The two central figures leading the explosive criminal cases in Georgia against former President Donald Trump will have to answer to voters this week — and they face being ousted from office.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Judge Scott McAfee, who are spearheading the high-profile Trump prosecution, are both on the ballot in Tuesday’s primary elections.
For Willis, it’s a Democratic primary challenge from Atlanta attorney Christian Wise Smith.
Will has made the rounds on friendly media outlets to make her case to voters.
“Having prosecutors that are free from interference and are allowed to just look at the facts, and if people…broke the law to bring charges, has to go on for us to live in a free society,” Willis stated on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show.”
Willis said those criticizing her prosecution of the former president were racist.
“Georgia had never had a prosecutorial Oversight Committee, and all of a sudden, 14 minorities were elected to office to serve as district attorney, and now, all of a sudden, they need an Oversight Committee to look after district attorneys because they want to tell us how to prosecute and who to prosecute,” she claimed.
If Willis prevails in the Democratic primary, she’ll face a Trump-aligned Republican, former White House lawyer Courtney Kramer, in November’s general election.
Meanwhile, Judge McAfee will be on the ballot in a race against attorney Robert Patillo as he runs for his first full term overseeing the explosive Trump racketeering case.
McAfee, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022, is billing himself as someone “who has pledged to be fully transparent with all public matters.”
The high-stakes elections come at a precarious time for the prosecution. The trial already faces potential delays after a Georgia appeals court agreed to review whether Willis should be disqualified due to her acknowledged past sexual relationship with the case’s former lead prosecutor Nathan Wade, who Willis hired using taxpayer money — a clear conflict of interest.
Wade resigned in March after the “appearance of impropriety” from their relationship came to light, nearly derailing the entire Trump prosecution before it reached trial.
The former president’s legal team and Republican allies have launched an all-out offensive against Willis, accusing her of pursuing a politically-motivated “witch hunt” and slew of ethical breaches.
Willis fired back at critics like Rep. Jim Jordan, calling the Republican congressman a “clown” who is trying to improperly “interfere in a criminal investigation” by questioning her credibility.
“Anyone who knows Jim Jordan’s history knows that he only has the purpose of trying to interfere in a criminal investigation,” Willis railed. “All while his jurisdiction has one of the worst crime rates, has poverty issues, and not one time has he used his position to try to investigate people who are attacking me and attacking others legitimately doing their jobs.”
The Fulton County case represents one of several high-stakes prosecutions Trump is facing, including two federal cases over his handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. But the Georgia charges are unique in directly targeting his post-election conduct in a key swing state.
Trump was indicted last August on 13 felony counts in Fulton County, including racketeering, false statements, and soliciting a public officer to violate their oath. The charges stem from his infamous call asking Georgia’s secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes” to contest Joe Biden’s then-certified win in the state.
If Willis or McAfee were to lose their primary elections, it would likely trigger further delays in an already slow-moving case that Trump’s team is fervently seeking to push past the 2024 election cycle.