OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.
Fulton County DA Fani Willis seemed to defy a judge’s warning against using “race cards” in her prosecution of Trump’s election interference case.
At a women’s awards event, Willis insisted she will continue discussing race despite the judge’s order, which took issue with her January comments accusing scrutiny of her and a colleague as racially motivated.
“Recently, they tell me they don’t like me to talk about race. Well, I’m going to talk about it anyway,” she said.
The judge found those remarks and her reference to “so many others” left ambiguous who she was accusing of racism and risked compromising the case.
“In these public and televised comments, the District Attorney complained that a Fulton County Commissioner ‘and so many others’ questioned her decision to hire SADA Wade. When referring to her detractors throughout the speech, she frequently utilized the plural ‘they.’ The State argues the speech was not aimed at any of the Defendants in this case. Maybe so. But maybe not. Therein lies the danger of public comment by a prosecuting attorney,” McAfee wrote.
Willis thanked the event host for recognizing the extra challenges faced by African American women leaders.
Her comments indicate an ongoing dispute over addressing race in relation to her handling of the high-profile Trump case.
“Truth is, there’s some challenges that come with being Black. And I see so much greatness in this city that has so many great African American leaders. And I appreciate all of the sacrifice that you all have had to make to be in these positions,” Willis said.
Willis thanked the Police Chief for having “the intelligence to create an event like this where we recognize that you’ve had to go through a little more to serve.”