Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defended her actions in hiring special prosecutor Nathan Wade in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump by stating that the allegations against her are racially motivated.
"You cannot expect Black women to be perfect and save the world," Willis said. "We need to be allowed to stumble. We need grace."
"We are all flawed, sinners, unworthy, imperfect, damaged…But we are qualified upon His calling," she continued before concluding her remarks. pic.twitter.com/B9NcE14BdV
— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) January 14, 2024
“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 attack one,” Willis said while speaking Sunday at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta. “God, isn’t it them who’s playing the race card when they only question one?”
Trump’s co-defendant Michael Roman accused Willis of having an improper romantic relationship with Wade in a court filing seeking a dismissal of charges.
The filing seeks dismissal “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, the district attorney, profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers.”
According to The Hill, Willis did not address the allegations that she had an improper relationship with Wade, but instead “fiercely rejected claims she acted improper in hiring Wade in the state’s election interference case.”
Willis’ speech at the historic church marked her first public remarks since the allegations and she never mentioned Wade by name while defending Wade’s credentials.
“The Black man I chose has been a judge for more than 10 years, run[s] a private practice more than 20 [years],” Willis said, clearly referencing Wade. “Represented businesses in civil litigation … served a prosecutor, a criminal defense lawyer, special assistant attorney general.”
The accusations against Willis cite Wade’s “lack of relevant experience” while being paid more than $650,000 in legal fees, but the more serious allegations stem from the personal, romantic relationship between the two.
Willis accused her critics of only attacking one of the three special prosecutors that she chose to prosecute the case, and she accused them of attacking him based on race. Roman’s attorney, on the other hand, focused on the romantic side of their relationship as the reason for the allegations.
“The district attorney chose to appoint her romantic partner, who at all times relevant to this prosecution has been a married man,” Roman’s attorney Ashleigh Merchant wrote.
