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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis boldly confronted her critics, accusing them of oversexualizing black women and attempting to “humiliate” her during an interview this week.
Willis, 52, who has been criticized for having an affair with Nathan Wade, a former top prosecutor in her extensive election racketeering case, insisted that she is doing well despite the attacks against her.
“I spend no time thinking about them. I’m too busy celebrating our fineness, our beauty, our success, our wisdom, but most of all our hearts to be bothered by attacks from anyone,” Willis claimed to a lively crowd at the Turner Chapel AME Church in Georgia.
“See, that’s why they mad. Because while they over there running [their] mouth, I’m over here paying them no mind, thriving [sic],” she continued during her speech to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the New York Post reported.
Willis then rebuked her critics, stating she was tired of their mispronunciation of her name and accusing them of perpetuating racism and sexism, a frequent claim of hers and other black liberal women.
🚨Fani Willis extremely triggered by “idiots” pronouncing her name to sound like a woman’s rear. pic.twitter.com/lWgRfXC1kM
— Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) June 13, 2024
“I’ve lived the experience of a black woman who is attacked and over-sexualized,” she said. “See, I’m so tired of hearing these idiots call my name as ‘Fanny,’ in a way to attempt to humiliate me. Because, like silly schoolboys, the name reminds them of a woman’s rear, of her behind.”
She claims her name is supposed to be pronounced “FAHN-ee.”
During her speech, Willis also seemed to criticize House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who is investigating her office’s use of federal funds.
“We have politicians that spend no time doing their elected purpose. In fact, we got a clown in Washington DC who’s been elected for the purpose to make his community safer and pass laws. But he’s been sitting there for 17 years and passed zero laws,” she said without actually mentioning Jordan by name.
More than a half-dozen plaintiffs in the RICO case she brought last year, including former President Donald Trump, have filed a petition with the Georgia Court of Appeals to have her removed from the case over her affair with her former top prosecutor, Nathan Wade, who was paid some $700,000 by her office while also going on several vacations with her. The court will hear arguments in the case on Oct. 4, but it’s unclear when a decision will be made. It’s almost certain now that the case will not go to trial before the November presidential election, however.
Earlier this week, lawyers for Trump made a new filing amid ongoing efforts to the Fulton County DA through an appeal of his Georgia election interference case.
Newsweek reported that Trump’s attorneys confirmed a request for oral arguments on Monday, which comes after the Georgia Court of Appeals last week paused the case indefinitely, “pending a ruling on defendants’ efforts to disqualify Willis from the investigation.”
Trump’s lead Atlanta attorney, Steve Sadow, confirmed in an emailed statement to Newsweek that Trump has filed a request for oral arguments in the court of appeals. He added that those arguments will help clarify the reasons why Willis should be disqualified.
“President Trump has filed his request for oral argument in the Georgia Court of Appeals, currently calendared for October. We believe oral argument will assist the Court by highlighting and clarifying the reasons why the case should be dismissed and Fulton County DA Willis should be disqualified for her misconduct,” Sadow said.
The issue with Willis began in early January when former White House staff member Michael Roman filed a motion seeking to disqualify Willis from prosecuting the case against Trump and his co-defendants. The motion alleged that Willis had an “improper” relationship with Wade and claimed that she financially benefited from both the investigation and the relationship.
