Elie Mystal: Fani Willis controversy doesn't make Trump election case any less damning

23 January 2024

On Thursday, January 18, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) debunked far-right MAGA conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec's claim that the agency was launching an investigation of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. A GBI spokesperson told Newsweek that "there is no GBI investigation" of Willis, whose connection to prosecutor Nathan Wade has come under scrutiny.

Michael Roman, one of the co-defendants in Willis' election interference/RICO case against Donald Trump, has alleged that Willis had an improper relationship with Wade — who was hired for the case.

Progressive legal expert Elie Mystal examines the allegations against Willis in an article published by The Nation on January 23, emphasizing that they don't make the case against Trump and his allies any less damning.

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"The story begins with Willis' hiring of a lawyer named Nathan Wade as one of the special prosecutors in the Trump election fraud case," Mystal explains. "According to Michael Roman, one of the 19 people Willis is prosecuting, Willis and Wade are romantically involved. Wade was, of course, paid for his work on the case, and Roman alleges that Wade spent some of the money on Willis, in the form of vacations and dinners and whatever else couples who don't have children together do with their massive amounts of free time."

Mystal, who is often featured as a legal expert on MSNBC, continues, "Willis denies that there was any 'impropriety,' but has assiduously avoided denying the underlying charge: that she hired a man she was romantically involved with. Roman, it should be noted, was an opposition researcher for the Trump campaign, which is a nice way of saying that his literal job is to dig up dirt on people."

The attorney goes on to say that although the allegations against Willis look like a "bad-faith hit job," that doesn't mean they "can be ignored."

"There's no law against hiring your lover…. but there absolutely are laws against public graft," Mystal notes. "Hiring a paramour, family member, or really good friend for a taxpayer- funded job, and then having that person spend their taxpayer salary on you in any capacity, is corrupt. There is no other word for it."

But Mystal argues that Roman and "the white-wing cult-of-Trump…. overplay their hand" when they say that Willis' entire election interference/RICO case should be thrown out.

"The whole thing looks awful," Mystal writes, "but Willis represents the State of Georgia — she is not the State of Georgia. If she and Wade were kicked off the case or eloped to Fiji or quit to star in the next season of 'Love Island,' the State of Georgia would still have a case. Remember, this is a case where multiple people —including Sidney Powell, Ken Chesboro, and Jenna Ellis — have already pleaded guilty."

Elie Mystal's full analysis for The Nation is available at this link.

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