A new analysis of Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis’ sprawling indictments against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants may prove to be too heavy of a lift for her.
A. R. Hoffman, an associate editor for the New York Sun, noted on Wednesday that an allegation made by former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, one of the indicted — that “serious constitutional concerns” have been raised over her prosecution of him — “could upend District Attorney Fani Willis’s sprawling racketeering case before it achieves liftoff.”
That led Hoffman to speculate: “Could her prosecution be too big to function?”
He added: “In choosing to indict 19 defendants on 41 charges, Ms. Willis went big in prosecuting efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the Peach Tree State. It is a scale to which she claims to be accustomed — a racketeering trial of public school teachers netted 35 defendants, 12 of whom were tried together. Now, though, court filings show Ms. Willis fretting over a “logistical quagmire” and, Cassandra-like, alerting the presiding state court judge, Scott McAfee, to the “unavoidable burdens on witnesses and victims” should he splinter her sprawling case. The government’s position is that, like Isaiah Berlin’s hedgehog, it can try one large case, but not many smaller ones.”
Meadows is attempting to get his case removed to a federal court, and although a U.S. district court judge struck down that request earlier this month, Meadows’ legal team has filed an appeal, arguing that the allegations filed against him come from actions he engaged in as a federal employee.
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