Fani Willis slams $17 million legal fees demand from Trump and allies
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has pushed back against nearly $17 million in legal-fee reimbursements sought by Donald Trump and several former co-defendants after the collapse of the 2020 election-interference case, arguing the request could consume a large portion of her office’s budget. In a Wednesday filing, willis said the reimbursement statute is punitive and nonsensical, warning that paying the claims could use up taxpayers’ money and strain county finances, and she criticized the defendants’ demand as excessive—including alleged costs for high-end travel, meals, and media work.
The fee requests stem from a Georgia law allowing criminal defendants to seek reimbursement if the prosecuting district attorney is disqualified. Willis was removed from the case after courts found a romantic relationship wiht the special prosecutor created an appearance of impropriety, and the case was afterward dismissed. Trump’s team is seeking more than $6.2 million in attorney fees, with the total approaching $17 million when linked to other defendants, a move that could test the new statute and local taxpayers’ exposure. Critics argue the law may be unconstitutional or due process-violating, while Willis contends it could force taxpayers to fund political campaigns and related expenses.
Fani Willis slams $17 million legal fees demand from Trump and former codefendants
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis pushed back against President Donald Trump and his former codefendants’ effort to recover nearly $17 million in legal fees Wednesday following the collapse of her sweeping 2020 election interference case, warning it could consume her office’s fiscal budget.
In a Wednesday filing in Fulton County Superior Court, Willis said her office “has no intention of allowing Fulton County taxpayers” to foot the bill for what she called “an absurd amount for such an absurd reason,” arguing that paying the requested sums could consume a “significant percentage (perhaps all)” of her office’s annual budget.
Trump is seeking more than $6.2 million in attorney fees. Combined with requests from some of the 18 other defendants originally charged in the racketeering case, the total request approaches $17 million, according to Pete Skandalakis, chairman of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia.
The fee demands stem from a Georgia law passed last year that allows criminal defendants to seek reimbursement for legal costs if the prosecuting district attorney is disqualified from the case.
Willis was removed after courts found that her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created an “appearance of impropriety” and exhibited an “odor of mendacity.” The Georgia Supreme Court earlier declined to hear her appeal of that decision.
Skandalakis, whose office assumed control of the case after Willis’s disqualification, later moved to dismiss the charges entirely. On the day before Thanksgiving, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee granted that request, ending the prosecution.
In her latest filing, Willis sharply criticized the reimbursement statute, calling it a “punitive, nonsensical schema” that could force taxpayers to pay millions simply because a successor prosecutor opted to drop charges.
“The defendants are asking that the District Attorney’s budget and the taxpayers’ funds be handed over to the Trump Campaign and the Georgia Republican Party for expenses including luxury hotels and seafood lunches,” the filing reads, characterizing some claimed costs as “truly astonishing,” including high-end travel, meals, media communications, and unexplained research expenses.
Trump’s Georgia attorney Steve Sadow balked at Willis’s assertions in a statement on X, calling it a complete “parody.” After all, it was allegations about her misuse of taxpayer funds surrounding her hiring of Wade, including records that the pair engaged in luxury travel together, that led to his eventual removal from the prosecution and the case’s ultimate collapse.
“Ms. Willis says the money would be better spent on her travel and extracurricular pursuits! Please keep in mind that Valentine’s Day is coming up soon,” Sadow wrote.
Skandalakis has separately argued the law itself may be unconstitutional. In a recent filing, he wrote that the statute contains “serious and potentially unconstitutional deficiencies,” contending it denies county governments’ due process by holding them financially responsible without giving them a meaningful opportunity to contest reimbursement claims.
Willis’s original indictment centered on a January 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump asked him to “find” enough votes to overturn his narrow loss in the state. Then-candidate Joe Biden carried Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes, marking the first time since 1992 that a Democrat won the state in a presidential election.
Now, with the case dismissed and the legal fight shifting to who pays the bill, Fulton County faces the prospect of a multimillion-dollar dispute that could test both the new reimbursement law and the limits of local taxpayers’ liability.
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