Prof. Richard Painter Quoted in Newsweek About Misconduct Allegations Against Fani Willis

Professor Richard Painter was quoted in Newsweek about misconduct allegations against Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis and how a dangerous precedent could be set against prosecutors involved in high-profile cases. Willis is the lead prosecutor in the 2020 election-related case against Donald Trump. She has acknowledged a romantic relationship with another prosecutor in the case and has been subpoenaed for improper actions. Willis has denied any conflict of interest. While saying Willis showed poor judgment, Professor Painter said “Defense attorneys should not be permitted to go out and sort of find out ‘the dirt’ on prosecutors, things that have nothing to do with the case, and bring it in front of the judge to try to get a disqualification.” Painter added, “If we go down that road, what’s going to happen is that the defense attorneys will just hire a private investigator who’s going to follow around prosecutors to try and find something they’re doing that they shouldn’t be doing but that has nothing to do with the case … it could almost become a blackmail extortion scenario.”