Legal scholar Professor Jonathan Turley has declared that Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has just suffered a “large blow” in her politically motivated RICO case against President Donald Trump.
Turley, a George Washington University law professor, said Thursday that Willis’s 2020 “election interference” case against Trump has been derailed by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney.
On Monday, McBurney ordered Willis to hand over any communications records she has with Special Counsel Jack Smith.
She must also hand over any communications with the Democrats’ anti-Trumop House January 6 Select Committee.
Willis was given five business days to surrender the records, according to a court order.
During an appearance on Fox News’s “The Faulkner Focus,” Turley said the case has numerous issues.
The legal expert commented that McBurney’s order was a “fairly large blow to Willis.”
“This entire case is leaking like a sieve,” Turley said.
“And it always has because it was based on, in my view, a ridiculous RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations] theory to get to the president.
“There are some crimes in this case, I think they’re relatively minor, against some defendants, like unauthorized access, but to get the president, they had to create this real Rube Goldberg type of racketeering theory that I don’t think will hold up upon review.
“And on top of that, you have Willis’ own conduct and whether she should be removed from the case.”
“So it’s a big debate as to what will bring the case down, but there are a lot of possibilities here.
“Now, the fact is that courts tended to try to leave these to juries, leave these to fact finders and so Willis knows she has an advantage,” he continued.
“But just keep in mind that this entire case is teetering in my view legally.
“And I just can’t see even if she was able to secure a conviction that she would be able to sustain it on appeal.
“But I don’t believe the case should go to jury. I don’t think it should go to trial.
“I think it’s a laughable case against the former president.”
Host Martha MacCallum asked Turley for his opinion of Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee.
The question prompted the law professor to not discuss McBurney’s order.
“He has shown, I think, a fair degree of balance here,” Turley added, appearing to reference McAfee.
“I’ve had a lot of respect for some of the decisions he’s reached.
“So I have no objection to him as a judge.
“My objection is the underlying case.”
WATCH:
Trump’s attorneys requested that the state of Georgia dismiss Willis’ indictment against him in a Wednesday filing.
Willis charged Trump, along with 18 others, in August 2023 for breaching its RICO Act by allegedly attempting to reverse the state’s 2020 election outcome.
The president-elect’s attorneys argued that maintaining the case is unconstitutional and “lacks jurisdiction” as presidents are “completely immune” from state or federal indictments while in office.
