Fannie Willis is the first woman to become Fulton County District Attorney in Georgia. Photo: AP. Georgia has made a name for itself by pressing racketeering charges against everyone from schoolteachers to a Grammy Award-winning rapper.
Fani Willis may never have filed a case against a U.S. President before, but she has never shied away from this. high-profile or controversial cases.
Ms. Willis, the first woman elected as Fulton County District Attorney, has had the former president under her radar since her first day in office.
As she entered, Trump's infamous phone call rang demanding a senior electoral the official «find» him «more votes» was broadcast on cable news.
Ms Willis said she felt she had no choice but to launch an investigation, publicly saying she was investigating possible illegal «attempts to influence» the results of the 2020 election.
The 52-year-old Democrat was elected after pledging to restore the integrity of her office while deposing her former six-term mentor.
CONTACT: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announces charges against Donald Trump, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and others. https://t.co/M2qhDb1YUL pic.twitter.com/74GLmQq1Pu
— ABC News (@ABC) August 15, 2023
Mr. Trump branded the black Ms. Willis a «racist» and «rabid partisan.»
Ms. Willis, however, describes herself as an «equal opportunity prosecutor» who prosecutes defendants regardless of race or class .
“I can imagine that we actually live in a society where Lady Justice is blind, and that it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, black, white, Democrat or Republican. If you broke the law, you will be charged,” she told CNN.
“She really fights crime, which is rare these days, but I think that’s her brand,” said Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis.
She accused Trump and his associates of racketeering and a number of election crimes. He denies all wrongdoing, calling his call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger «perfect.»
By her own admission, Ms. Willis is a «fan» of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) laws.
She has previously used Georgia's extensive racketeering allegations to prosecute fraudulent teachers. She won 11 convictions and gained national media attention over the public school test results scandal.
She repeated her feat when she filed racketeering, drug and other crimes against Grammy-winning rapper Young Thug and others. than two dozen others.
However, critics say she is abusing Rico's laws, unnecessarily complicating cases that could otherwise be handled in less time and with fewer resources.
Devin Franklin, an attorney for the Southern Center for Human Rights who served 12 years in the Fulton County Public Defender's office, said that the use of these laws results in «stories of violence in Atlanta that are untrue and not necessarily reflected in the data.» a tendency to «scoop things out.»
Ms. Willis has spent much of her career as an assistant district attorney in Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta and is Georgia's most populous county.
Colleagues say that Ms. Willis has a knack for getting along with jurors. Photo: AP
Both peers and opponents in court describe her as a talented bailiff with a preaching oratorical gift and an unparalleled ability to get along with jurors.
Ms. Willis is not shy about touting her skills, previously describing herself as «one of of the best homicide prosecutors in the country.
A few years after leaving the post, she returned as its leader in January 2021 after winning a bitter Democratic fight to oust her former boss and mentor Paul Howard , Georgia's first black district attorney.
Given her upbringing, Ms. Willis may have always been destined to become a lawyer. After her parents' divorce, she was mostly raised in Washington by her father, who she says was a former Black Panther turned criminal defense attorney. He took her to court as a child.
She graduated from Howard University in Washington and moved to Georgia, attending Emory University School of Law. She decided to stay in Atlanta to practice law.
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