Leo Terrell: Fani Willis’ Presence During Closing Arguments Is a ‘Sign of Defiance’

ROBERTS: “Shannon, you and I were talking about this just before the court wrapped up there. This whole case would seem to hinge on a single text message. And that was the text message when Ashleigh Merchant said, did this start before he was hired? Terrence Bradley responds ‘absolutely’. But then I said to you, well, would it only be — would it only be inappropriate and conflict of interest if this relationship started before — and Fani Willis is there in court — before he was hired or if they had a relationship after that, would that be inappropriate as well?”

BREAM: “Well, and that’s the whole question, is that this money was intended to flow in a way that was going to benefit her. But now it’s gotten so much more expansive beyond that question. And you heard a couple of the attorneys saying there this isn’t a perjury trial. This judge doesn’t have to decide if somebody lied under oath or not. But as a fact finder in this proceeding, he does have a chance to make assessments about credibility, and there have been a lot of people on the stand who have told differing stories to different people at different times. All of that he can assess, and remember, if DA Willis is disqualified, that means her entire team, her entire office would be blocked from prosecuting and moving this forward. There’s a state agency that would then come in and see whether this is assigned to a different DA somewhere else in the state. Obviously, that would be a massive delay, it could change the very structure of the court, the charges, the defendants, all of it. But there is a chance this judge says, hey, you haven’t come to me. There’s a lot of talk about who has the burden of proof, you haven’t proven to me beyond a shadow of the doubt or beyond a question of credibility, whatever the burden is here, that there was actually something going on here that was nefarious and unethical. Only Scott McAfee can make that decision and you’ve heard him, he’s been very neutral, he’s been very blunt. You heard one of the attorneys there saying, can I have time for a rebuttal to come back at the end? He was like, nope. So he is trying to play by the rules and say, we’re going to wrap it up today.”

Smith: “Leo, perhaps this will be the final thought as Fani Willis, as you can see on the screen there, has entered the room, taken her seat. And the judge said they will be returning at 2:40. Quick thought before we get back in here.”

TERRELL: “No question. The fact that she is in the courtroom, Sandra, John, Shannon, Kelly, she is going down with the ship. She’s going to go — she is not going to drop out. She is going to go down with the ship and force the judge to make a ruling. That — her presence there is a sign of defiance.”