The Fulton County Board of Ethics canceled hearing two complaints against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Thursday, stating it had no jurisdiction over the matter as Ms. Willis is a state officer.
“District Attorney Fani T. Willis is an elected state constitutional officer who is a part of the judicial branch of state government, as are all district attorneys,” the board stated on Thursday. “The District Attorney’s position and powers are defined and derived from Article 6 of the Georgia State Constitution.”
On Feb. 20, on the heels of an explosive testimony by Ms. Willis regarding alleged misconduct, the board had scheduled a special session to hear two ethics complaints against the district attorney. Ahead of the meeting, however, the board determined that it had no jurisdiction over the matter.
“The Fulton County District Attorney does not fall within the definition of a ‘county officer’ as defined in the ethics code,” the board stated. “Accordingly, any ethics complaint against the district attorney of any county would be under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State Ethics Commission.”
The complaints had been filed by Fulton County residents Steven Kramer and Gregory Mantell, who were independently investigating the district attorney’s finances after allegations of misconduct and an “improper” relationship were made public through a court filing early this year.
Since Jan. 8, Ms. Willis has been subject to heightened public scrutiny. The district attorney was already in the spotlight for prosecuting a high-profile racketeering case that alleges former President Donald Trump and 14 codefendants engaged in a criminal conspiracy for their actions to challenge the 2020 election results.
Then-defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, legal counsel for defendant Michael Roman in the racketeering case, alleged a conflict of interest and that her appointment of the case’s lead prosecutor had resulted in an unreported financial benefit to the district attorney. The allegations included details of an affair the accused parties have since acknowledged, and “lavish” vacations Ms. Willis testified were not gifts.
She identified unusual hiring and payment practices in the district attorney’s office through this records investigation, but it was a former associate of special prosecutor Nathan Wade who detailed a years-long romantic relationship between Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis.
Ms. Merchant testified that Terrence Bradley, former law partner to Mr. Wade, had also told this information to Manny Aurora, an attorney who represented another defendant in the election case who has since pleaded out, as well as Cindi Lee Yaeger, co-chief deputy district attorney in Cobb County. Both attorneys have since stated in court filings that they can testify in court regarding Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis’s relationship. Mr. Bradley had also instructed Ms. Merchant to identify a former “bestie” of Ms. Willis’s, whom he said had a condo Ms. Willis used to meet up with Mr. Wade during their affair.
Since Ms. Merchant was hired by her client on the election case last August, she has made dozens of open records requests. Many of these requests were never fulfilled, leading Ms. Merchant to sue for access.
However, in court filings, Ms. Willis also argued that she was a state constitutional officer and not subject to the county laws Ms. Merchant has accused her of violating.
Ms. Willis has testified in court about the alleged misconduct. Half the defendants in the racketeering case had joined the motion to disqualify her as prosecutor, and a three-day evidentiary hearing was held before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.
The key legal issue in the judge’s decision will be whether “appearance of impropriety” is enough to warrant disqualification or whether forensic misconduct and evidence of a conflict of interest is required.
At the end of closing arguments on March 1, the judge announced he hoped to issue a decision within two weeks. The defense has since requested to reopen evidence and bring in testimony by Mr. Aurora and Ms. Yeager.
