In Fani Willis, Trump and MAGA are Getting a Taste of Their Own Medicine
And it's not going down smoothly
The Georga election fraud scheme trial has taken an unfortunate turn into things that have nothing to do with election fraud, thanks mostly to Trump and his fellow defendants, who seized on an opportunity to smear the prosecutor, Fani Willis, and a member of her team, Nathan Wade. It should be understood that Willis and Wade are fully responsible for giving the defendants this opportunity. They should have foreseen the chaotic sordid mess that would ensue once their relationship was revealed, and the ease with which it would revealed.
There was a weeks-long diversion from the election fraud trial into the what-have-yous and whereabouts of Willis and Wade in order to prove that there was some kind of conflict of interest involved with Wade’s appointment as a Special Prosecutor on Willis’ team. They have proposed that Willis and Wade were in a long-time romantic relationship predating the Trump prosecution, and that Wade was appointed in a biased manner in order to allow Willis to gain some financial advantage. So the result is that we were subjected to differing opinions on what a “relationship” means and when theirs started (guys and girls define it differently, don’t you know?); when they first had sex; where they went on vacation, what activities they did, who accompanied them, and how they paid for it; how much cash to have on hand is believable and acceptable; when and how many times they called and/or texted each other; and how their relationship ended.
It’s been….interesting, to say the least. The bottom line is that if the defense team is correct about a corrupt agreement between Willis and Wade that financially benefited Willis, which could cause her disqualification if they proved it, then it means they would have been plotting for years to prosecute Trump in order to put Wade on the team as a Special Prosecutor so that he could make so much money as to…..take Willis on roughly three trips? Not really Bond villain-level machinations going on here. But smear and divert attention it has done.
On the other hand, this episode has exposed some interesting reveals about Trump and his Trumpian defendants.
Consider the following characteristics:
Blatant ethical lapses
Conflicts of interest
Questionable money flow patterns
Demagoguery
Apparent obfuscation of facts
Apparent non-candid statements in court
Sound familiar? Who do we know that utilizes all of these tactics to get ahead in life and get away with it? Interestingly as well, these are all things that Trump and fellow defendants are highly offended by and are attacking Willis and Wade, and one of their witnesses, for.
Here’s a quick rundown of how these characteristics apply to Willis and Wade, according to Trump and his team of merry fellow defendants:
Blatant ethical lapses - being romantically involved with a fellow prosecutor in and of itself could be considered and ethical lapse, but the fact that Willis had to hire Wade into this specific team, as opposed to already being an employee, makes it smell a bit worse. Really, this is a question for her district voters to work through, it doesn’t really affect this case at all. But sure, we can give them this, there’s some ethics issues here.
Conflicts of interest - This is highly debatable, but for Trump’s team to argue this, they had to concoct a scenario where Willis schemed to prosecute a sprawling RICO case against Trump and friends to ensure it is as complicated and thus as lengthy as possible, in order to rack up the legal bills, for the purpose of hiring her lover and maximally benefiting off of his contractual compensation. This “benefitting” has so far been alleged to be in the form of…..several thousand dollars over a few trips and cruises; maybe throw in a few day trips for lunch here and there. You’d think if this scheme was real, that Willis would take full advantage and pocket at least tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands or more, in cash.
Questionable money flow patterns - See above. Again, money get paid to her lover, Nathan Wade, who then “lavishes” her with a few trips, meals, etc. These are not exactly money laundering techniques at their finest.
Demagoguery - This accusation was rich, coming from Trump and his lawyers. But apparently Willis made a speech at a church soon after these accusations by the defendants came out, that questioned their motivations as racist. She also committed the sin of praying to God on the subject, which, according to Trump’s team, suggests to the local jury pool that God is against Trump and the defendants. Really? Keep in mind that Willis is the DA, which is an elected position. Is Trump actually afraid of strong, powerfully worded political stump speeches? Isn’t this his whole game?
Obfuscation of facts - There were several instances of Wade, Willis, and one witness for them not being able to recall certain facts, or giving low-ball estimates on the number of times certain things happened (phone calls between each other, visits with each other, etc). Hard to blame them, they probably didn’t expect that they should be accounting for every meal or text. But it was hard to get a clear picture of the extent of the when and where of their relationship.
Apparent non-candid statements in court - Wade was criticized in court for his seemingly contradictory answers about his marriage and “entertaining” other women during it. His depositions said one thing, he appeared to say another in court. He explained and qualified it while on the stand, but of course, nuance was never something Trump appreciated. Also, a witness that was supposed to be for the defense team that really turned out to testify in favor of Willis and Wade, appeared less than candid with statements that he wasn’t sure when their relationship started; he said his previous off the record statements to defense lawyers were just “speculation”.
Let’s examine these same characteristics on the Trump side, focusing solely on this case, (even though there are many other analogous examples over other aspects of his public life):
Blatant ethical lapses - Need I really explain? Calling a state election official and pressuring them to “find votes” is pretty unethical.
Conflicts of interest - Need I really explain? The Chief Executive executing a pressure campaign that happens to favor himself if successful is quite the conflict.
Questionable money flow patterns - Maybe not as obvious in this case, but this is a blanket issue for him, as he continuously raises money from unsuspecting donors that goes to fund his personal legal bills.
Demagoguery - Need I really explain? Trump is a demagogue and uses demagogic tactics in almost all public appearances. His accusations about the Atlanta-based election workers and Fani Willis’ subsequent prosecution have been off the charts in their shameless prejudicial nature.
Obfuscation of facts - Need I really explain? How comfortable do you feel that Trump is telling the truth, all the truth, and nothing but the truth when he speaks? He has already spoken publicly about this case and emphasized what a great phone call he made when he asked them to find votes.
Apparent non-candid statements in court - This hasn’t happened yet in this case, and Trump is likely not going to take the witness stand. But if his NY business fraud trial was a clue, he’s not going to be fully candid here if he ever does speak.
So it’s interesting that Trump and his fellow defendants and lawyers don’t like it when Trumpy characteristics and tactics are used against them and flaunted in their faces. And their hypocrisy when criticizing these characteristics is a sight to behold.
In the courtroom and on social media, MAGA continues to grieve for how unfairly they are being treated here, and how blatantly the prosecutors are getting away with pernicious behavior. My favorite was when defense lawyer Craig Gillen accused Willis of prejudicing the jury, by “injecting God and race into the minds” of the jury pool. Funny how Trump and team are claiming that, in this one case, a politician (Willis is the DA, an elected official) can’t use language about race or claim that God is on her side.
On the social media side, there was a lot of emphasis by MAGA accounts put on just that fact that they had this romantic relationship, suggesting some nefarious activity. There has not been a strong effort to explain why it matters, because this would involve nuance and a convoluted theory that involved so little gain to the perpetrators as to defy belief. But the salacious smear is the important thing, and that’s what they went straight for. So now MAGA minions are put off by the idea that two prosecutors against Trump had a love affair. I can’t wait to see the interviews of them about this at the next rally, and hear their incoherent takes on why this is a problem for them or for our country.
I have to admit, while I don’t condone Willis’ and Wade’s behavior, and think they used extremely poor judgment in pursuing or continuing this relationship during such a highly scrutinized and high-stakes trial, I am relishing seeing how hot and bothered Trump and MAGA are that a local elected DA, very popular and supported in her community, is the one that is riling up the troops against their intrusions from outside.
This is one of the aspects of our country that we don’t often think about, but should appreciate, that local politics and local law enforcement matters and they have power over life and limb, just like federal law enforcement does. Trump’s delusions of grandeur don’t apply everywhere, and in his attempts to intimidate the folks of Fulton County, GA, he has whirled up the local gears of justice in a way that will be tough for him to escape. As the 2024 election approaches and similar tactics are used again by the same people, local DAs everywhere should take note: they can apply the hammers of justice and help preserve our democracy as much as anyone.