Donald Trump’s criminal conviction by a New York jury might bolster Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s election interference case against the former president.
“While President Donald Trump’s conviction doesn’t directly impact his trial in Georgia,” legal expert John Acevedo remarked, “it will psychologically influence both Fani Willis’s team and potential jurors.”
John Acevedo, a professor at Emory University School of Law, elaborated, saying, “They no longer need to be the first to convict a former president—the precedent has been set. This diminishes the perceived invincibility of Mr. Trump and any former president.”
Acevedo isn’t alone in cautioning that Trump’s conviction might strengthen Willis’s case.
“The conviction serves as a guide for prosecuting a former president, an example that didn’t exist before yesterday,” Matthew Mangino, a former district attorney in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, noted in a statement to Newsweek.
A Georgia grand jury indicted Trump last year on racketeering charges, with Willis alleging that Trump and 18 others conspired illegally to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
Trump has pleaded not guilty, claiming that his actions were protected by constitutional rights to free speech and expression.
The former president is facing ten charges in Fulton County’s election interference case.
Willis is attempting to reintroduce several charges after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six, including three against Trump. The district attorney appealed, arguing that the dropped counts lacked specific detail about the violations.
Trump’s legal team has sought to remove the Georgia prosecutor, citing allegations that Willis improperly hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade, with whom she allegedly had a romantic relationship, compromising her impartiality.
Willis is also under investigation at both the state and federal levels.
Georgia’s state Senate is investigating Willis for alleged misconduct. The Senate Special Committee on Investigations recently held its fourth meeting to probe potential conflicts of interest and misuse of federal and state grants by her office.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has threatened Willis with contempt of Congress over his investigation into her usage of federal grant money.
Truth Voices reached out to the Fulton County District Attorney’s office for comment.
