From the moment that Democrat Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis abruptly hurled herself into the court hearing on Thursday, it was obvious what she was there to do. And it’s hard to even blame her because it’s the only option she has left.
Before she was even asked to appear — before it was even clear she would be required to testify in the hearing about her relationship with Nathan Wade that could zero out her criminal case against Donald Trump — Willis entered the scene in a painfully bright pink dress and told the court she was ready for her close up. Her eyebrows frozen in a defiant arch, left hand on hip, she tossed a document onto the desk of her legal team and told the judge, “I’m ready to go.”
She barreled into the witness box and demanded that a series of court filings be placed in front of her. When her own attorney requested a five-minute break so the documents could be located, Willis said, “I’ll sit here and wait for them,” lips pursed, eyebrows still plastered at the height of her forehead.
Willis endured questions for two hours from her legal team and that of Trump’s associates related to the conflict-of-interest charge against her office that she has improperly and unfairly prosecuted the former president and those whom she has accused of aiding him to defraud Georgia voters in the 2020 election. Willis hired a special prosecutor to join her team, a curious choice given that he’s a defense attorney, though she admits to having been involved with him romantically (thus using taxpayer money to benefit both him and, consequently, herself — allegedly).
And the entire two hours were hysterical. Willis, from the start, accused the defense team attorneys of lying and distorting her history with Wade, her now-former boyfriend who continues to oversee the case she’s bringing against Trump and his associates. She refused to answer yes-or-no questions with a single word, and when guided by the defense team or even the judge to remain within the parameters of the interrogation, she insisted she be allowed to characterize the motive and intent of the questions, which, again, she said were dishonest and malignant.
Multiple times, Willis greeted a follow-up question by asking, “Did you hear my answer?” At one point, she held up a stack of papers and screamed, “It is a lie!” before tossing them onto the witness box. Her attorneys then requested a break.
It wasn’t clear that Willis would be compelled to give testimony, but it’s no shock that it turned out this way when she volunteered. The whole point of her performance was to ratchet up news and online commentary about her abrasive conduct and her “Uh-uh, don’t got there” demeanor. It’s a naked attempt to get Trump supporters and right-wing media to please, please, oh-pretty-please call her “angry.” That way she can go on “The View,” plus chat with MSNBC’s Joy Reid to do what she’s already been doing and accuse her critics of being racists who simply can’t stand seeing a black woman of color in power.
It’s a desperate, albeit rational attempt to distract from what the rest of Thursday’s hearing demonstrated — that Willis and Wade likely lied to the court about the extent of their involvement, as Willis’ former close friend attested, and that Willis also probably lied about receiving improper gifts from Wade, whom she retained and paid with taxpayer money.
It’s all she has left. If it doesn’t work in the court, she will have lost nothing anyway. “The View” and Joy Reid will still call her a hero.
