Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is leading the racketeering case against Donald Trump, and she survived a disqualification effort, following the resignation of special prosecutor and ex-boyfriend. Nathan Wade.
For the first time, Willis spoke to the media about the Wade scandal, and she issued a dire warning.
“I do think that there are efforts to slow down this train,” Willis told CNN reporters at an Atlanta-area giveaway for Easter baskets. “But the train is coming.”
Willis was asked whether her office had slowed its workload during the Wade scandal.
“No, Willis said, laughing.
“My team has been continuing to work it, and I think the media and especially organizations like your own have been paying attention, all while that was going on, we were writing responsive briefs. We were still doing the case in the way that it needed to be done. I don’t feel like we’ve been slowed down at all. We’re not going to miss or skip a beat because of all the noise or distraction on one case. We’re going to continue to do our work.”
Willis declined to name any candidates for replacing Wade, and she brushed aside all concerns about damage to her public image.
“I don’t feel like my reputation needs to be reclaimed,” Willis said. “Let’s say it for the record. I guess my greatest crime is that I had a relationship with a man, but that’s not something I find embarrassing in any way, and I know that I have not done anything that’s illegal.”
Willis raised some eyebrows by speaking to reporters about this sensitive issue.
Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State University law professor who’s been following the case, criticized her comments in a post on X.
“If I were Fani Willis, I would simply not talk to the media at all at this point just out of an abundance of caution,” Kreis said.
Defense attorneys have accused Willis of hiring a boyfriend to profit from the Trump prosecution.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove those claims but rebuked Willis for what he called a “tremendous lapse in judgment.”
Trump’s legal team has appealed the judge’s decision to keep Willis on the case, and a judge scheduled oral arguments for Thursday.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.