Why Is A Georgia Judge Ordering A Hearing For Misconduct Against Fani Willis, The DA Prosecuting Donald Trump?

A judge in Fulton County, where Donald Trump and 17 others were charged with conspiracy and other crimes related to an attempt to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, has ordered a misconduct hearing for the district attorney who sought the charges.

A defense attorney for one of the suspects, former Trump campaign official Mike Roman, alleged that Fulton County DA Fani Willis had an “improper relationship with the case’s lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade.”

Roman’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, filed a motion seeking “to dismiss the charges against him and disqualify Willis and the DA’s office from any further involvement with the case.” 

However, Merchant has yet to provide any evidence for the allegation. Wade is in divorce proceedings, and “a filing last week by Wade’s wife in their divorce case includes credit card records that show that Wade bought plane tickets for Willis to travel with him to Miami and San Francisco,” ABC News reports.

Now, a Republican in Georgia’s Senate is calling for a special committee to investigate DA Willis.

Commentator and lawyer Elie Mystal at The Nation writes that “Roman, it should be noted, was an opposition researcher for the Trump campaign, which is a nice way of saying that his literal job is to dig up dirt on people.”

“Make no mistake,” Mystal continues, “This is a hit job on a prominent Black woman, carried out by a longtime Republican operative who does this crap for a living.”

Wade is not legally required to step down, and “it’s unlikely that the commission could remove Willis just from the Trump case,” ABC News notes.

The hearing against Willis is scheduled for Feb. 15, NPR reports. She has reportedly said that she will address any allegations through the court process.