...
By Katherine Fung
Senior Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' alleged "love affair" was called out by a county resident during a Board of Commissioners meeting.
The resident, who identified himself as Derrick Blassingame, took the podium during the public comments portion of Wednesday's biweekly board meeting to express his frustrations with the county commissioners' response to accusations made against Willis in recent weeks.
"I am done with most of your silence at the DA's apparent love affair with the special prosecutor and gross mismanagement of taxpayer dollars to pursue what appears to be a frivolous lawsuit based off of partisan politics," Blassingame told the board.
Read More
Republicans Plan to Launch Investigation Into Fani Willis4 min read
Judge Orders Fani Willis to Address Scandal3 min read
Fani Willis Allegations Playing Right Into Donald Trump’s Hands4 min read
Willis has faced harsh criticism over allegations that she's been having an inappropriate romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, whom she hired as one of three special prosecutors in the state's 2020 election interference case against Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants.
The accusations first emerged from a court filing submitted by former Trump campaign staffer Michael Roman, who is one of the co-defendants, earlier this month. The filings did not provide direct evidence of the alleged relationship but cited "sources with knowledge" for its claims.
Newsweek reached out to Willis via email for comment.
On Friday, Blassingame told Newsweek that as a resident of Fulton County since 2015, he had initially tried to give Willis the benefit of the doubt since she was a high-ranking official.
"I kind of wanted to wait for the important things to unravel before I jumped to conclusions," he said. "I wanted to give her a fair chance. But just as the most recent issue came out with her, having an alleged affair with the special prosecutor and there's evidence to support such, I just was fed up with it."
At Wednesday's meeting, he aired his grievances with Willis, specifically raising the matter of her alleged relationship with Wade.
"Apparently, guys like me need to court Fulton County female executives if we want a free ride and all-paid expenses," Blassingame said. "Apparently, we need to pursue [Fulton County Commissioner] Natalie Hall and Fani Willis, or maybe the executives in other departments, if we want a full ride and full pay."
Blassingame also took aim at Willis' prosecution of the Trump case, which he said was an attempt to "interfere with future elections by trying to convict a candidate before the general election." He called for an immediate financial audit of Willis' office, which he accused of committing "gross mismanagement of our taxpayer dollars."
...
"There is no way that you get more money when you're spending money, allegedly, for unnecessary and frivolous purposes," he said.
His remarks were applauded by those attending the board meeting.
Blassingame told Newsweek, "I just had to call her out because it doesn't matter if you're man or woman, if you're in an elected position, in a position of trust and you're obviously using taxpayer dollars to fulfill [your] duties.... I'm just no longer able to support that blindly."
Bank statements filed in a Wade divorce case suggest that the special prosecutor purchased airline tickets for himself and Willis on at least two occasions. It is unclear whether the tickets were paid with public money or Wade's personal funds.
Wade's wife, Jocelyn, had subpoenaed Willis as part of the divorce proceedings, arguing that she deserves to know who and what her husband was spending money on during their marriage. But a judge issued a stay on Willis' deposition Monday, deciding that she would not have to testify at this time since Wade himself had not yet been deposed. The judge did, however, unseal the divorce records at the request of Roman's attorneys.
Calling Wade a "superstar, a great friend and a great lawyer" during a church service on January 14, Willis has defended her decision to hire him as a special prosecutor in the election subversion case.
Update 1/26/24, 11:09 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comments from Derrick Blassingame.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines