Legal analyst Chuck Rosenberg said on MSNBC special coverage of the Georgia hearing on Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis’ eligibility in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump that it was not going well for the state and Willis should consider removing herself.
Rosenberg said, “There is conflicting testimony. A woman named Robin Yeartie testified earlier this morning that she had been close friends with Willis and that she knew, saw, observed that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade had a romantic relationship. She described seeing sort of the things you might see when two people are dating. You know, affection. Contrast that with what Mr. Wade just said on the stand, which was that they did have a romantic relationship, but it did not start as early as Ms. Yerdy said it started. It started, to your point, after he was hired by the district attorney on a contractual basis to work on this case. So, what is it that mean? You have two different stories.”
He added, “This is not going well for the state. It could turn out okay, and it might turn out worse. But I think a district attorney, a U.S. attorney, you know, a prosecuting official has a special obligation to the case. In fact, you know, I had grabbed some language from a 1935 Supreme Court case.”
He continued, “I wanted to read a sentence. ‘The prosecutor is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy but of a sovereignty whose obligation is to govern impartially and that that obligation is as compelling as its obligation to govern as all and whose interests, therefore, is not that it shall win a case but that justice shall be done.’ Prosecutors have a higher obligation. It’s not personal. It’s not egotistical, it’s not about you, it’s about the office and the pursuit of justice. To your point, it might be appropriate for Ms. Willis to consider removing herself from this case now and turn the reins over to a senior official in the district attorney’s office and have him or her handle it. It’s getting ugly, it’s getting messy, and my guess is it is not going to get better.”
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