Former US attorney says Fani Willis race defense is a concession some allegations may be true
Former U.S. attorney Michael Moore said the Georgia district attorney is using race as a 'shield' to defend herself amid scandal.
A former U.S. attorney suggested on Friday that Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is likely conceding some allegations levied against her are true after she used race to defend a colleague she is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with.
"We've seen now it's an attack on the people who were questioning or raised the issue for further investigation, and I think that sounds a lot to me like maybe a concession that some of the allegations in the motion must be true," Michael Moore said of Willis' recent remarks on CNN, where he serves as an analyst.
Court documents filed earlier this month say Willis hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade, her alleged romantic partner, to prosecute former President Trump in Georgia's election interference case and benefited financially from the relationship in the form of lavish vacations that the two went on using funds his firm received for working the case.
Willis was recently subpoenaed to appear in court as part of Wade's divorce case. A new filing from her attorney claims Wade's estranged wife conspired with interested parties to "annoy, embarrass," and "oppress" Willis.
"Because the parties agree their marriage is irretrievably broken, there is no information that Willis could provide that would be relevant," the filing said in part.
GEORGIA TRUMP PROSECUTOR FANI WILLIS FACES HEARING ON ALLEGED MISCONDUCT
Former U.S. attorney Michael Moore said that Fani Willis is using race as a "shield" to defend herself from allegations. (Photo by Megan Varner for The Washington Post via Getty Images/CNN/screenshot)
Moore, a Democrat who was appointed by President Obama in 2010 and served until 2015, told CNN that while he does not think the allegations on their own will be "completely destructive" to the case against Trump, it is a "real optics problem" for Willis.
He noted that it is more likely the judge will make "short work" of the issue and will likely ask Willis to state if the allegations are accurate.
"I think the question is whether or not she hired somebody who was not experienced, does he, in fact, have a felony prosecution background to be handling this type and this magnitude of a case," he said.
Moore was then asked whether Willis could be prosecuted for honest services fraud and the federal racketeering statute after Wade was allegedly paid around $650,000 so far in the case.
He said that he thinks any prosecution of Willis would be "far down the road" but took particular issue with claims that she paid Wade 10 times as much as she paid another special assistant. Moore stressed that these disparities would have to be explained.
"No judge wants the courtroom to become a circus. The problem with these kinds of allegations is it has a tendency to make a case a circus as opposed to the facts of the case," he said.
Fulton County, Georgia district attorney Fani Willis, who brought charges against former President Donald Trump on election interference, is taking heat from all sides. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
Willis on Sunday appeared to use race to defend Wade during a speech in an Atlanta church, saying, "All three of these special counselors are superstars. But I'm just asking god, is it that some will never see a Black man as qualified no matter his achievements? What more can one achieve? The other two have never been judges. But no one questions their credentials."
Moore said he does not believe her comments are helpful in getting her motion passed to squash the subpoena.
"To see in a case like this where she makes the allegations, he's been questioned because he may be an African American male, it misses the mark. I don't think you can use race as a sword to attack somebody, clearly, nor do I think you can use it as a shield to hide behind to say, simply because you may be African American, that your activities are beyond any inquiry, especially when these allegations are made. I think that's the line she's crossed," he said.
Moore added that her "attack" made it more likely that some of the allegations may be true.
Moore previously said that Willis should step away from the case amid the allegations. He suggested that if they are true, they would challenge the integrity of the proceedings.
"Cases are not lost because of some 'Matlock' moment, some moment like you see in 'My Cousin Vinny,' where suddenly somebody finds the evidence. Cases die by the death of 1,000 cuts. This is a cut on the case," Moore told CNN on Sunday.
GEORGIA DA FANI WILLIS UNDER FIRE AS ALLEGED RELATIONSHIP ‘SCANDAL’ COULD TARNISH TRUMP CASE
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a worship service at the Big Bethel AME Church, where she was invited as a guest speaker on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Trump's co-defendant, Michael Roman, accused Willis and Wade of having an "improper" and "clandestine" affair at the same time appointments were being made for the 2020 election interference case.
Roman was a former official on Trump's 2020 campaign and argued about the integrity of the case being compromised because of the affair, asking last week for the charges to be dropped.
The filing also calls for the entire district attorney's office, including Willis and Wade, to be disqualified from prosecuting the case.
Moore said he would tell Willis to step away from the case.
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"I really think that in this type of case, with these allegations, this case is bigger than any one prosecutor," Moore added. "And I think, probably, to preserve the case and to show that what's of most importance to her is the facts of the Trump case, opposed to her political career."
News broke that Trump was indicted by Willis in August, and he pleaded not guilty to charges related to allegedly attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, including violation of Georgia's anti-racketeering law.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.