DA Fani WIllis disqualification ruling: Full report | FOX 5 News
TRADITIONAL LANES WITH EMPLOYEES FOR SHOPPERS. F. FIVE NEWS AT SIX STARTS RIGHT NOW. RUSS: A RULING COURTNEY: HIGHLY CRITICAL OF D. A FANI WILLIS ALSO PROVIDES HER A KEY VICTORY. SHE WILL BE ALLOWED TO STAY ON THE TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE. GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON FOX LOCAL. I’M RUSS COURTNEY: SPENCER. I’M COURTNEY BRYANT. JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE DENIED DEFENSE EFFORTS TO HAVE WILLIS AND HER OFFICE REMOVED BECAUSE SHE DATED AN ATTORNEY SHE HIRED AS A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR. BUT FOX FIVE TEAM REPORTER RANDY TRAVIS SAYS THAT ORDER HAS CAUSED THAT SPECIAL PROSECUTOR
HIS JOB COURTS NATHAN WADE TENDERED HIS RESIGN. SHORTLY AFTER THE JUDGE’S ORDER CAME OUT. THAT WAS THE DEAL. JUDGE MCAFEE OFFERED FIE WILLIS IF SHE WANTED TO STAY ON THE CASE, BUT NOW SHE WILL HAVE TO FIND HIS REPLACEMENT WHILE AT THE SAME TIME WORKING TO REPAIR A REPUTATION HIT HARD BY THIS CONTROVERSY. : YOU ARE CONFUSED. YOU THINK I’M ON TRIAL? THESE PEOPLE ARE ON TRIAL FOR TRYING TO STEAL AN ELECTION IN 2020. THAT TRIAL IS NOW BACK ON TRACK FOLLOWING A JUDGE’S RULING THAT ALLOWS FIE WILLIS TO REMAIN IN CHARGE OF THE ELECTION
INTERFERENCE CASE. IN HIS 23 PAGE RULING, JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE DECIDED THE EVIDENCE DID NOT ESTABLISH THE MATERIAL FINANCIAL BENEFIT AS A RESULT OF HER DECISION TO HIRE
TO ROUGHLY HALF OF THOSE EXPENSES AND ALL IN CASH. YOU DON’T HAVE A SINGLE CORROBORATE OR SUPPORT ANY OF YOUR ALLEGATIONS THAT YOU WERE PAID BY MRS WILLIS AND CASH, DO YOU? OH, SIR, NOT A SINGLE SOLITARY ONE, NOT A ONE THAT SEEMED TO SATISFY THE JUDGE SIMPLY PUT, THE DEFENDANTS HAVE NOT PRESENTED SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE INDICATING THAT THE DIVIDED EVENLY. MCAFEE DID AGREE THE RELATIONSHIP WAS A TREMENDOUS LAPSE IN JUDGMENT, BUT HE REFUSED TO DISQUALIFY WILLIS FROM THE CASE, INSTEAD GIVING HER THIS OPTION. THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY MAY CHOOSE TO STEP ASIDE ALONG WITH THE WHOLE
OF HER OFFICE AND REFER THE PROSECUTION TO THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS COUNSEL FOR REASSIGNMENT. ALTERNATIVELY SPECIAL PROSECUTOR WAY CAN WITHDRAW, ALLOWING THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY THE DEFENDANTS AND THE PUBLIC TO MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT DISTRACTING FROM AND POTENTIALLY COMPROMISING THE MERITS OF THIS CASE MEN. THE JUDGE ALSO WROTE , ACCUSING HER CRITICS OF RACISM CREATED DANGEROUS WATERS FOR THE D A AND WAS LEGALLY IMPROPER BUT MCAFEE IT DID NOT CROSS THE LINE TO DENY DEFENDANTS A FAIR TRIAL. AS WE MENTIONED, NATHAN WADE HAS RESIGNED, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. IN HIS LETTER TO WILLIS, HE WROTE, SEEKING JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLE
OF GEORGIA AND THE UNITED STATES AND BEING PART OF THE EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT THE RULE OF LAW AND DEMOCRACY ARE PRESERVED, HAS BEEN THE HONOR OF A LIFETIME WHEN HER RESPONSE WAS WROTE, IN PART, I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU WERE BRAVE ENOUGH TO STEP FORWARD AND TAKE ON THE INVESTIGATION. OTHERS WHO WERE CONSIDERED WERE UNDERSTANDABLY CONCERNED FOR THE SAFETY OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES THAT WOULD ARISE FROM THEIR ACCEPTANCE OF YOUR ROLE. YOU WERE THE ONE WHO HAD THE COURAGE TO ACCEPT. ROLE EVEN THOUGH YOU DID NOT SEEK IT, AND NOW SHE HAS
TO SEEK A REPLACEMENT FOR HER TOP LIEUTENANT, IN THIS CASE A CREDIBILITY PROBLEM WITH THE JUDGE. I MEAN, HE MORE OR LESS, SAID HE. HE’S NOT SURE HE BELIEVES WHAT THE TWO OF THEM BOTH TESTIFIED UNDER OATH ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP. IS THERE A POSSIBILITY? YOU THINK THAT PERHAPS VIE WILLIS MAY NOT BE THE ONE WHO ENDS UP TRYING THIS CASE THAT SHE MIGHT GO TO ONE OF HER VERY CAPABLE PEOPLE IN THE D A ‘S SURE SHE WAS EVER GOING TO TRY THE CASE. SHE CERTAINLY HEADING UP THE CASE AS THE D A. BUT IF
YOU’RE ASKING SHE RECUSED HERSELF, EVEN THOUGH SHE DOESN’T HAVE TO. RUSS: NOW I WOULDN’T RULE GOT A LOT OF QUALIFIED PEOPLE IN THAT OFFICE. WHO CAN DO THIS COURTNEY: WITHOUT NATHAN WADE? UH, SHE DOESN’T HAVE TO EVEN GO OUTSIDE THE OFFICE, PROBABLY TO HIRE A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR AT THIS TIME BECAUSE A LOT OF HIS WORK WAS TO SET UP THE SPECIAL PURPOSE GRAND JURY AND THEN THE OTHER GRAND JURY. ALL THE HEAVY LIFTING HAS PRETTY MUCH BEEN DONE. NOW IT’S JUST A MATTER OF GETTING ACROSS THE FINISH LINE AND GETTING A TRIAL DATE. YEAH AND
WHO KNOWS WHEN THAT WILL BE IT CERTAINLY MOST LIKELY NOT BEFORE THE NOVEMBER ELECTION. WELL, SHE WANTED TO HAVE THE IN AUGUST, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE YEAR AFTER THE INDICTMENTS. UH, THAT DOESN’T SEEM LIKELY, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU KNOW, EITHER. ONE OF THESE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS COULD ASK THE JUDGE TO FOR PERMISSION TO APPEAL HIS ORDER. IF HE GRANTS THAT, THEN THAT COULD DELAY THE CASE. YOU KNOW WHO KNOWS HOW LONG I MEAN? I GUESS IT’S A POSSIBILITY THE TRIAL COULD START BEFORE THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS, BUT, UM IT’S NOT GONNA GET COMPLETED ANYTIME SOON. YEAH WELL,
THE RUSS: TIMING CERTAINLY THE BIG QUESTION THAT’S LEFT TO BE ANSWERED. RANDI, THANKS SO MUCH WELL DONE TODAY. THE EYES OF THE NATION HAVE BEEN FIXATED ON FULTON COUNTY FOR SOME TIME, AND THIS RULING IS NO DIFFERENT. OUR TEAM COVERAGE CONTINUES NOW WITH FOX, ERIC K BEEN OUTSIDE THE FULTON COUNTY COURTHOUSE ALL DAY. GETTING REACTIONS FROM BOTH SIDES. WHAT ARE THEY SAYING? REPORTER: YEAH RUSS COURTNEY. WE HAVE NOT HEARD DIRECTLY FROM THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY OR HER OFFICE. BUT WE DID REACH OUT AND HEAR BACK FROM MANY OF THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS FOR THE DEFENDANTS. IN THIS
CASE, A LOT OF THEM TELL ME THAT THEY ARE WEIGHING THEIR NEXT OPTIONS. : I DON’T THINK THAT CAMERA IS A SHOCK. UH, JUDGE MCAFEE HAS SHOWN A TENDENCY TO WANT TO HOLD A MIDDLE GROUND AND NOT SHOW VISITING ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR WITH EMORY LAW, JOHN AVO BREAKS DOWN POTENTIAL REACTIONS FROM BOTH SIDES AFTER 14 COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE HANDED DOWN A DECISION ON IT. DISTRICT ATTORNEY WILLIS SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE GEORGIA ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE. THE JUDGE RULED, EITHER WILLIS AND OUR TEAM MUST GO OR SPECIAL PROSECUTOR NATHAN WADE. HE DIDN’T GIVE A
FULL TO EITHER SIDE SINCE THE BEGINNING, HE’D ALSO BEEN WORRIED ABOUT THE APPEARANCE OF A CONFLICT OF INTEREST AS MUCH AS ACTUAL FROM THE CASE OR HIM, REMOVING HIMSELF FROM THE CASE. UH, HE’S EASIER TO REPLACE THAN HER. AS FOR THE DEFENSE, AS THE DEVO SAYS THEY ARE FIGURING OUT THE FILING AN APPEAL. THIS IS A PRIME OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE CASE COMPLETELY ENDED AND A VERY LOW COST TO THEM, THE FILING OF A PAPERWORK AND A BRIEF OF APPEAL SO LOW COST HIGH REWARD. IF I WAS ON THE DEFENSE TEAM, I’D BE SEEN FOR
AN APPEAL. I REACHED OUT TO MANY OF THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, AND HERE’S HOW THEY ARE RESPONDING. ASHLEY DISCOVERED THE ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP AND REPRESENTS DEFENDANT MIKE ROMANCE, IN A STATEMENT SAYING, IN PART, THE JUDGE CLEARLY AGREED WITH THE WILLIS ARE A RESULT OF A POOR JUDGMENT AND THAT THERE IS A RISK TO THE FUTURE OF THIS CASE IF SHE DOESN’T QUICKLY WORK TO CURE HER CONFLICT, STEVE, WHO NAME IN THE CASE, FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SENT A STATEMENT SAYING IN PART WHILE RESPECTING THE COURT’S DECISION. WE BELIEVE THAT THE COURT DID NOT AFFORD APPROPRIATE SIGNIFICANCE TO
THE PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT OF WILLIS AND WADE. REPORTER: YEAH I’M BACK OUT HERE LIVE COURTNEY RUSH. YOU GUYS TALKED WITH RANDY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TIMING OF ALL OF THIS. BUT ANOTHER ISSUE THAT MY LEGAL EXPERT TALKED ABOUT IS A JURY. THEY’VE BEEN WATCHING ALL OF THIS PLAY OUT IN THE MEDIA. THEY’VE BEEN WATCHING ALONG WITH THE HEARINGS AS WELL. THEY’LL HAVE TO MAKE SURE WHEN IT IS TIME FOR A TRIAL THAT THEY FIND SOMEONE WHO IS NON BIASED TO BOTH THE DEFENDANTS IN THIS, BUT NOW THE PROSECUTORS AS WELL, OF COURSE, WE WILL CONTINUE
TO WATCH THIS AND WE’LL LET YOU KNOW IF YOU WANT TO READ ALL OF THE STATEMENTS. WE HAVE THEM ON OUR WEBSITE, FOX FIVE ATLANTA.COM OUTSIDE THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE. I’M ERIC PERRY FOX FIVE NEWS. RUSS: THAT’S A VERY IMPORTANT POINT. ERIC THANKS SO MUCH FOR A CLOSER LOOK AT JUDGE MCAFEE’S RULING. JUST DOWNLOAD THE FOX FIVE ATLANTA APP TO GET ALERTS STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE. COURTNEY: TAKE A COURTNEY: LOOK AT THIS
