Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley stated Friday that he believes the judge’s opinion in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ case gives her a “last chance” to “do the right thing.”
Turley appeared on “The Ingraham Angle” to discuss Judge Scott McAfee’s opinion that gave prosecutors the option of having Willis and her entire team step aside from the case against former Donald Trump over alleged election interference or to have special prosecutor and Willis’s romantic partner Nathan Wade withdrawn. Fox Host Laura Ingraham asked the legal analyst for his thoughts on the decision, asking Turley how an “impartial jury” could be selected after McAfee’s opinion. (RELATED: ‘More Baggage Than Amtrak’: Fani Willis’ Legal Troubles Are Far From Over)
“It really is an astonishing opinion in its disconnect because he clearly did not believe Nathan Wade and many people believe Nathan Wade committed perjury,” Turley said. “But these two essentially testified in tandem – she [Fani Willis] adopted his testimony. So if he lied, then she pretty much lied the same way. They both maintained that the relationship began after he was hired and really held a sort of unified front. I think that what the judge was trying to do in giving these two options to Wade was to gently give a third option to Willis. And that option is to remove yourself, take the ethical course. And I think that’s very clear in his opinion.”
“Nobody reading this opinion with these damning findings could possibly believe that Willis can continue to be part of this case,” Turley continued. “She’s prosecuting people for the underlying conduct she’s accused of committing with Nathan Wade – false statements given to a court, false filings that have been submitted. How could she possibly continue that without damaging her case? But the problem is that she’s had this opportunity to take the high road, repeatedly. She clearly has never wanted to do that, and this will probably be her last chance to do the right thing and remove herself.”
In his ruling, McAfee condoned the “tremendous lapse in judgment or the unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing” and stated that his decision not to disqualify Willis was based on Georgia law. The judge additionally noted that there were “reasonable questions about whether the District Attorney and her hand-selected lead SADA testified untruthfully about the timing of their relationship.”
Following McAfee’s decision, Wade resigned from the case on Friday “in the interest of democracy, in dedication to the American public” and to move Trump’s case forward “as quickly as possible.”