," said Adams.

Legal analyst Philip Holloway wasn't buying it, stressing the arrangement between Wade and the Fulton County District Attorney's Office "is unheard of in Georgia" and that there was "no basis for comparison."

"Court-appointed criminal defense lawyers around here typically make less than $100 per hour on felony cases," said Holloway. "It could be argued that any amount is too high to pay someone with no felony trial experience to come in as lead counsel in the biggest, most complex criminal case in the history of Georgia."

The Caller indicated neither Willis' office nor Wade responded to requests for comment.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Fani Willis paints allegations of misconduct and home-wrecking as racist



Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis broke her silence Sunday after a week of criticism over allegations of misconduct behind the scenes of Trump's Georgia election interference case as well as of home-wrecking.

In her Sunday address to a congregation at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, Willis denied neither allegations of bedding a married subordinate nor of taking fancy trips on his dime. She also did not deny the suggestion that she coordinated with elements of the Biden White House and Jan. 6 committee to take down the Democratic president's top rival.

Rather, the Democratic DA attempted to cast herself as a victim of racial animus, one who has been selected for greatness by God.

What's the background?

A motion was filed Jan. 8 to disqualify Willis and her alleged lover, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, from prosecuting the election interference case of one of former President Donald Trump's co-defendants in Georgia, Michael Roman.

The motion claimed that Willis, who has since been subpoenaed to testify in Wade's divorce case, was embroiled in "an improper, clandestine personal relationship" with Wade — a married attorney she appointed without the approval of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners as required by law — whose apparent lack of experience has been subjected to greater scrutiny in recent days.

The motion further alleged that Willis' "apparent intentional failure to disclose her conflict of interest to Fulton County and the Court, combined with her decision to employ the special prosecutor based on her own personal interests may well be an act to defraud the public of honest services since the district attorney 'personally benefitted from an undisclosed conflict of interest.'"

Extra to exposing Willis to a possible federal criminal investigation, the motion prompted additional concerns over the Biden White House's direct involvement in the prosecution of the Republican front-runner.

Blaze News previously noted that Willis and Wade met with elements of the Biden White House before and after their recommendation of charges against Trump at taxpayers' expense. The duo also appear to have coordinated with Jan. 6 committee staff over the period of months when building their case against Trump in Georgia.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a complaint with Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia AG Carr Wednesday, requesting that they order "the immediate and formal criminal investigation into the alleged criminal misconduct" by Willis, along with Wade.

Victims of a closer look

Willis set the stage early in her 35-minute address Saturday by suggesting that Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream was still a "work in progress" and that "Americans have normalized ... cruelty, they've normalized bigotry, they've normalized hate."

According to Willis, critiques of her leadership and hiring decisions are motivated not by concerns over fairness, lawfulness, or conflicts of interest, but by hate — specifically, racial animus.

"They call me the N-word more than they call me Fani," said Willis. "[God,] you did not tell me as a woman of color it would not matter what I did. My motive, my talent, my ability, and my character would be constantly attacked."

— (@)

The Democratic DA made clear who she had in mind when denouncing her critics: "God, I do not want to be like those that attack me. I never want to be a Marjorie Taylor Greene who has never met me but has allowed her spirit to be filled with hate. ... How did such a woman come to think that it was normal and normalized that another woman was worthy of such cruelty?"

After painting Greene as a villain and suggesting God used the congresswoman to test her, Willis attempted to drum up sympathy, recalling the recent instance where she was allegedly swatted — something Greene has been subjected to several times.

Willis then singled out Fulton County Commissioner Bridget Thorne for criticizing her appointment of Wade.According to the DA, those critical of Wade's appointment were "playing the race card."

"I'm a little confused. I appointed three special counselors. It's my right to do. Paid them all the same hourly rate. They only attacked one," said Willis. "I hired one white woman, a good personal friend and a great lawyer; a superstar, I tell you. 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."

There are presently no allegations that Willis had an affair with the other special counselors or traveled the world at their expense.

Willis went on to defend Wade's "impeccable credentials" without naming him, saying, "The Black [man] I chose has been a judge for more than 10 years; run a private practice more than 20; represented businesses and civil litigation. ... Served a prosecutor, a criminal defense lawyer, special assistant attorney general."

Wade was formerly a prosecutor in Cobb County, where he never prosecuted a felony case, according to the motion. Newsweek noted that Willis' alleged lover ran three times to become a judge in Cobb County Superior Court between 2012 and 2016 but failed in all three instances.

Politico reported that Willis' "impeccable" pick was found in contempt in August 2023 for "willfully" defying a court order, having refused to turn over documents concerning his income. The income of interest appears to have been the nearly $700,000 Wade has been paid from the Fulton County DA's office, which Willis signs off on.

Willis stressed, "You cannot expect black women to be perfect and save the world. We need to be allowed to stumble."

The Democratic DA is scheduled to stumble into Wade's acrimonious divorce proceedings to testify on Jan. 23.

Roman's defense attorney who filed the motion, Ashleigh Merchant, told WSB-TV over the weekend that she has eyewitnesses who can confirm Willis' affair with Wade.

"I would never have filed something like this if I didn’t have multiple sources to corroborate," said Merchant. "We look forward to litigating this motion in court where we can bring forward all of our evidence."

Jeff DiSantis, a spokesman for Willis' office, maintains that her office will respond to the allegations in court filings.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Judge who wore tank tops, spandex shorts in court suspended indefinitely without pay for lying, falsifying documents, abuse of power, disrespectful treatment



The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday indefinitely suspended without pay Judge Pinkey S. Carr for misconduct that includes lies, disrespectful treatment, abuse of power, falsifying court documents — and even violating "rules governing the appropriate dress, order, and decorum for courtrooms" such as wearing tank tops and spandex shorts in court.

Carr, who's with the Cleveland Municipal Court, agreed to undergo evaluations of her mental and physical health, according to the state supreme court.

What are the details?

The state supreme court found that Carr’s “unprecedented misconduct” over a two-year period included “blatant and systematic disregard of due process, the law, court orders, and local rules." Car also was repeatedly dishonest, treated court staff and litigants disrespectfully, and abused her power to issue arrest warrants and find individuals in contempt of court, the state supreme court said.

In March 2020, the Cleveland Municipal Court presiding judge ordered the rescheduling of civil and criminal cases to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the state supreme court said. But it noted that Carr instead presided over her regular docket the next week and ordered arrests for criminal defendants who didn't appear and set bonds ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.

For defendants who Carr said were “brave enough" to appear in court, she waived fines and court costs, the state supreme court said.

When local news media interviewed Carr, she lied about issuing arrest warrants and lied to her presiding judge about the actions, the state supreme court said.

During a disciplinary process, Carr agreed to 583 statements of fact and misconduct stretching across 126 pages, the state supreme court said, adding that the Board of Professional Conduct catalogued only a limited sample of the judge’s admitted misconduct.

The judge falsified court journal entries and used warrants and incarceration to force payment of fines and costs by tying the person’s bond to the amount of the fine and costs, “essentially creat[ing] a modern-day debtors’ prison,” the state supreme court found, adding that she also abused her power in one case to hold a person in contempt, after which the individual served 15 days in jail.

Carr also violated rules governing the appropriate dress, order, and decorum for courtrooms, the state supreme court said, noting that her "bench was littered with dolls, cups, novelty items, and junk. She presided over her courtroom wearing tank tops, T-shirts – some with images or slogans, spandex shorts, and sneakers. She discussed with her staff and defendants a television show called 'P-Valley' about a fictional Mississippi strip club. She also joked about accepting kickbacks in lieu of fines and having defendants give her and court staff items such as food, beverages, carpeting, or storage space in exchange for lenient sentences."

Video: Cleveland judge issued arrest warrants amid coronavirus pandemic despite denials youtu.be

The state supreme court added that Carr's actions "undermined public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary."

Indefinite suspension without pay

The state supreme court said it ordered Carr immediately and indefinitely suspended from judicial office without pay.

Carr argued that diagnosed mental health disorders were a contributing cause to her misconduct, the state supreme court said, but the board noted she didn't say her current mental disorders caused her past misconduct.