Fani Willis Threw A Wicked Curve This A.M. The Defense Couldn’t Handle

I’m sure I’ll have more to say this evening but rather than try to write about the whole day in Fulton County Georgia Court I’m going to write while I talk. As you know DA Fani Willis surprised everyone and even though the judge clearly was inclined to not force her to testify she insisted on taking the witness stand. And she ripped the Trump defense team a new one. Willis changed the dynamic and put the defense back where they should be. On defense. She was expected to take the stand at 9am this morning so the prosecution could ask questions to bolster their side of things. And she threw a curve ball so wicked a major league baseball pitcher would be envious of. She decided she’d done all she needed to and told the lead prosecutor not to bother calling her.

Here’s why it matters. Some pundits are lamenting that Willis made a political case rather than a legal one from the stand. (Orders from media bosses have to be followed after all) However, even those who criticized her demeanor admitted she was effective in defending herself but more importantly that the defense hadn’t met it’s burden to disqualify her. As for Team Trump, they had to be butt-hurt over Willis getting the better of them. Their entire questioning of Willis (and Nathan Wade before her) was an exercise in innuendo and attempts to sow confusion in the hopes of finding some detail they could point to and say AH HA!  As I said, even before Willis unexpectedly left her office and walked to the courtroom the judge seemed to, after Wade’s testimony think the defense had no actual “there” there. By the time Willis was done the defense was covered in gobs of broken egg goop.

However, after Willis was questioned by her prosecutor the defense would get another crack at her. I’d expect they spent most of the night combing through the transcript and crafting “gotcha” questions to try and sow at least some doubt in judge McAfee’s mind. To somehow re-create the cloud of suspicion they’d conjured prior to the start of the  hearing yesterday. Especially for the public who except I’m sure for Fox viewers saw clips of Willis handing them their asses. And THIS time, they knew they were up against someone smart and formidable who could punch back harder than she’d been hit. My how they must have prayed they’d get another chance to turn things back in their favor. Being able to “cross” after Willis prosecutor was done with questions was their “bigly” chance. Their last shot.

And Willis denied it too them. Having played baseball when I was young I once face a guy who was sure to be signed to a pro contract. (He wasn’t – turns out he was a druggie and got arrested) I actually was one of only a few batters from my team to get a hit off of him which luckily produced our only run which turned out to be enough. (He’d walked someone who stole second) So I know exactly how it feels to be ready to pounce on a 90 plus mph fastball only to whiff big time at a curve ball. Actually, a better baseball analogy would be having a star, and clutch power hitter come up with runners in scoring position and giving him an intentional walk assuming the next batter would make the final out. Only to have the winning run provided by a cheap, ordinary single.

ABC noted how things went this morning. When the prosecutor announced she had no questions for Willis everything fell apart. The defense didn’t know what to do. So the judge didn’t either since the order of witnesses, and the day’s schedule was off the rails. So he called a recess to sort things out.  It took a long time, a LONG time before court resumed. Former Gov. Roy Barnes took the stand and his testimony helped bolster Willis. Even the defense didn’t want to mess with HIM. The only real issue was one of them trying to invent something out of thin air, insisting on the date of his meeting where he was offered to lead the Trump case and declined.

The inference was that Willis (and Wade) had lied and that Wade was her choice all along. It’s been reported that more than one person turned down the job citing security, and not wanting to have to live with a protective detail for year if not the rest of their lives. I had no idea Barnes was one of them. He testified in down-home terms how that was his concern and why despite his credentials (he would have been an excellent choice) even the defense was beaten on that issue. Except that one lawyer harped on wanting to know the exact date of the meeting, hoping it would be after Wade was hired. Barnes couldn’t answer it on the stand but agreed to come back once he could check his calendar. When, as Willis’ dad was about to start testifying he showed back up and gave them the date, a month before Wade got the job the defense bubble was popped.

Then Willis’ father took the stand and when I’m eighty I’d love to be as sharp as this guy is!  I’m betting the defense was counting on an “old man in his dotage” or at least someone past his prime. It was pretty clear on direct this was no ordinary man or lawyer and he demolished the defense claims about there’s no way Willis would have a healthy supply of cash. He did more than corroborate Willis testimony on the point, he introduced the elephant in the room the defense didn’t want to see. Race. Apologizing to the judge he said he needed to explain how this was to use his words “A Black thing” and went on to explain an incident from decades ago. He was at Harvard for a fellowship and with his wife and young Fani ate out. In Cambridge Massachusetts (he emphasized that) the waiter refused to take his American Express Card. Then his VISA card. Then traveler’s checks which are treated like money. So he pulled out a ten dollar bill to cover a $9.95 tab (this was a long time ago) but he went on to emphasize the larger point.

He’d told his daughter to always have plenty of cash at all times. And to sock away at least six months worth at home. He went on to explain he’d had three safes in his house, where he kept his own cash reserves, as well as things for his clients of his law practice. And that he’d given his only daughter a lockbox when she moved out on her own so she could start doing what he’d taught her from an early age to do. It all sounded so familiar. Because that’s what Willis had testified to the yesterday!

If they weren’t such assholes (for working for Trump) I’d almost have felt sorry for the defense who who were all left with attempts to trip him up on other issues. And he shot them down. On the threats. On why Fani moved out of their house. On why he stayed put during Covid. Even how in 2019 when he was in California prior to moving to Atlanta and his daughter’s home he was “paralyzed” by Covid. When defense lead lawyer Merchant tried to challenge him he noted he’d come back from South Africa when he was unable to retire there as planned. That he was a world traveler and knew even in 2019 is was only a matter of time before Covid, which was already ravaging much of the world would wind up here. He just made her look that much worse.

The funny part is that Willis’ dad knew most of the people there. His practice had been wide ranging around this country but he had plenty of experience in Atlanta. He knew the judge. Well. Same with some of the defense attorneys. I said they might have hoped he’d lost a step or two but even before they got a crack at him they had to have been thinking “uh oh.” He laid waste to them, and in more measured tones with some good natured banter thrown in at times.  The few times one of the defense lawyers tried to challenge him a bit like his daughter he laid waste to them. Watching him it’s easy to see why Fani Willis is who she is.

What will the afternoon bring? I don’t know but I think it’s possible what I said yesterday evening still stands. The defense shot it’s wad with Robin Yeartie’s testimony and missed.

But the real story is that Willis tied the defense up in knots yesterday. Then by not appearing this morning and staying in her office to actually work she tightened the knot!

Well, court’s starting back up and Wade’s former partner is on the stand. Should be interesting.

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