District Attorney Fani Willis has found an ally in Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. Last week, Dickens appeared in court at the misconduct hearing where Willis’ past relationship was front and center.
Dickens sat next to former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and a few members of his administration while in the court room.
“I had to go to the courtroom the second day to just lay eyes on her and let her see me and for her to know that she’s got supportive, compassionate leaders in the audience. You know, when you’re going through something like this, you don’t want to be made to feel alone,” Dickens said during an interview on CNN.
Judge Scott McAfee will determine if Willis benefitted from a relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. McAfee said that it’s possible that the facts could lead to a disqualification.
Willis, her father John C. Floyd III, and Wade were all called to testify in the hearing.
During the explosive testimony, Willis told attorneys, “These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020,” Willis said, pointing to the defense table. “I’m not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.”
Willis revealed that she had a personal relationship with Wade, but there’s no conflict of interest when it comes to the Trump RICO case. The two reveal that they did not engage in a personal relationship until 2022. They claim that at no point were funds misused to enhance their lifestyle.
Willis and Wade’s relationship came to light after Wade’s divorce proceedings caught the attention of the attorney for Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official. Roman asked that his charges be dismissed because Willis’ alleged personal relationship with Wade should disqualify her from continuing to prosecute the case. There was also claims that Willis signed off to pay Wade $654,000 since 2022 to serve as a special prosecutor.
Filings from the divorce has also been used by Republican lawmakers in Georgia to develop an oversight committee that will investigate Willis. The committee could choose that have Willis removed as District Attorney.
But while an alleged affair between Willis and Wade could create poor optics, there’s no basis under Georgia Law to disqualify Willis or Wade from continuing to prosecuting the Trump RICO case.
Under Georgia Law, a prosecutor is disqualified from a case due to a “conflict of interest” when the prosecutor’s conflicting loyalties could prejudice the defendant leading to an improper conviction. Georgia law states, “[t]here are two generally recognized grounds for disqualification of a prosecuting attorney. The first such ground is based on a conflict of interest, and the second ground has been described as ‘forensic misconduct.’”
