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Undid revision 1154771932 by Esowteric (talk) I work in the Fulton County DA's office as an intern so I know her birthday
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| predecessor = Paul Howard Jr.
| predecessor = Paul Howard Jr.
| successor =
| successor =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1971|10|27}}
| birth_date = 1971<ref name="NYT20230202">{{cite news | first = Mark | last = Binelli | title=Fani Willis Took On Atlanta’s Gangs. Now She May Be Coming For Trump. | work=The New York Times | date=2023-02-02 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/magazine/fani-willis-trump.html | access-date=2023-04-10}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Inglewood, California]]
| birth_place = [[Inglewood, California]]
| death_date =
| death_date =

Revision as of 15:27, 14 May 2023

Fani Willis
District Attorney of Fulton County
Assumed office
January 1, 2021
Preceded byPaul Howard Jr.
Personal details
Born (1971-10-27) October 27, 1971 (age 52)
Inglewood, California
Political partyDemocratic
EducationHoward University (BA)
Emory University (JD)

Fani Taifa Willis[1] (FAH-nee,[1] born October 27, 1971) is an American attorney. She is the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, which contains most of Atlanta.[2] She is the first woman to hold the office title as the Fulton County district attorney.[3]

Early life

Willis was born in Inglewood, California. Her father was a member of the Black Panthers and a criminal defense attorney.[4]

Willis graduated from Howard University and Emory University School of Law.[3] She spent 16 years as a prosecutor in the Fulton County district attorney's office. Her most prominent case was her prosecution of the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal. In 2018, she went into private practice.[5] That year, she ran for a seat on the Fulton County Superior Court, and lost.[6] In 2019, Willis became chief municipal judge for South Fulton, Georgia.[4]

District attorney of Fulton County

In 2020, Willis was elected district attorney for Fulton County, defeating Paul Howard Jr., a six-term incumbent and her former boss.[7][8]

2020 election influence investigation

Main article: 2020 Georgia election investigation

On February 10, 2021, Willis launched a criminal investigation into Donald Trump's attempts to influence Georgia election officials—including the governor, the attorney general, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger via a telephone call—to "find" enough votes to override Joe Biden's win in that state and thus undo Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.[9][10][11]

In January 2022, she requested a special grand jury to consider charges of election interference by Trump and his allies.[12][13] In May, a 26-member special grand jury was given investigative authority and subpoena power and tasked with submitting a report to the judge and Willis on whether a crime was committed.[14]

Willis sent target letters to people she is investigating related to the fake electors plot. These include two Republican officials — State Senator Brandon Beach and David Shafer, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party[15] — and the 16 people who falsely presented themselves as electors.[16] She also sent a target letter to State Senator Burt Jones, but then a judge said she could not target Jones due to a conflict of interest.[17]

After hearing from 75 witnesses—including former US Sen. Kelly Loeffler, former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone,[18] and possibly Sidney Powell[19]—the special grand jury completed its work and was dissolved on January 9, 2023. On February 16, following a judge's order, parts of the report were released.[20] The judge did not permit the release of recommendations for possible charges,[21][22][23] intending to preserve the "due process" for anyone who might be indicted later.[24] Several days later, the foreperson of the grand jury hinted that the recommendations were not "some giant plot twist" and that no one would be "surprised".[25]

A different grand jury has yet to decide on charges.[23]

On April 24, 2023, Willis announced she would announce decisions to charge Trump and his associates during the Georgia Superior Courts' fourth term, perhaps as soon as mid-July 2023.[26]

Atlanta gang indictments

In May 2022, Willis' office indicted Young Thug for 56 counts of gang-related crimes under Georgia's RICO statute and felony charges for possession of illicit firearms and drugs that were allegedly discovered after a search warrant was executed. The rapper has been held in Cobb County jail since his arrest.[27][28]

Personal life

Willis and her husband divorced in 2005. They have two daughters together.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Rose, Ashtin (January 20, 2021). "You Can Call Her Madam DA; Fani Willis on Making History As Fulton County's First Woman District Attorney". South Atlanta Magazine.
  2. ^ Murphy, Patricia; Bluestein, Greg; Mitchell, Tia (February 12, 2021). "The Jolt: Fani Willis takes center stage in the Trump show". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Fani T. Willis, Fulton County District Attorney". Fulton County Government. 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Ross, Janell (September 28, 2021). "Atlanta's First Black Female District Attorney Is at the Center of America's Converging Crises". Time. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  5. ^ Umontuen, Itoro (August 12, 2020). "Fani Willis will become the next Fulton County DA, beating six-term incumbent Paul Howard". The Atlanta Voice. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  6. ^ Catts, Everett (April 16, 2020). "Howard, Smith and Willis warring for Fulton's district attorney post". The Neighbor. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  7. ^ Boone, Christian (August 14, 2020). "After historic victory, Fani Willis plans transformation of Fulton DA's office". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  8. ^ McDonald, R. Robin (August 11, 2020). "Fani Willis Sweeps Paul Howard to Take Over as Fulton County DA". Law.com. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  9. ^ Hakim, Danny; Fausset, Richard (February 13, 2021). "In Georgia, a New District Attorney Starts Circling Trump and His Allies". The New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  10. ^ Morris, Jason; Cole, Devan (February 10, 2021). "Prosecutors in Georgia open criminal investigation into Trump's attempt to influence election results". CNN. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  11. ^ Fausset, Richard; Hakim, Danny (February 10, 2021). "Georgia Prosecutors Open Criminal Inquiry Into Trump's Efforts to Subvert Election". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  12. ^ Hakim, Danny; Fausset, Richard (November 6, 2021). "Georgia Grand Jury Looms in Trump Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Hallerman, Tamar (January 20, 2022). "Fulton DA requests special grand jury for Trump probe". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  14. ^ Murray, Sara; Morris, Jason (May 2, 2022). "Grand jury selected in Fulton County probe of Trump election interference in Georgia". CNN. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  15. ^ Fausset, Richard; Hakim, Danny (July 15, 2022). "Prosecutor Warns Georgia Officials They May Face Charges in Trump Inquiry: The investigation could prove to be one of the most perilous legal problems facing the former president and his allies". The New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  16. ^ Visser, Nick (July 20, 2022). "Fake Electors Are Now 'Targets' In Georgia Probe Of Trump's Effort To Overturn 2020 Vote". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  17. ^ Mangan, Dan (July 25, 2022). "Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis disqualified from investigating Trump 'fake elector' in criminal probe". CNBC. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  18. ^ Murray, Sara; Cohen, Zachary; Perez, Evan (October 20, 2022). "First on CNN: Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, former US Sen. Kelly Loeffler testify to grand jury in Georgia investigating 2020 election interference | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  19. ^ "Trump election probe in Georgia cites voting system breach". Associated Press. August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  20. ^ Mangan, Dan; Breuninger, Kevin (February 16, 2023). "Georgia grand jury recommends perjury indictments in Trump election meddling probe". CNBC. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  21. ^ Murray, Sara; Morris, Jason; Cole, Devan (January 24, 2023). "'Decisions are imminent' on charges in Trump's effort to overturn 2020 election in Georgia, Fulton County DA says". CNN Politics. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  22. ^ Murray, Sara; Morris, Jason (January 9, 2023). "Georgia grand jury investigating Trump and 2020 election aftermath completes its work". CNN Politics. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Polantz, Katelyn; Murray, Sara; Morris, Jason (February 13, 2023). "Parts of Georgia grand jury report on Trump and 2020 election aftermath to be made public". CNN Politics. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  24. ^ Beckett, Lois; Stein, Chris; Beckett, Lois; Stein, Chris (February 13, 2023). "Why not make public the full special grand jury report? Two words: due process". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  25. ^ Boboltz, Sara (February 21, 2023). "Trump Grand Jury Foreperson Says 'You Won't Be Too Surprised' By Indictment List". HuffPost. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  26. ^ "Georgia prosecutor to reveal charging decisions in Trump probe this summer". NBC News. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  27. ^ Staten, Adam (May 18, 2022). "Young Thug's 'Torturous' Jail Condition Complaints Dismissed by Officials". Newsweek. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  28. ^ Brown, Preezy (April 4, 2023). "Young Thug Leaves Prison To Attend His Sister's Funeral". Yahoo News. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
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