Fani Willis’ public statements about the Trump case, including in her January speech at Big Bethel AME Church, warrant her disqualification, said defense attorney Craig Gillen, who represents David Shafer.

“She chose to pull out the race card and the God card,” he said, suggesting it was a tactic to “deflect” from her romantic relationship with Wade. “What we have is a calculated plan to prejudice the defendants in this case. We have someone who sat down, wrote out her speech, wrote out her plan.”

Gillen said Willis had repeatedly worked to “get her message out” about the case before it could be tried. He labeled it a “pattern of forensic misconduct.”

Judge Scott McAfee asked if there were any previous Georgia cases in which judges “actually said that a prosecutor had gone too far in public comments.”

Gillen said it’s rare, but “it’s happened in this case.”

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Living in Louisville in rural Jefferson County, Jessica Lewis (back) regularly traveled nearly an hour each way for OB-GYN visits while she was pregnant with her now-11-month-old-son, Desmond. The 35-year-old tax preparer is among many in Georgia forced to make long drives for access to gynecological care. Others are not able to do so, part of why prenatal visit data has gotten worse in recent years. (Natrice Miller/AJC)

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(Photo Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC | Source: Getty, Unsplash)

Credit: Philip Robibero / AJC