Fani Willis Faces the Voters in November as Controversial Prosecutor Seeks Reelection

Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis is up for reelection in 2024, giving local voters the power to remove her from office following allegations of corruption.

Willis recently came under fire for allegedly engaging in a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a lawyer she hired to help prosecute former President Donald Trump. Willis has not denied the allegations, though she said she would respond in court filings.

Trump and codefendant Michael Roman argue the “improper” relationship creates a conflict of interest and is grounds for disqualifying Willis from the case.

Willis won in the general election on November 3, 2020, dislodging a longtime former county prosecutor accused of corruption. She assumed office on January 1, 2021. Her term ends on December 31, 2024.

Willis wants her case against Trump to go to court before the election. Some legal experts doubt the case will be tried before the election, giving voters the opportunity to oust Willis and potentially terminate the prosecution.

Outside the election process, initiatives are in the works to investigate Willis’s conduct. The Georgia State Senate on Friday approved launching a subpoena-powered investigation into Willis. The probe does not have the power to remove her from office, but the hearings could highlight Willis’s conduct.

State Representative Charlice Byrd (R) filed a resolution calling for the impeachment of Willis, although Senate Republicans do not have enough votes to unilaterally remove her.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) launched the investigation into Willis on January 12, 2024, for accepting more than $14.6 million in grant funds from President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) between 2020 and 2023. The timeframe of the funds suggests the DOJ granted Willis federal funds to finance Trump’s prosecution.

On Monday, Georgia House members passed a bill to recreate a committee to remove Willis. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) supports this method, as he opposed launching a criminal investigation into Willis. Kemp denied Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) complaint that sought the dismissal of the charges against Trump.

The House committee will operate like a disciplinary commission with the power to remove county prosecutors from public office. As with all committees, they move very slowly and are often highly political. The committee would not be ready to launch a probe for months, Greene said, adding that Willis’s prosecution is drying up Trump and fellow codefendants’ resources.