Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis has a pending case with former President Donald Trump, so she might also face a severe ethics case. This comes after a ruling by Judge Scott McAfee, who declared an “odor of mendacity” surrounding her testimony about a relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
According to legal experts, this lie may end up bottling her case against Trump. However, McAfee did not conclude that Willis perjured herself. He did not claim she received material financial benefits from hiring or dating Wade. Instead, the judge said it could “easily be left to wonder” if their romantic relationship had some economic benefits.
He also noted that the lines would seem blurry unless one of them stepped aside. Surprisingly, Wade resigned later on March 15th. The Georgia case that Willis is spearheading alleged that Trump and 18 co-defendants participated in a multi-pronged conspiracy to steal the 2020 presidential election.
Four of the 18 co-defendants have taken plea deals, so the defense team’s situation is not looking good right now. However, this ethical dilemma that Willis faces can allow them to try to remove her from the case.
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While she can still be a prosecutor on the case, she may face charges and the likely suspension of her license to practice law. However, experts do not think they would be successful based on the existing evidence.
Willis could also have to deal with other state regulators. Before McAfee’s ruling, a conservative group had already asked the State Bar to open disciplinary proceedings against Willis and Wade. Therefore, as a politically driven matter, it is unlikely that they would not try to work that angle.
Andrew George, a trial lawyer and adjunct professor at the Georgetown Law Center, spoke to USA TODAY within hours of the ruling. “She survived today; she survived this opinion, but this is not going away,” he said.
“The scrutiny is going only to build and build because her presentation and Mr. Wade’s presentation during this process were not convincing,” George concluded.
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A New York University law professor, Ryan Goodman, also spoke to CNN about this possible ethical issue. He said that McAfee’s ruling was “an invitation” for someone to charge Willis for lying.
“I can’t imagine that somebody won’t take up that invitation – it just takes a group of lawyers to file an ethics complaint,” Goodman said. Another legal expert, Chantelle Summer, a Georgia lawyer, also agreed with Goodman’s view.
As someone who has worked as a prosecutor and public defender in the state, she believes the defense team would capitalize on this. She expects them to bring up bar complaints against Willis in the coming days.
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“It’s such a politically charged case, I don’t think they’re going to leave any stone unturned,” Summer said. In addition, McAfee himself mentioned the possibility of further legal challenges in his decision. He criticized Willis’ “tremendous lapse in judgment” and “unprofessional manner.”
“Other forums or sources of authority such as the General Assembly, the Georgia State Ethics Commission, the State Bar of Georgia, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, or the voters of Fulton County may offer feedback on any unanswered questions that linger,” the judge wrote.
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