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Fulton County ethics board won't hear complaints against

Fani Willis
The Fulton County Board of Ethics said the county ethics code does not apply to Willis, a state officer
By Chris Pandolfo Fox News

Published March 8, 2024 8:46am EST

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Defense attorney says Fani Willis had meeting with VP Harris in 2023
Fox News' Jonathan Serrie reports the latest on the Senate Committee hearing stemming from Fani Willis' alleged misconduct. Former U.S. attorney Brett
Tolman joined 'The Faulkner Focus' to discuss the latest on the case.

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A Fulton County ethics board scheduled to hear complaints filed against District Attorney
Fani Willis on Thursday scrapped those plans after finding it lacked jurisdiction.

The Fulton County Board of Ethics was scheduled to hear two complaints against Willis
after a co-defendant of former President Trump in the Georgia election interference case
alleged Willis had an improper affair with special counsel Nathan Wade, whom she hired
to prosecute Trump. However, days before the board convened on March 7, the meeting
agenda was updated to remove consideration of those complaints.

At Thursday's meeting, Chairman Daraka Satcher announced the board lacked jurisdiction
over the complaints because Willis is a state constitutional officer, not a county official,
the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"The Fulton County Code of Ethics, our code of ethics, only applies to county officers and
employees," Satcher said in a prepared statement. He said the Georgia State Ethics
Commission is the proper body to review the complaints against Willis.

NATHAN WADE'S PHONE DATA SHOWS HE MADE MIDNIGHT TRIPS TO FANI WILLIS'
CONDO BEFORE HE WAS HIRED: ATTORNEY

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis winks before being sworn in to testify at the hearing about an allegedly improper
relationship with Nathan Wade. (Screenshot/Fox News)

Last year, Willis indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants, including Michael Roman, a GOP
political operative who first filed motions alleging Willis financially benefited from her
romantic entanglement with Wade.

A state judge is currently weighing evidence against Willis’ alleged impropriety and
whether she and her team should be disqualified from the case.

At the same time, state lawmakers have formed a special Senate committee with
subpoena power to investigate claims against the district attorney.

The two complaints filed with the ethics board are separate from the disqualification
proceedings and the state Senate investigation.

GEORGIA PROSECUTOR ALLEGES FANI WILLIS ASKED BRADLEY NOT TO TESTIFY ON

AFFAIR: ‘THEY ARE COMING AFTER US’

Special prosecutor Nathan Wade testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the
Fulton County Courthouse on Feb. 15, 2024 in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images)

Two individuals, Gregory Mantell and Steven Kramer, filed complaints in January and
February, respectively, alleging numerous ethics violations by Willis.

Mantell, who founded the Substack blog Investigative News Service, filed his complaint
against Willis on Jan. 27. According to Newsweek, Mantelll claims the district attorney's
office improperly denied his records request for expense reports for 2021-2023 and all
contracts and payments made to Wade during those years. He had also requested records
pertaining to $14.6 million in awards for the Department of Justice, Newsweek reported.

Kramer's lengthy complaint raises questions about the hiring of Wade the affair, Wade's ,

compensation, money spent on dates and trips, the possibility that the relationship
created a hostile workplace environment and whether taxpayer dollars paid to Wade might
have been better spent, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

TRUMP LAWYERS MAKE CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN DA FANI WILLIS ‘IMPROPER’ AFFAIR

ALLEGATIONS: ‘IRREPARABLE STAIN’

"The extra resources and financial costs for the court and the district attorney’s office,
both paid for by Fulton County taxpayers like me, are to deal with this improper
relationship," Kramer wrote in the Feb. 14 complaint.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a staunch Trump supporter, said she also filed two
ethics complaints against Willis and was looking forward to the hearing.

Had the Fulton County ethics board found Willis to be in violation of the county ethics
code, she would have faced a $1,000 fine.

However, since the board determined Willis is outside its jurisdiction, she will not be
reprimanded.

Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to chris.pandolfo@fox.com and follow him on
Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.

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