Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis wins Georgia Democratic primary
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defeated attorney and author Christian Wise Smith in the Georgia Democratic primary Tuesday, the Associated Press projects. The 52-year-old prosecutor is fighting for another term as D.A. as her prosecution of former President Donald Trump and others in the state's 2020 election interference case remains tied up in a Georgia appellate court.
"I am just so humbled and so grateful to the citizens of Fulton County who made this possible," Willis told supporters at an election night party Tuesday. "Tonight they delivered a strong and a powerful message. They want a district attorney that believes everyone deserves to be safe, and everyone is entitled to some dignity. And it's a message that's pissing folks off but there is no one above the law in this country."
Willis will now face Republican challenger Courtney Kramer in the general election this fall. According to her LinkedIn profile, Kramer was an intern in the White House counsel's office during the Trump administration and a litigation consultant for the Trump campaign in Georgia after the 2020 election.
"My opponent is completely unqualified, completely," Willis argued. "She has less than 20 years of practicing law she has never been in a criminal courtroom."
Wise Smith previously challenged Willis in 2020, along with then-incumbent District Attorney Paul Howard.
"People are ready for a change," Wise Smith told CBS News. "People are tired of the same-old, same-old from that office. People want a breath of fresh air."
Wise Smith, 41, called for Willis' resignation Monday. He pointed to a pair of GOP-led congressional investigations probing the district attorney's office use of federal funds.
Last week, GOP Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson sent a letter to Willis requesting information about several Justice Department grants and alleged "the Fulton County DA may have misused funds from these grants to fund unrelated travel or the purchase of computers and "swag."'
"It's a very serious job where people are trusting you to do the right thing and to have continuous allegations of misuse of those funds to do that, it's time to go, " Wise Smith said.
The House Judiciary Committee is also conducting a probe into the district attorney's funding and has threatened to hold Willis in contempt of Congress. This month, Chairman Jim Jordan also asked former special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who was romantically involved with Willis, to testify before the panel.
Willis has denied any wrongdoing.
"Jim Jordan has time after time after time attacked my office with no legitimate purpose," Willis said in an MSNBC interview Monday. "He has now turned his tricks into he's going to look into grant programs, which I invite him to do, and we have complied with his subpoenas, but yet he continues his attacks to try to interfere in a criminal investigation."
A state Senate committee in Georgia has also opened a probe into Willis' office and has indicated it is prepared to subpoena her. Willis said the inquiry is "not legitimate."
"And so it shall fail, and it's not going to go anywhere," she said.
Willis launched the election subversion investigation into former President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia shortly after she won her first term. Last summer, she announced a sweeping racketeering indictment against the former president and 18 co-defendants. Four defendants have pleaded guilty.
Earlier this year, the district attorney disclosed a romantic relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade who oversaw the case. Wade resigned in March after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued a ruling rejecting efforts to disqualify Willis if Wade stepped aside. McAfee himself won reelection Tuesday in a nonpartisan contest, the AP projects, defeating civil rights attorney and media commentator Robert Patillo.
The Georgia State Court of Appeals has agreed to hear an appeal by former President Trump and several of the co-defendants on Willis' standing which could stall a potential trial beyond the November election.
With campaign signs dotting portions of Fulton County, Willis makes no mention of the Trump case in her ads.
"I took on the gangs and violent offenders," Willis says in a television ad airing in the Atlanta metro. "We've seen the third largest crime drop in America."
Willis, who is the first woman to lead the Fulton County D.A.'s office, points to her experience in the community including the establishment of a pre-indictment diversion program to offer second chances to offenders, initiatives targeting at-risk youth and greater transparency with law enforcement.
Wise Smith founded the National Social Justice Alliance nonprofit to combat police brutality. He campaigned on ending mass incarceration and dismantling "the school-to-prison pipeline" and advocated for putting more focus on victim-centered crimes.
"So much time right now is wasted on prosecuting marijuana, is wasted on prosecuting crimes where the basis or foundation was a mental disability or substance addiction or homelessness," Wise Smith explained. "If we partner up folks with resource providers that can help them turn their lives around, then I have more attorneys, more investigators, more money and more time to attack the rapes, the robberies, the murders and the crimes that really impact our safety."
Wise Smith was the only candidate to show up last month for an Atlanta Press Club debate where he addressed an empty podium. Willis did not attend.
Wise Smith told CBS News he would "respect the decision of the voters no matter which way it goes" in the primary but stopped short of saying whether he would endorse Willis if she advances.
Willis hopes to prevail despite the ongoing challenges.
"This is a fight for safety," Willis said Tuesday. "It's a fight for justice. But most it's a fight for the rule of law. And we are just at the beginning of this fight."
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Nikole Killion is a CBS News congressional correspondent based in Washington D.C. As a correspondent, Killion played a key role in the Network's 2020 political and election coverage, reporting from around the country during the final stretch of the campaign and throughout the Biden transition.
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