Judge lets panel that Dems fear would punish Fani Willis move forward
A newly created state panel in Georgia that Democrats fear will be used to crack down on rogue prosecutors like Fani Willis, who hired her paramour to assemble a now-delayed organized crime case against President Donald Trump, will move forward.
That’s after a judge found that the plan, approved by lawmakers and signed by the governor, does not violate the state or federal constitutions.
Republicans originated the plan for the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission in order to “discipline so-called rogue prosecutors who are refusing to enforce laws,” according to an Associated Press posting.
But Democrats have tried to scuttle the plan, as they believe it could impact Willis and her case against Trump, which now is pending at an appeals court on a defense request to have Willis removed.
Because of the scandalous behavior she allowed in the case, hiring her paramour at a cost to taxpayers of nearly $700,000 to create a list of charges against Trump, the case has been delayed. A lower court judge said she could remain on the case if her paramour left, which he did.
But defense counsel, citing that judge’s acknowledgement of the odor of “mendacity” still in the case, went to a higher court to get her removed.
Now Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker has rejected a request for an injunction against the commission, which was created with the announced intention of putting a cap on plans by rogues to go political with the cases they file.
Prosecutors in other states have taken up the same goal, after public officials there have stated they will let drug possession defendants go, and seek shorter prison sentences for some offenders.
In Georgia, it was a number of prosecutors, including Sherry Boston of DeKalb Conty, Jared Williams of Augusta and Jonathan Adams of Monroe counties who challenged the creation of the body.
The underlying lawsuit remains pending, but Whitaker also has expressed “grave doubts about its arguments that the law violates prosecutorial discretion, a fundamental of the American judicial system through which prosecutors decide what charges to bring and how severe of a sentence to seek,” the report said.
She added, “Because the Georgia Constitution expressly authorizes the General Assembly to impose statutory duties on district attorneys and to create the grounds and process to discipline or remove district attorneys, there is no violation of the state Constitution’s separation of powers clause.”
WND has reported that Willis recently was informed her case against Trump, which she wanted to take to trial before the election, is at a standstill until late this year.
CBS News now reports the Georgia Court of Appeals has scheduled a hearing Dec. 5 on that issue of whether Willis will be allowed to continue on the case.
One of the outside interests asking to join the case on behalf of Trump is the American Center for Law and Justice.
That organization announced it has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the appeals court calling for Willis to be removed from the case entirely.
The organization explained, “As we told you when the trial judge’s decision on Fani Willis first came out, the judge’s ruling made simply no sense. The judge found as fact that Fani Willis’ conduct had an ‘appearance of impropriety,’ based on her relationship with Nathan Wade. Nonetheless, the judge allowed Willis to proceed with the prosecution anyway. The facts are clear that Willis must be disqualified from overseeing the high-profile election interference case against President Trump.”
The ACLJ listed the facts:
“Willis appointed her alleged romantic partner, Nathan Wade, as special prosecutor – paying him over $650,000 in taxpayer money.
“She appears to have benefited personally from this appointment, taking lavish vacations funded by Wade’s earnings from the case.
“Willis and Wade seemingly attempted to conceal their relationship, only admitting to it after being cornered by evidence.”
The ACLJ sited “corruption, cronyism, and abuse of power” in the case.
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@wndnewscenter.org.
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!