Over the span of a two-day hearing in a Fulton County courtroom last week, America unnecessarily heard the details of the personal lives of two Georgia state prosecutors, details we should never had to learn. That one of them battled cancer. That one of them keeps plenty of cash in her home because her father taught her to do so. That one of them is going through a divorce and agreed with his estranged wife not to file until their children were of age. That one of them has been the target of vile, racist death threats. None of that information was relevant or required for the prosecution of a pending criminal case in which the 45th president of the United States is a co-defendant.
It’s worth repeating that the law in Georgia requires that an actual conflict of interest exist for disqualification of a prosecuting attorney. The conflict cannot be theoretical or speculative.
So why this unnecessary and salacious sideshow? According to Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, it’s because he is being prosecuted by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. But the real motive behind this waste of time and money was to muddy the waters and create a very public crisis of character for the lead prosecutor. Roman’s bread and butter for years has been opposition research for the Republican Party. And when Roman’s attorneys filed his motion to dismiss and to disqualify, they obviously made sure to dig deep into that well of expertise of casting doubt on opponents through his serious allegations about Willis’ ethical ability to remain the prosecutor in his case. Roman’s motion also raised grave allegations about financial impropriety by Willis and one of the special prosecutors in the case, Nathan Wade.
In response to Roman’s claims, the state filed its detailed opposition filing, within which Roman’s allegations were denied. In support of this opposition, a number of exhibits were attached, including, most importantly, a sworn affidavit by Wade, made under penalties of perjury.
During her own testimony, Willis not only corroborated Wade’s testimony and assertions from his affidavit and from court, but she also added credible context to the idea that she paid back Wade in cash. She explained how her father taught her from a young age to make sure that she keeps enough cash to take care of herself (her father, John C. Floyd, III, an accomplished attorney in his own right who has since retired, took to the witness stand to corroborate his daughter’s explanation as to why she keeps cash in her home). Willis testified: “I don’t need anything from a man — a man is not a plan.” That she maintains her financial independence. Willis swore, under penalties of perjury, that she and Wade did not begin dating until after he had been appointed to his role as special prosecutor and that she has not realized a personal financial benefit from their relationship, which has been over since June 2023.
If you believe the defense’s theory, then Willis pulled off some Keyser Söze-level plan. (Remember, the character from the movie, “The Usual Suspects,” who manages to get arrested, secure immunity from prosecution, purportedly assist the police in their investigation by redirecting their focus onto other suspects, get released from custody and miraculously cure his cerebral palsy to walk away, without any limp, from the police station in the closing credits of the film.) Following this theory, before Wade was appointed, she would have to have intentionally approached former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes to offer him what basically ended up being Wade’s role as special prosecutor, knowing the entire time that Barnes would turn her down; she intentionally got two other special prosecutors to agree to the same low hourly rate as Wade’s; she intentionally got the CFO of Fulton County to conspire with her to approve Wade’s invoices each month; she convinced a special purpose grand jury to recommend multiple charges against multiple individuals; and then she convinced a grand jury to return an indictment against 19 co-defendants — all to ensure that her then-boyfriend, Wade, would be able to make $250 an hour so she could travel with him on a cruise with his mother and spend personal time in some cities.
Theories are just notions and hypotheses; they’re not evidence, which is what is required in court. And in Fulton County last week, that two-day event was an evidentiary hearing. A court hearing that required the defense to carry its burden and prove its theories with … evidence. Yet the only evidence that was elicited during that two-day hearing to support the defense’s theory was from a disgruntled former employee of the Fulton County DA’s office, who also happened to be a former friend of Willis. Her name is Robin Yeartie. She testified that Wade and Willis began their intimate relationship in October 2019; that in 2020, Willis told her that she was dating Wade and that Yeartie witnessed them hugging and kissing in 2021. That’s it. Not a single other defense witness testified that Wade and Willis began their intimate relationship before March 2022. Only Yeartie did. And it is only natural to question her intentions behind testifying for the defense in this case. She only admitted upon cross-examination by the state that the reason why she left her job at the DA’s office in March 2022 was because she was given the choice to either quit or be fired after being written up several times for subpar work performance. She said her friendship with Willis was over because she left the office and she hasn’t spoken with Willis since.
Judge McAfee, as the fact-finder in an evidentiary hearing, will now weigh all of the witnesses’ credibility, including that of Yeartie.
However, if Yeartie is telling the truth that Willis and Wade began dating as far back as October 2019, and that Willis appointed Wade so that she could reap some kind of personal financial benefit from his appointment, then following my Keyser Söze theory, that means that Willis also predicted that on Jan. 2, 2021, then-President Donald Trump would call Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and demand that he “find 11,780 votes”; that she knew on Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionists, at the direction of Trump, would storm the U.S Capitol; that on Jan. 7, 2021, Republican officials and others would breach the voting systems in Coffee County, Georgia; that she knew in January 2022 that a judge would grant her request for a special purpose grand jury to assist her in her investigation because several individuals, including U.S. senators, were throwing up interference and roadblocks in her pursuit of the truth; and that she knew a grand jury would return a 98-page indictment naming 19 co-defendants for violating Georgia state-RICO, as well as dozens of other offenses. If Willis is that good at setting up the judicial system just to benefit her then-boyfriend — whom she is no longer dating — as well as herself, then she needs to share the next Powerball numbers with all of us.
If Willis is that good at setting up the judicial system just to benefit her then-boyfriend — whom she is no longer dating — as well as herself, then she needs to share the next Powerball numbers with all of us. If that sounds absurd, it’s because it is. But that is more or less what the defense in this election interference case is asserting as the reason why Willis should be disqualified from the RICO case: that she has a personal financial interest in appointing Wade. And that is why evidence is necessary and required in order for Judge McAfee to rule that Willis should be disqualified. But as long as we’re chasing the defense’s theory down its illogical rabbit hole, why not go all-in? I mean, if the only reason Willis was in it was to benefit Wade and herself, why didn’t she appoint Wade as a special prosecutor on the Young Slime Life (“YSL”) case, as well? Young Thug and 27 other members of YSL were indicted in May 2022, for RICO, murder and other offenses after months of investigation. Jury selection has also taken months, the trial has begun for only certain of the co-defendants, and trial promises to last for months and months to come. It would be a huge financial windfall for Wade and Willis if Wade was the special prosecutor in the YSL case. And at this rate, Willis could just continue to appoint Wade as a special prosecutor on all major investigations and cases. It’s worth repeating that the law in Georgia requires that an actual conflict of interest exist for disqualification of a prosecuting attorney. The conflict cannot be theoretical or speculative. Appellate courts in Georgia recognize specific reasons to disqualify a prosecutor, none of which is applicable to Willis. If Willis is disqualified, then the entire Fulton County District Attorney’s Office will be removed from this RICO case. It would then be reassigned by a special counsel of prosecutors to another office. The problem at that point is time and viability: How long would it take for the case to be reassigned and, once that occurs, will that new prosecuting office continue to pursue the same set of charges that were returned by the grand jury in the original indictment? The stakes could not be higher. And yet, in my opinion, Judge McAfee’s decision is an easy one with a clear path: The defense’s failure to provide the legally required evidence to disqualify Willis means that the judge can deny the motion to dismiss and to disqualify. He, along with others, may not like how messy and unseemly the evidentiary hearing was. But that brief, unnecessary detour will be over and the case can continue on its path to conclusion, whether that is a conviction or an acquittal — with D.A. Willis at the helm of this prosecution.
Katie S. Phang
Katie S. Phang is the host of "The Katie Phang Show," which airs Saturdays at 12 p.m. ET on MSNBC. She is a legal contributor for NBC News and MSNBC based in Miami. She leverages her significant trial attorney experience to provide analysis and commentary on the latest legal issues. 
