Marjorie Taylor Greene Unleashes on Fani Willis

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has slammed prosecutor Fani Willis and the judge overseeing her ethics case, amid reports he once donated to her campaign.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, the Republican called Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who is prosecuting Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case, a "corrupt liar." She was reacting to a Daily Caller report, which, citing financial disclosures, found that Judge Scott McAfee made a donation of $150 to Willis in 2020 prior to his appointment as judge in 2023. Newsweek contacted representatives for McAfee by email for comment.

Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted by a Georgia grand jury in August on criminal racketeering charges for allegedly attempting to overturn the state's electoral results in the 2020 election won by Joe Biden.

The former president pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges against him and has said the case is politically motivated because he is the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination.

Willis gave evidence in a two-day hearing following accusations by one of Trump's co-defendants, Michael Roman, that she was having an affair with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the high-profile case. Newsweek has contacted Willis via LinkedIn for comment.

Roman said Willis and Wade had benefited financially from taxpayers' money. The pair later admitted they had a romantic relationship, but denied a conflict of interest. In response, Roman said that the pair's relationship started earlier than they had disclosed. A hearing, which took place on February 15 and 16, is to determine whether Willis is removed from the Trump case.

Following the reports about McAfee's donation to Willis, Greene called Willis to be removed from Trump's case.

"[T]hings you can't even make up. When will Georgia get rid of corrupt liar Fani Willis?!" she wrote.

Greene has been a vocal Willis critic. In early February, NBC News reported she had filed a complaint with the Georgia State Ethics Commission saying Willis had violated state transparency and ethics rules by failing to file personal financial disclosure statements since opening her investigation into Trump.

In August, The New York Times reported that McAfee also once worked under Willis in her office, earlier in his career. The publication cited a former district attorney and another lawyer who worked in the office at the time. McAfee was randomly assigned to the elction interference case.

Speaking to Newsweek, Dr. Seth C. McKee, a professor at Oklahoma State University, said: "It is a poor look to have donated money to the campaign of the DA you now must decide whether to remove from a case for her romantic relationship with a co-worker she hired. On the other hand, if the reportedly $150 campaign contribution can affect the judge's decision, then we are all in trouble."

Following the hearing, several legal analysts said they did not think Willis would be disqualified from the case.

Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney who was appointed during the Barack Obama administration and MSNBC legal analyst, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: "Fani Willis made a terrible decision to date Nathan Wade, and that may bring ethics issues for her, but her testimony dispelled any kickback scheme that would disqualify her. Nothing about this affects the fair trial rights of Trump and co-defendants."

"I respect her and her office, and putting the Trump trial at risk in this fashion, even if she did nothing wrong, demonstrates poor judgment. Regardless of how the judge rules, it is difficult to deny the appearance of impropriety," Georgia lawyer Doug Weinstein wrote on X on Sunday.

Update 2/22/24, 9:42 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Dr. Seth C. Mckee.