Corrupt? Me?

I’m not interested in casting personal aspersions on the prosecutorial team in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. But it’s about to happen. As far as I know, the 100+ assistant district attorneys, investigators, and support staff are doing a serviceable job prosecuting murder, rape, and robbery. That is, ultimately, their charge. While I don’t see them doing an outstanding job, they aren’t doing a horrible job either. So that’s good. But the Fulton DA, Fani Willis, is accused of corruption, not just petty politics.

Ms. Willis is, first and foremost, a Democrat. The first term DA, looking to make herself a name in Donkey circles, jumped all over Trump, deciding to adhere to a Dem playbook tool: prosecute a phone call where someone (Trump) says to someone (Ukrainian President Zelensky or Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger) “here’s what you should do” and make that actionable, because Trump haters will chew on that red meat like a pit bull on Grandma. The operative question ANY non-aggrandizing prosecutor would ask is: “What was the proffered penalty for not doing what was suggested?”

For many of my district attorney years, I had people, including elected officials, call me up and tell me what I should do in a particular case. Sometimes, I did what they suggested if it was a good idea, but not usually. What no one ever did was say, “If you don’t do what I want, I’m going to (cut your funding, reduce your staff, beat you up, etc.)” Because then they’d run afoul of intimidation or bribery laws if they offered me something good to do their bidding. Trump never did either in his phone call to Raffensperger (or Zelensky, but that’s not my issue). 

Now, Republicans are soft when it comes to hardcore politics, except Trump. Many Republicans wish Trump didn’t do some of the things he does. But the phone call to Raffie was not a crime. It just wasn’t. While Dems politically impeached Trump for his call to Zelensky (not convicting him), no DOJ prosecutor brought criminal charges because it just wasn’t.

DA Willis was all-in, though. Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, famously said: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” DA Fani Willis could never have hired her boyfriend, a man married not to her, before the Trump case, but the Genie in the Bottle granted her that wish. She hired Nathan Wade. His credentials are uninspiring, but that isn’t my issue. She has caused him to be paid $653,000 in the two years he has been so employed (Genie wish #2). Maybe he worked a lot of hours? Could be. One time, he allegedly billed Fulton County for 24 hours of work on a single day. Impressive. But he still had sufficient time to take Fani on cruises and vacations, according to allegations levied against him. My friend, Pete Skandalakis, of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia, says he is unaware of a rule against prosecutors having romantic relationships. But that evades the issue. 

Did DA Willis hire Wade to feather his bed to further her lifestyle? To fund their illicit (he’s married, remember) relationship? Was there “quid pro quo”? I bet there might be more to this story if a meaningful investigation was conducted, with vast resources thrown at the alleged misconduct and promises of immunity offered to Wade and his friends. Just like in the Trump investigation Willis is pursuing. 

DA Willis spoke to a church this past weekend and said that she, a poor single mother from nowhere with no connections, is facing hard times. She pulled out the race card and said no one was investigating the two white outside lawyers she hired. Well. Ms. Willis, did you go on romantic seafaring cruises with them? Did you pay them $653,000 for working 24-hour days? Are you subpoenaed to testify in their divorce trials? Then stop your race-baiting.

Alas, I also know that Democrats do far more to protect their own than Republicans do. My GOP friends in the legislature and statehouse will sit on their hands and do nothing, as always. “We can’t get involved,” they will say. “It’s a matter for the courts,” they will say. In this way, it is the GOP that eats its own because inaction IS doing something. 

Were I a betting man, this matter dies a quiet death when DA Willis announces that she has investigated the matter and there was nothing illegal done. The Georgia GOP will say, “Well, she did investigate it. Why would she lie?”

Kelly Burke, attorney, former district attorney, and magistrate judge, writes about the law, rock’n’roll, politics, or anything that strikes him. Contact Kelly at dakellyburke@gmail.com to comment on this article or suggest articles you’d like to see, and visit his website at www.kellyrburke.com to view prior columns.

HHJ News