Fani Willis

Fani T. Willis (born 1971/1972)[1] is an American politician and an attorney from the state of Georgia. She is the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia.[2]

Fani Willis
District Attorney of Fulton County
Assumed office
January 1, 2021
Preceded byPaul Howard
Personal details
Born1971/1972 (age 50–51)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationHoward University (BA)
Emory University (JD)

Biography

Willis graduated from Howard University and Emory University School of Law. She spent 16 years as a prosecutor in the Fulton County district attorney's office. Her most prominent case was her prosecution of the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal. In 2018, she went into private practice.[3] That year, she ran for a seat on the Fulton County Superior Court, and lost.[4] In 2020, Willis was elected district attorney for Fulton County, defeating Paul Howard, a six-term incumbent and her former boss.[5][6]

2020 election influence investigation

On February 10, 2021, Willis launched a criminal investigation into a telephone call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and other attempts by Donald Trump to influence Georgia election officials, including the governor and the attorney general.[7][8] She said that at that time, no Georgia official is a target of the investigation.[8] In January 2022, she requested a special grand jury to consider charges of election interference by Trump and his allies.[9][10] Selected on May 2, 26 members of the special grand jury will have investigative authority and subpoena power, eventually submitting a report to the judge and Ms. Willis on whether or not a crime was committed.[11]

References
  1. Hakim, Danny; Fausset, Richard (February 13, 2021). "In Georgia, a New District Attorney Starts Circling Trump and His Allies". The New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  2. Murphy, Patricia; Bluestein, Greg; Mitchell, Tia (February 12, 2021). "The Jolt: Fani Willis takes center stage in the Trump show". AJC. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  3. Umontuen, Itoro (August 12, 2020). "Fani Willis will become the next Fulton County DA, beating six-term incumbent Paul Howard". The Atlanta Voice. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  4. Catts, Everett (April 16, 2020). "Howard, Smith and Willis warring for Fulton's district attorney post". The Neighbor. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  5. Boone, Christian (August 14, 2020). "After historic victory, Fani Willis plans transformation of Fulton DA's office". AJC. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  6. McDonald, R. Robin (August 11, 2020). "Fani Willis Sweeps Paul Howard to Take Over as Fulton County DA". Law.com. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  7. Morris, Jason; Cole, Devan (February 10, 2021). "Prosecutors in Georgia open criminal investigation into Trump's attempt to influence election results". CNN. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  8. Fausset, Richard; Hakim, Danny (February 10, 2021). "Georgia Prosecutors Open Criminal Inquiry Into Trump's Efforts to Subvert Election". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  9. Hakim, Danny; Fausset, Richard (November 6, 2021). "Georgia Grand Jury Looms in Trump Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  10. Tamar Hallerman (January 20, 2022). "Fulton DA requests special grand jury for Trump probe". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  11. Sara Murray, Jason Morris (May 2, 2022). "Grand jury selected in Fulton County probe of Trump election interference in Georgia". CNN. Retrieved May 2, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
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