Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Wednesday mounted an aggressive defense of her failed prosecution of President Donald Trump and his allies, testifying for more than three hours before a Georgia Senate panel investigating her conduct in the high-profile election interference case.
“I know you are somewhat offended that I had the audacity to prosecute these folks that came into my county and committed crimes,” Willis told senators in a defiant tone. “But this wasn’t special to me. This was another day of business.”
“These 19 people deserved to be indicted,” she later said. “And they were.”
Willis admitted that she did not vet Wade before hiring him to help lead the racketeering case against Trump and 18 co-defendants. “When I became Fulton County DA, the office was in absolute chaos,” she said. “We were drowning. Every lawyer I had with that level of experience had a huge project.”
Willis said Wade — who she acknowledged had a romantic relationship with her during the early stages of the prosecution — was brought on because of his trial experience. “He had a thriving law practice,” she said, adding that he was billing as many as 160 hours a week training less experienced attorneys.
Willis bristled at the committee’s questions about her handling of the case and accused the Republican-led panel of political motives. “Your real purpose is to try to get elected,” she said. “You’re wasting a lot of time where me and my staff could be keeping the community safe, but I’m here to do this song and dance with you.”
The hearing grew heated when Sen. Greg Dolezal, the committee’s vice chair, pressed Willis on the romantic relationship that led to her disqualification from the case earlier this year. In response, Willis said, “You want to investigate something? Investigate how many times they called me the n-word. Investigate them writing on my house, how many times my house has been swatted.”
She also dismissed allegations that her office coordinated with the Biden administration or the House January 6 Committee, saying that any contact with Washington officials was limited to procedural requests for documents. “I couldn’t recall the House committee sending me anything,” Willis said. “Wade probably traveled to Washington to get information on some of the criminals I ended up indicting.”
Willis’ case against Trump collapsed after the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that her relationship with Wade created an “appearance of impropriety.” Judge Scott McAfee approved the dismissal on Nov. 26, formally ending the Fulton County case.
Wednesday’s testimony followed months of legal wrangling over whether the Senate could compel Willis to appear. After initially resisting a subpoena in 2024, she was ultimately required to testify following a Georgia Supreme Court ruling last week upholding the legislature’s investigatory authority.
Four of the five Republicans on the committee — Cowsert, Dolezal, Steve Gooch, and Blake Tillery — are running for statewide office in 2026, a fact Willis cited to accuse them of politicizing the proceedings.
Despite the fiery exchanges, Willis doubled down on her decision to charge Trump and his allies.
“The reality is that I brought forth an indictment because people came in my county, they committed a crime, and they got charged,” she said. “They didn’t get charged because of their race. They didn’t get charged because of their political party. They got charged because they came to my county and committed a crime.”
The Senate panel is expected to issue a report on Willis’ testimony and her office’s conduct early next year.
