Fani Willis is the district attorney (DA) who is prosecuting former President Trump and many other people in Georgia on alleged election-related violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Her indictments are a breach of public trust and show disregard for settled rules.
In Georgia, a DA may hire outside prosecutors to help in certain cases. Typically, this is the route taken in complex matters in which an expert trial lawyer is needed for his vast experience prosecuting a particular kind of charge. Think of a complex international financial crime. There is a rigorous public approval process for such an appointment since the public already pays everyone in the prosecutor’s office to charge and try cases. To make sure even more money is spent wisely, the taxpayers must be made aware and be protected. Without rules and oversight, prosecutors could just appoint friends and family members to line their pockets.
One of the defendants in the case has filed a pretrial motion to dismiss the charges against him on various grounds. One argument is especially interesting.
Purportedly, Willis appointed her married boyfriend as a special prosecutor. One of his jobs was to meet with the Justice Department before the indictments went live in Georgia to compare notes. His other job has been to be Willis’ mouthpiece for plea negotiations. There are potentially some meaningful problems with this.
Per the motion, Willis neither obtained nor even sought the mandatory public approvals needed to appoint and put him on
