Who Is Fani Willis? Here’s What To Know About The Fulton County DA Prosecuting Trump.

Topline

An investigation into former President Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia is led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who has previously issued several racketeering indictments, including charges against some of Atlanta’s hip-hop community, over her 20-year law career.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened a probe into former President Donald Trump in ... [+] 2021.

Key Facts

Willis was elected as district attorney for Fulton County—which spans 15 cities in Georgia, including Atlanta—in 2020 over incumbent Paul Howard, who served six terms, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

She started as an assistant district attorney for Fulton County in 2001, after graduating from Howard University and Emory University School of Law, according to the office’s website.

In 2015, Fani established the nonprofit organization Love for Carla, which raises awareness for sickle cell anemia.

Willis served as an assistant district attorney until 2018, when she opened her own law firm—The Offices of Fani T. Willis—where she specialized in criminal defense and family law.

Willis unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Superior Court of Fulton County in 2018 before later becoming the chief municipal judge for South Fulton, Georgia, a year later.

She decided to run for Fulton County’s district attorney position in 2020 after arguing the office was “broken” under Howard, who faced allegations of financial mismanagement and sexual harassment.

Tangent

Willis has been involved in other cases involving Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act (RICO) over the last decade. In 2015, Willis prosecuted a dozen teachers from Atlanta-area schools, and 11 were later convicted on racketeering charges after prosecutors argued they ran a “corrupt” organization that financially rewarded and punished teachers for student test scores, according to the Washington Post. In 2022, the rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams, was among 28 people arrested and charged with conspiring to violate Georgia’s racketeering law and for allegedly participating in gang activity. Atlanta rapper Gunna—whose real name is Sergio Giavanni Kitchens—was released from prison in 2022, after pleading guilty to one charge of conspiring to violate the state’s racketeering law. Willis defended the prosecution against both rappers, arguing both had confessed to crimes in their lyrics: “Don’t confess to crimes on rap lyrics if you do not want them used, or at least get out of my county.”

Key Background

A Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others on Monday, following a two-year probe into allegations that the former president had pressured election officials to overturn election results. Trump was charged with 13 felony counts, including a violation of the state’s RICO statute and solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer. In a January 2021 phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes he needed to win the state while citing unfounded allegations of voter fraud, which was sourced by the voting machine company Dominion. Trump is also accused of recruiting fake electors in the state to cast their votes for him over Biden during the process to certify Electoral College results. Willis—who opened a probe into Trump a month after taking office—has faced opposition from Trump in recent weeks, including false claims she had an affair with the leader of a street gang she was prosecuting.

Chief Critic

Trump—who referred to the charges against him as a “witch hunt”—called Willis a “radical Democrat,” who is a “rabid partisan” attempting to “maximally interfere” with the presidential election. Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee called Willis “JUNIOR VARSITY FANI WILLIS.” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Willis is a “radical” district attorney that is “attacking President Trump and using it to fundraise her political career.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Willis “MUST BE REMOVED!!!”

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