Fani Willis Avoids Participating in Debate
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did not attend the Georgia county’s first Democrat primary debate on Sunday, leaving her opponent to debate an empty lectern reserved for her, as reported by WAGA-TV in Atlanta.
Instead of participating in the debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club, Willis co-hosted the second annual “Self Care Fair” alongside Atlanta City Councilwoman Andrea Boone to honor Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
During the debate, her opponent Christian Wise Smith criticized Willis for hiring special prosecutor Nathan Wade for the 2020 Georgia election interference case involving former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants. Wade had to resign after his romantic relationship with Willis was revealed.
Smith said on stage, “That issue is important to us in Fulton County and a lot of people across the country. When you pay one attorney nearly $1 million to handle one case, that leaves the rest of us vulnerable. That hurts everyone in Fulton County.”
Despite the criticism, Willis denied any impropriety in hiring Wade, stating to CNN, “I’m not embarrassed by anything I’ve done. I guess my greatest crime is I had a relationship with a man, but that’s not something I find embarrassing in any way. And I know that I have not done anything that’s illegal.”
Georgia’s primary election is scheduled for May 21. Smith has run for office twice before but lost in the Democrat primary both times, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Willis defeated him in the 2020 race for Fulton County DA, and he lost to Jen Jordan in the 2022 race for attorney general.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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