There was high drama at the court proceedings in Atlanta on Thursday regarding the personal conduct of Fulton County DA Fani Willis who, at the moment, anyway, is still preparing to try the former president* and a whole platoon of his ratfckers for trying to rig the vote count in Georgia in 2020. I mention all this just so we can stay on the same page going forward. Priorities, people, priorities.
Willis herself took the stand, defiantly, at the end of a day in which her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade was pretty thoroughly autopsied by lawyers working for the former president* and his minions. There was more than a little of a Starr Report feel to the proceedings—especially in the sense of how far these proceedings had moved from the case that Willis had been building against the former president* and his goons. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Among the attendees of the hearing is state Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican who sponsored legislation to create a special Senate committee with subpoena power to investigate District Attorney Fani Willis. The committee has already had several meetings and plans to hire an attorney and researcher to probe claims that Willis misused public funds when she hired Nathan Wade to handle the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 18 other codefendants. Dolezal said the Senate has the authority to investigate how Willis uses public resources. Democrats called the effort “political theater” that is an attempt to punish Willis for seeking election interference charges.
Break out the kangaroos suits, bailiff.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis raised her voice while on the witness stand Thursday afternoon, prompting Judge Scott McAfee to take a short break. “Let’s be clear, because you’ve lied,” Willis yelled at defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant. “It is a lie! It is a lie!” Willis was defiant during her testimony in describing her relationship with Nathan Wade, special prosecutor in the case against President Donald Trump. “You’ve been intrusive into people’s lives. You think I’m on trial,” Willis told Merchant. “I’m not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.” When court continued, McAfee warned Willis about further outbursts during her testimony. McAfee said he could be forced to strike her testimony. McAfee also reminded the courtroom of the need for professional behavior as the hearing continued. Willis testified that she and Wade had a “tough conversation” in August, when their romantic relationship ended. But the two remain close friends.
As maddening as this is, Willis' public credibility is in tatters. Wade's testimony was a mess, and her truculence got her on the wrong side of the judge. None of this has anything to do with whether or not the ratfckers fcked those rats in the fall of 2020. Alas, we are at that point—Call it the Linda Tripp Meridian—at which relevance becomes relative.
Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.
