Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers formally joined an effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from Trump’s election interference case in Georgia, according to a court filing that also alleged Willis sought to “foment racial bias” in a speech she gave at an Atlanta church.
FILE - Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center ... [+]
In a Thursday motion, Trump attorneys Steven Sadow and Jennifer Little formally sought to join onto co-defendant Michael Roman’s motion to disqualify Willis and dismiss the criminal charges on the basis of an alleged improper relationship between Willis and Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor working on the case.
Sadow and Little’s filing also mentions a speech that Willis gave at the Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, in which she responded to the allegations by defending Wade’s qualifications and suggesting that she and Wade were being scrutinized because they were Black.
Trump’s attorneys argue that Willis’ comments “constitute a glaring, flagrant, and calculated effort to foment racial bias into this case.”
The attorneys added that the comments violated Georgia’s rules for professional conduct, which dictate that a prosecutor should “refrain from making extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused,” per the filing.
Forbes has contacted Willis’ office for comment.
Trump and Roman are two of 17 co-defendants Willis charged for their alleged efforts to block President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in Georgia. But the case has been wracked with controversy in recent weeks after allegations that Willis had an improper relationship with Wade. Filings from Wade’s divorce case have suggested that he and Willis traveled together. Outside of Willis’ comments at the church, neither she nor Wade have responded to the allegations.
Trump has frequently attacked Willis on Truth Social as the case has gone on. He’s previously called her “racist” and alleged that she is targeting him. His campaign rolled out an advertisement that included Willis as a member of the “fraud squad” of prosecutors who have charged Trump with crimes and alleged, without evidence, that Willis had a relationship with “a gang member” that she was prosecuting. Willis has called the ad “derogatory and false.”
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has scheduled a Feb. 15 hearing on Roman’s motion. He’s ordered that Willis respond to the accusations in writing by Feb. 2.