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Prosecutor Willis: Salacious and “unfounded” accusations
Photo: Dennis Byron / AP
US District Attorney Fani Willis is leading a criminal investigation against Donald Trump in the state of Georgia for attempted election fraud - she is now under pressure herself for private reasons and has for the first time taken a concrete stance on allegations against her.
The 53-year-old had been accused of having a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, one of the other prosecutors in the case. Both would have illegally benefited financially because of this relationship. Willis now admitted a "personal relationship" with Wade, but emphasized that there was no conflict of interest that justified removing her from the case. This emerges from a 176-page opinion that the court published on Friday.
The allegations were originally made by lawyers for a co-defendant, Trump's former campaign aide Mike Roman. They had not only asked the judge in charge, Scott McAfee, to remove Willis from the case, but also to drop the entire charge against their client. Trump and other co-defendants joined the demand. McAfee had scheduled a hearing for mid-February and given Willis until Friday to respond. In her opinion, Willis asked the judge to deny the motions without a hearing.
Willis is seeking a quick start to the trial
Campaign worker Roman was indicted last year alongside former President Trump as one of 18 other defendants for alleged attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump had lost to Democrat Joe Biden at the time and tried in various ways to subsequently change the election result, including by putting pressure on political leaders at the federal level and in states such as Georgia. Some of Trump's former associates entered into a deal with prosecutors after the indictment and pleaded guilty.
Prosecutor Willis is aiming for a quick start to the trial, while Trump and his supporters want to delay the start of the trial as much as possible.
Trump is betting on the Republicans running for president again and has good chances: Trump clearly won the US Republican primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire.
eru/Reuters/dpa