'If anybody' could prosecute Trump, 'Fani Willis can': ex-Atlanta mayor

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Wednesday explained why she believes that Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is the ideal person to oversee the prosecution of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act case filed against ex-President Donald Trump and eighteen of his confederates for allegedly conspiring to steal the 2020 election.

Willis "obviously has a sort of stewardship role for the entire process," Deadline White House host Nicolle Wallace noted to Bottoms, asking, "Where you think that that sort of grit and, and strength and courage comes from?"

Bottoms said that Willis' background uniquely prepared her for the historic role that she now has.

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"Well, when you think about Fani's personal story, Fani's father was an attorney and primarily raised her as a single father. And I've heard Fani tell the stories of his idea of having her join him at work was that she had to go through the paperwork and look at motions do the filings, et cetera," Bottoms said.

Willis "trained for this her entire life. And again, as a prosecutor, she knows it from the beginning to the end. She's done the misdemeanor cases in municipal court. She's represented criminal defendants and she's also served as a very seasoned prosecutor. She has prosecuted very large cases," Bottoms continued. "One of the most notorious cases in Fulton County was the prosecution of several educators. It was a very large cheating scandal in the Atlanta public schools about ten years ago. People thought that some people thought that it was absolutely inappropriate that you would prosecute teachers. Of course, Fani did not. She believed that she was defending children. So she's used to trials with multiple defendants."

Bottoms also touted Willis' experience managing complex RICO trials, including one that is ongoing.

"She's prosecuted rape cases, murder cases, and now she is the district attorney. I doubt that she will prosecute this case, but I am sure that she will be involved in the day-to-day overseeing what's happening with this case," Bottoms opined. "And we also have a multi-defendant case going on in Fulton County right now with the YSL Young Thug is a well-known rapper. It's a RICO case. It has gone on for several months. It's taken several months to seat a jury. So it's going to be very interesting to see how the District Attorney's office is able to manage simultaneously these multi-defendant cases. But if anybody can do it, I am confident that District Attorney Fani Willis can."

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READ MORE: Why Willis’ 'unencumbered' Trumpworld RICO case 'is an indictment for history': columnist