Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley said the court “ignored” how Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis adopted the same testimony as her fellow prosecutor, Nathan Wade.
Judge Scott McAfee ruled Willis can remain on the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, concluding this case’s defendants “failed to meet their burden of proving that the District Attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest” in her relationship with Wade. Turley pointed out that the judge shredded Wade’s testimony, despite Willis adopting his testimony “in tandem.”
“What I don’t understand is how the court can find that she [Willis] did act improperly in her public statements. He shreds the testimonies, he strongly indicates that he did not believe Mr. Wade, but then he ignores the fact that they testified largely in tandem. Willis adopted his testimony, she supported his testimony. So, if he was false, she was false. And it’s very hard to separate these conjoined twins. It takes quite a surgeon.”
Turley also argued Willis “should have recused herself” from the case weeks earlier than the ruling based on her relationship with Wade.
While McAffee ruled in Willis’ favor, he wrote that the record “highlights a significant appearance of impropriety,” and criticized Willis’ public statements about the case. He further stated Wade must recuse himself from the case. He criticized Willis’ public statements about the case. (RELATED: CNN’s Elie Honig Argues ‘Ugly’ Trump Ruling ‘Pretty Close To The Best’ Result For Willis)
Trump’s co-defendant Michael Roman filed a Jan. 8 motion requesting that Willis be removed from the case due to her relationship with Wade. He alleged that Willis benefitted from a lucrative contract with Wade by paying him a higher salary and going on luxury vacations with him. Records show Wade filed for divorce from his wife one day after signing the contract.
Willis falsely stated she paid all the special prosecutors on the case the same hourly rate as Wade, according to previous reporting published exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation. County records found that Wade’s firm received nearly $654,000 from Willis’ office since the start of 2022.