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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis Moves Close To Charges Against Trump

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis Moves Close To Charges Against Trump

Fani Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis poses among boxes containing thousands of primal cases at her office in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said a decision could come as early as the first half of this year on whether or not Georgia will bring charges against Donald Trump for trying to coerce election officials to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory.

“I believe in 2022 a decision will be made in that case,” Willis said in an interview with The Associated Press (AP). “I certainly think that in the first half of the year that decisions will be made.”

Willis is the D.A. for Georgia’s largest county, home to more than 1 million people. About 90 percent of Atlanta is in Fulton County and 42.5 percent of the county’s population is Black, while 39.3 percent is white, according to the 2020 census. Willis defeated her old boss and six-term incumbent Paul Howard on Nov. 3, 2020, to become the first woman D.A. of Fulton County.

She has assembled a team of less than 10 people that includes attorneys, legal assistants and investigators, the AP reported. They are investigating the 2020 Georgia elections, Trump, Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr.

“We’re going to just get the facts, get the law, be very methodical, very patient and, in some extent, unemotional about this quest for justice,” Willis said.

Included in the investigations are a phone call made by the-President Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021 and a call made by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to Raffensperger in Nov. 2020.

During the Jan. 2 call, the president told Raffensperger to “find” the votes Trump needed to win the state. “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state,” Trump said.

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According to Raffensperger, Sen. Graham asked him if he had the power to reject absentee ballots during their call – which he interpreted as Graham wanting him to toss votes. When asked about the call, Graham said he was “trying to find out how the signature stuff worked.”

Willis said a special grand jury could be convened in the case, but the decision has yet to be made. She was clear she wouldn’t rush her team by imposing a deadline despite immense public interest in the case.

“I just think the public should be patient – you know, go on, lead your lives – trust that they’ve elected a district attorney that knows that this is a serious issue, takes it seriously and we’re doing our job here,” Willis said.

A Trump spokesperson has called Willis’ investigation a “witch hunt” that is politically motivated. However, the investigation said Trump could have committed “potential violations of Georgia law prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local government bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election’s administration.”

Willis and other officials in Georgia have received threats from Trump supporters over the election results and investigation but the experienced prosecutor said she’s not new to, or afraid of, them.

“They are truly wasting their time. It is not going to deter me from doing my job, period,” Willis told the AP. “I’m not going to do any less or more because, you know, you try to offend me because I’m Black or female or of a political party. We were elected to do a job and that’s what I’m going to sit here and do.”