After a 20-year career prosecuting murderers, gangs and crooks, Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fannie Willis is up against Donald Trump.
Even theoretically, as a month ago he announced the prosecution – the fourth in a row – against the former president of the USA. In this case, it concerns an attempt to overturn the result of the presidential election in Georgia, in 2020.
It brought a series of serious charges against him and 18 co-defendants, including extortion and conspiracy.
The trial date was originally set for October 23.
Defense attorneys for Trump and other defendants cited a tight schedule that would leave them no time to adequately prepare their defense.
Ultimately, by a decision of conservative Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee – who will handle the case – the trial of the former president and 16 co-defendants was postponed.
It cited “procedural and logistical inevitability”, citing a lack of large enough court space, security concerns and an overburdened local criminal justice system.
Therefore, the trial of two of the defendants: Trump’s former lawyers, Kenneth Chisebro and Sidney Powell, will proceed as usual. A new date for the rest has not yet been set.
It is also up in the air whether the trial of the former US president will be separated from those of the other 16 co-accused. Already five of them have already requested that their cases be moved from state to federal court. A similar move is expected from Trump.
In early July, meanwhile, his legal team attempted to have prosecutor Willis removed from the case. She herself has been the target of racist insults and threats. Some call her the “Democrat whore”…
“Tough” Prosecutor
At 51, Fannie Willis—Fulton’s first female and first African-American district attorney—doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Having completed more than 20 years in the DA’s office, most of it as an assistant, he has vigorously handled more than 100 jury trials and hundreds of complex cases.
The upcoming Trump trial is clearly at the top of the list. One might say that Fanny – a Swahili name meaning “thriving” – has been preparing for this challenge almost since she was a child.
When her parents divorced, she lived mostly with her father. In his youth he was a member of the organization “Black Panthers” in Los Angeles.
When he was raising Fanny, he was a criminologist in Washington. Lacking time and resources, he often took his daughter with him to courtrooms.
That’s how she got the “germ” of law. He studied at the historically African-American Howard University in Washington and Emory University Law School in Atlanta.
He settled in Georgia’s capital city and practiced law for five years before becoming an assistant Fulton County district attorney in 2001.
He fell flat on his face at work and in the fight against crime.
A mother of two, she got a divorce in 2005. If anything characterizes her in her career, it is indeed stubbornness. She is also known for issuing indictments using RICO.
This is the “Extortionist and Corrupt Organizations Act” of 1970. It is usually used to prosecute Mafia members and fight organized crime.
Until recently, Willis had used him in a number of high-profile cases and in, according to her critics, an unorthodox way.
The charges include conspiracy and extortion against corrupt teachers and officials in the Atlanta public school system, as well as popular hip-hop musicians who are alleged gang members.
Fateful coincidences
Some defense attorneys have expressed concern that Fannie Willis has exceeded the constitutional limits of using the RICO Act.
Now he’s also using it in the indictment against Trump, the most high-profile case he’s taken on since he was elected district attorney in Fulton.
A Democrat, Willis officially took office on New Year’s Day 2021.
The very next day Donald Trump would make the fateful phone call to Georgia Republican local official Brad Rafesenberger. Requested to overturn the then victory of Joe Biden in the state and the American presidency in general.
Fannie Willis immediately opened an investigation against Trump, with the particular phone call serving as the central incriminating element.
About a year later, a grand jury was empaneled, examining dozens of witnesses – about 75. Others testified willingly. For others, special subpoenas were needed.
At least eight of the total of 16 Republican “fake electors” — a group the Trump staff created to falsely endorse his victory in Georgia — are cooperating fully with judicial authorities, securing immunity. Trump pleads not guilty.
He has launched vitriolic verbal attacks against District Attorney Willis, calling her a “racist” and a “crazy Marxist.” He has baselessly accused her of connections with gang members. He speaks of another “political trial”.
“In this office, I make the decisions based on the laws,” which “are beyond party lines,” was Fanny Willis’ indirect response.
She had more eloquently described her position earlier on CNN.
“What I could envision,” he had said, “is that we really live in a society where Justice is blind and it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, black or white, Democrat or Republican. If you break the law, you will pay”…
