When Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and over a dozen of his allies for their attempt to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results, she did something ingenious.
In contrast to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s latest laser-focused federal indictment of Mr. Trump, Ms. Willis charges a wide range of conspirators from the Oval Office to low-level Georgia G.O.P.
functionaries and is the first to plumb the full depths, through a state-focused bathyscope, of the conspiracy.
Her case also provides other important complements to the federal matter: Unlike Mr. Smith’s case, which will almost certainly not be broadcast because of federal standards, hers will almost certainly be televised, and should Mr. Trump or another Republican win the White House, Ms. Willis’s case cannot be immediately pardoned away.
It is a reminder of the genius of American federalism: When our democracy is threatened, states have an indispensable part to play in protecting it.
Persons:
Fani Willis, Donald Trump, Georgia’s, Jack Smith’s, Mr, Trump, Willis, plumb
Organizations:
Republican, White, Georgia
Locations:
Fulton County, Georgia