DA Fani Willis bailed on debate to mingle with celebrities challenged to a rematch. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was absent from a local Democratic debate because she attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C. Her Democratic primary opponent, Christian Wise Smith, challenged her to a primary debate rematch after she skipped the debate . Smith criticized Willis for hiring a romantic partner for the high-level prosecution of former President Donald Trump in Georgia .
Willis’ absence from the debate sparked controversy, with Smith’s campaign accusing her of prioritizing her social calendar over her responsibilities as district attorney. “I have enormous respect for Willis’s busy calendar, but ignoring a community-organized event while violent crime escalates, to schmooze with politicos while an ‘SNL’ comedian roasts the entire political process, tells me where her allegiances lie — and it’s not with the voters of Fulton County,” said Michael Ceraso, Smith’s communications director.
Social media posts from an independent photojournalist and Black-focused news outlet The Grio showed photos of Willis attending the media event in Washington, D.C. Local media initially cited Willis’ participation in the second annual “Self Care Fair” with an Atlanta city councilwoman in honor of Crime Victims’ Rights Week on Saturday as the reason for skipping the debate on Sunday.
“I have enormous respect for Willis’s busy calendar, but ignoring a community-organized event while violent crime escalates, to schmooze with politicos while an ‘SNL’ comedian roasts the entire political process, tells me where her allegiances lie — and it’s not with the voters of Fulton County,” Michael Ceraso, Christian Wise Smith’s communications director, said.
Smith’s campaign said in a press release that Willis’ office has its hands full with the Trump case, which has left “everyday Georgians trapped in a flawed criminal justice system to fend largely for themselves as the high-profile case gobbles up limited energy and resources.” The campaign also criticized Willis for her handling of the case, accusing her of having an “improper” relationship with the special counsel she hired, Nathan Wade.
Willis and Wade both admitted to the affair amid testimony on the matter but said they only made their relationship official in 2022, after charges were brought against defendants in the Trump case. However, witnesses in the case alleged the pair began their relationship before 2022. A judge ordered Willis last month to either remove herself from the case or fire Wade, with Wade ultimately resigning.
Smith took the debate stage solo on Sunday, where he criticized Willis for hiring a romantic partner for the Trump case. “That issue is important to us in Fulton County and a lot of people across the country,” Smith said on the stage, according to news. “When you pay one attorney nearly $1 million to handle one case, that leaves the rest of us vulnerable. That hurts everyone in Fulton County.”
Smith did not take issue with Willis prosecuting Trump or the case itself but said Willis has “to do things differently.” Smith is an attorney who previously served as an Atlanta city solicitor and Fulton County prosecutor and describes himself as a “prosecutor with heart.”
Willis and Smith will face off in the Democratic primary on May 28. Despite the controversy surrounding the Trump case, local polling shows Willis with strong leads over Smith, according to news.
