Fani Willis Rival Warns Focus on Trump Leaves Many People 'Vulnerable'

Attorney Christian Wise Smith, a Democrat running against Fani Willis for Fulton County district attorney, said on Friday that his rival's focus on former President Donald Trump's election interference case leaves people "vulnerable" and "many priorities neglected" in Georgia's largest county.

Willis, also a Democrat, has become a prominent national figure due to leading the investigation that led to indictments against Trump and 18 of his allies for allegedly attempting to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results. Trump, the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, has maintained his innocence in the case.

Meanwhile, Willis has recently been embroiled in a scandal pertaining to a romantic relationship she had with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the Trump case.

Willis was given the green light to remain on Trump's election interference case last month by Judge Scott McAfee, who presided over hearings regarding claims by one of Trump's co-defendants that Willis and Wade's relationship caused a conflict of interest in the investigation. Attorneys for the defendant, Mike Roman, said in a filing in January that the district attorney had been "profiting personally from this prosecution" by using taxpayers' money to fund vacations taken by Willis and Wade. Willis, however, denied the allegations and said the relationship began after Wade was hired and that she should not be disqualified.

McAfee ruled that Willis could remain on the case as long as Wade stepped down. The judge also criticized the prosecutors' relationship while issuing his decision, calling it a "tremendous lapse in judgment." Wade ultimately resigned from the case.

In an interview with Atlanta's NBC affiliate, 11 Alive, Wise Smith contended that Willis' focus on the Trump case and her monthslong fight over her own disqualification from it has led other pressing issues in Fulton County to fall by the wayside.

"Right now, she's focused on Trump, and rightfully so, but that leaves so many people in Fulton County vulnerable," Wise Smith told reporter Jennifer Bellamy. "That leaves a lot of things being neglected by so much focus, energy, resources and manpower going toward one case."

Newsweek reached out to Willis' office via email on Saturday afternoon. This story will be updated with any provided statements.

In his interview, Wise Smith also pointed to a recent lawsuit brought against Willis by the Barred Business Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of the incarcerated. The organization is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union Georgia (ACLU-GA).

"The ACLU just brought a lawsuit against the DA's office for having people sit in jail for too long. People are dying in jail because of the horrible conditions there," he said.

In addition, Willis and other local officials are named in a lawsuit recently filed by Georgia state Representative Mesha Mainor, which alleges that Willis, Commissioner Marvin Arrington, the Fulton County Ethics Board and the county itself were derelict in its duties to properly litigate a criminal case in which Mainor was repeatedly stalked by a former friend and political associate.

Wise Smith believes he can properly lead the ongoing prosecution of Trump and his co-defendants, along with the rigors of running the district attorney's office.

"A lot of people have eyes on that case and want justice brought forward. My fear is because of the chaos around the office and the case, the case might be in jeopardy," he told Bellamy. "I'm worried it might be gone before I even take office. We want to see that case through and see justice served."

Wise Smith, who also ran against Willis in 2020, faces an uphill battle in the May 21 primary. In a recent poll, which surveyed 1,000 likely Democratic voters from April 20 to 23, found that 79 percent of respondents plan to back Willis in the primary, while 9 percent said they are voting for Wise Smith. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Michael Ceraso, a communications consultant for Wise Smith's campaign, previously told Newsweek that the campaign feels confident in the weeks leading up to the primary that people will see Wise Smith campaigning on issues important to Fulton County residents including mass incarceration, school-to-prison pipeline and the legalization of marijuana.

Republican Courtney Kramer will face the Democratic winner in the general election in November.

Meanwhile, Wise Smith expressed sympathy for his Democratic opponent in his interview with Bellamy.

"I didn't jump in the race to throw any personal attacks at her. I don't believe in campaigning that way. It should be about what you bring to the job," he said. "I know her personal life has become very public, and I feel for her in that sense, but my vision for the office is completely different than hers."