Netanyahu told Sec. Blinken that US recognizing Palestinian state would be a ‘prize’ for planners of Oct. 7
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that any U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state would be a “prize” for the Hamas terrorists who planned the Oct. 7 massacre. Netanyahu made the comment to Blinken when the pair met face-to-face last week, Axios reported Thursday. The prime minister told Blinken that direct or even indirect recognition “would be a prize for those who planned and orchestrated the Oct. 7 massacre.” President Biden and other U.S. officials have repeatedly said that Israel’s war against Hamas should end with a two-state solution, implying that the U.S. would recognize a Palestinian state. The U.S. could potentially recognize a Palestinian state indirectly by not using its veto to stop the U.N. from fully recognizing Palestinian officials as a member state. HAMAS TERRORISTS USE ISRAELI HOSTAGE RELEASE IN GAME OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE Israeli cabinet officials have also reportedly made it clear to Palestinian counterparts that a two-state solution is off the table. Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi also met with Palestinian minister Hussein al-Sheikh last week and told him he would receive the same answer from future Israeli governments, an Israeli official told Axios. UNITED NATIONS SLAMMED FOR SILENCE OVER HAMAS RAPES, MUTILATION AND MURDER OF ISRAELI WOMEN, CRITICS SAY “It is not only the Likud government. There was no Palestinian state when we had other governments in Israel, so you need to be realistic and put forward more practical goals for the day after the war,” Hanegbi told al-Sheikh. Biden first pushed for a two-state solution in a November 2023 opinion article in the Washington Post, arguing, “The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas.” ‘I WILL BE HAUNTED FOREVER’: ISRAEL’S HORRIFIC VIDEO OF HAMAS ATROCITIES LEAVES VIEWERS SHOCKED AND SICKENED Israel has made repeated efforts to negotiate a peace deal and two-state solution with Palestinian and Arab leaders over the past 75 years, but each offer has been rejected. “I do not think a two-state solution is possible, and, even if possible, it is not advisable. For more than 50 years, hundreds of self-proclaimed ‘peacemakers,’ led by the United States, have attempted to coerce Israel and the Palestinians into a two-state solution,” former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told Fox News Digital last month. Friedman, who served as the U.S. ambassador under former President Trump, said, “The efforts repeatedly fail regardless of who’s in charge and the reasons are profound and immutable: 1) the Palestinians are not willing to accept a Jewish State; 2) the likelihood of a Palestinian state becoming a terror state is extremely high, presenting an existential threat to Israel; and 3) the West Bank (referred to by Biblical adherents as Judea and Samaria) is biblical Israel and, absent Israeli control, hundreds of Jewish and Christian holy sites will be destroyed.” Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report
Haley making final stand against Trump one year after launching GOP presidential bid
One year to the day after formally declaring her candidacy for the White House, Nikki Haley is the last remaining major rival to former President Donald Trump in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination. “America is not past our prime, it’s just that our politicians are past theirs,” Haley said on Feb. 15, 2023, taking shots at both Trump, who’s now 77, and President Biden, who’s 81. Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration, launched her campaign in front of a large crowd of supporters in Charleston. She was the first of the major challengers to Trump to enter the 2024 race, and a year later she’s the final one standing. HALEY BLAMES TRUMP FOR GOP SETBACK IN KEY SPECIAL ELECTION “One year ago, there were 13 fellas in the race and we were polling at 2%. But we knew what we were fighting for: a strong and proud America. And now, one year later, we’re back in my sweet state of South Carolina and we’re ready to bring it home!,” Haley said Thursday on social media. But with nine days to go until the South Carolina Republican presidential primary, Haley faces a steep uphill climb for the nomination against Trump, the commanding frontrunner as he makes his third straight White House run. THE NEXT STOP IN THE HALEY-TRUMP 2024 GOP PRIMARY SHOWDOWN Trump grabbed a majority of the votes last month in Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary victories, and won by a landslide last week in the Nevada and U.S. Virgin Island caucuses. And with nine days to go until the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary, the latest public opinion surveys suggest the former president holds a very large double-digit lead over Haley in her home state. “She’s getting clobbered,” Trump emphasized Wednesday night at a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina. “She’s finished.” But Haley, who has been campaigning vigorously in her home state and kicked off a bus tour this past weekend as early voting in the Republican primary got underway, has repeatedly said she doesn’t need to win her home state. FIRST ON FOX: HALEY HAULS IN BIG BUCKS DURING WEST COAST SWING “Success means being competitive. Closing the gap. Making sure we can continue to go forward as we go into Super Tuesday,” Haley stressed in a Fox News Digital interview two weeks ago in Columbia, South Carolina. “It’s just about keeping that momentum going. We got 20% in Iowa. We got 43% in New Hampshire. Let’s bring it a little bit closer so that we can get closer in to him [Trump] and make it more competitive going into Super Tuesday,” she added. Haley is taking a short break from her South Carolina stumping to head to Texas on Thursday and Friday for fundraisers and to campaign in one of the 15 states holding Republican nominating contests on Super Tuesday in early March. Haley hauled in $1.7 million in fundraising – as Fox News first reported – during a two-day campaign swing last week in California, another large Super Tuesday state. The stops in Texas and California appear in part to be a marker for Haley as she pushes back against calls by some Republicans to drop out of the race and allow Trump to focus on facing off with Biden in November. “I’m in this for the long haul,” Haley emphasized at a campaign rally last week in Los Angeles. And Haley reiterated to Fox News Digital that “our focus is on South Carolina, Michigan, Super Tuesday.” Michigan holds its primary on Tuesday, Feb. 27, three days after South Carolina. Longtime Republican consultant David Carney, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, noted that “people support Haley. No question about it. And she’ll raise money. No question about it.” But Carney, who remains neutral in the 2024 GOP nomination race, emphasized, “I don’t see any pathway” for Haley. Pointing to rules in many of the March 5 GOP contests that award the candidate who tops 50% either statewide or in congressional districts the lion’s share of delegates, Carney predicted that, for Haley, “Super Tuesday will be really painful.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Alabama House to vote on casino, lottery proposal
A gambling proposal to authorize a lottery, sports betting, and multiple casinos across Alabama was swiftly advanced by a legislative committee on Wednesday. The Alabama House Economic Development and Tourism Committee approved the two-bill package, putting the proposal in line for a key vote Thursday in the state House of Representatives. If approved by the state Legislature, the proposal would go before Alabama voters in the November general election, the first public vote on gambling since a proposed lottery was rejected in 1999. “In my opinion, this is the best piece of legislation put forward in a very long time to give the people the right to vote on if this is something they want in Alabama,” bill sponsor Rep. Chris Blackshear said after the committee vote. AFTER LGBTQ LECTURE, ALABAMA SENATE VOTES FOR MORE OVERSIGHT OF DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY The sweeping proposal would authorize up to 10 casino sites — including the three tribal sites operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians — with table games and slot machines, a state lottery, and allow sports betting at in-person locations and through online platforms. Republican Rep. Andy Whitt, who helped develop the proposal, said the bills will be voted on in the House Thursday. Republican legislative leaders have named the bills as a priority for the session, and they have been on the legislative fast track. The first floor vote on the bills could come one week after they were introduced last Thursday. The committee, which held a public hearing Tuesday, approved the bills after about 30 minutes of debate. Republican Rep. Allen Treadaway, of Morris, cast the only audible no vote in the House committee. Treadaway, a retired assistant police chief in Birmingham, said he is concerned about enforcement and if the legislation favors certain operators to win casino licenses instead of using a true bid process. “The state stands to have a windfall here if it’s done right,” Treadaway said. “I can’t get past the fact that people will be rewarded who have continued to operate illegally for years to make millions. Open it up. Open bid.” The legislation says a new Alabama Gaming Commission would issue licenses for up to seven other casinos in the state, reserving six for Jefferson, Greene, Macon, Mobile, Lowndes and Houston counties. The state has tried to shut down electronic gambling operations at dog tracks and other locations in most of those counties. A tenth site, contingent upon a negotiated compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, would give the tribe a license to open a casino — in addition to the three existing tribal sites — on non-tribal land in the northeast corner of the state near the Georgia state line. The legislation says the licenses will be put out for bid and includes a list of things that the commission can consider, including the applicant’s existing investment. For the last 25 years, gambling legislation has stalled under a mix of opposition to legalized gambling and a turf war over who could get casino licenses. Lottery proposals since 1999 have become politically intertwined with the issue of whether to allow casinos. The proposed constitutional amendment will need 63 votes to win approval in the 105-member Alabama House of Representatives. Republican Rep. Steve Clouse, who supports the bill, said he expects the vote to be “very close.” Clouse said many Alabamians cross state lines to buy lottery tickets, sales the state doesn’t benefit from. “We’re not making anything on the lottery, and we’re surrounded by lotteries now,” Clouse said. The Legislative Services Agency estimated that taxes on the three forms of gambling would generate up to $912 million in revenue annually. That revenue would largely be steered to two new funds for lawmakers to decide how to use. While the legislation names uses, such as using lottery money for scholarships to two-year and technical colleges, it does not guarantee a funding level. Don Siegelman, the last Alabama governor to obtain a statewide vote on a lottery, said he would not support the bill in its current form. Siegelman’s 1999 proposal, which was rejected by voters, would have created a lottery to fund college scholarships and prekindergarten programs. “The proposed legislation and (constitutional amendment) allows the legislature to spend the money however they want,” Siegelman said. “This legislation totally turns its back on our children and the parents who need early learning and free college opportunities for their children.”
Watchdog report paints picture of Bureau of Prisons in crisis
A damning report from the Department of Justice Inspector General finds that “recurring policy violations and operational failures contributed to inmate suicides” in federal prisons. The report looked at the years from 2014 through 2021 and found that of the 344 deaths reviewed just over half were death by suicide. The report was triggered, in part, by the “high-profile deaths at BOP institutions, such as the homicide of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger in 2018 and the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein in 2019.” The 344 deaths identified fell into one of four categories: 1) suicide, 2) homicide, 3) accident, and 4) unknown factors. The report found “a combination of recurring policy violations and operational failures [within BOP] contributed to inmate suicides.” The report also found that BOP’s staff response to emergencies, “was often insufficient due to lack of clear communication, urgency, or proper equipment.” Many of the deaths are attributable to drugs and IG Michael Horowitz’ report points out that in many instances cell searches are failing. The IG highlights one instance of an inmate suicide by drug overdose, “a property search of the cell following the inmate’s death revealed that the inmate had amassed over 1,000 pills.” The report also reveals that inmates are receiving illicit drugs through a variety of manners, including drones, which the BOP is still trying to combat by implementing “counter drone initiatives.” Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters released a lengthy response calling any unexpected death, “tragic,” while adding, “we have already taken may steps to mitigate these deaths and we welcome the OIG’s recommendations as a way to further our efforts.” The report responds to BOP acknowledges “many challenges” but also highlights “several areas in which BOP’s actions have not been sufficient.” This is a developing story and will be updated.
Fani Willis former ‘good friend’, assistant confirms ‘romantic’ relationship with Nathan Wade in 2019
A former “good friend” of District Attorney Fani Willis testified Thursday that she has “no doubt” Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade had a “romantic” relationship starting in 2019, contradicting Willis’ statements in court. Robin Yeartie, a former Fulton County DA employee and self-described “good friend” of Willis, said Thursday she has “no doubt” Willis and Wade were in a romantic relationship starting in 2019 to when her and Willis last spoke in 2022. This contradicts Wills’ claims in court that she and Wade “have been professional associates and friends since 2019,” and “there was no personal relationship” between her and Wade in November 2021 at the time of Wade’s appointment. “You have no doubt that their romantic relationship was in effect from 2019 until the last time you spoke with her?” attorney Ashleigh Merchant questioned. “No doubt,” Yeartie said.
FBI director says Chinese hackers are ‘poised to attack’ as infiltrations reach ‘fever pitch’
China’s cyberattacks against the U.S. and its allies are reaching a “fever pitch,” FBI director Christopher Wray warned at the Munich Cyber Security Conference on Thursday. Wray spoke to allies at the conference about hackers affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that are known to have infiltrated critical U.S. infrastructure and remain “poised to attack” even now. The event is playing host to hundreds of security leaders from Western countries. “You might find your companies harassed and hacked, targeted by a web of corporate CCP proxies,” Wray told the leaders gathered in Germany. “You might also find PRC [People’s Republic of China] hackers lurking in your power stations, your phone companies and other infrastructure, poised to take them down when they decide you stepped too far out of line, and that hurting your civilian population suits the CCP.” “China-sponsored hackers pre-positioned for potential cyberattacks against U.S. oil and natural gas companies way back in 2011, but these days, it’s reached something closer to a fever pitch,” he continued. “What we’re seeing now is China’s increasing build-out of offensive weapons within our critical infrastructure, poised to attack whenever Beijing decides the time is right.” CHINESE HACKERS OUTNUMBER FBI CYBER PERSONNEL ‘BY AT LEAST 50 TO 1,’ WRAY TESTIFIES Wray’s message in Munich echoed his remarks to U.S. lawmakers, when he testified before Congress in late January. Wray and other government officials told the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party that the U.S. is under attack every single day. NEW GROUP LAUNCHES TO COMBAT CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY INFLUENCE ACROSS US “There has been far too little public focus on the fact that PRC hackers are targeting our critical infrastructure – our water treatment plants, our electrical grid, our oil and natural gas pipelines, our transportation systems. And the risk that poses to every American requires our attention now,” Wray told lawmakers. The Joint Cybersecurity Advisery, made up of security groups from the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand, announced in a report last week that Chinese hacking groups had maintained access to U.S. infrastructure for more than five years before being discovered. UPENN, WHICH HOSTS BIDEN’S THINK TANK, SEES CHINESE DONATIONS SOAR, INCLUDING FROM CCP-LINKED SOURCES The report stated that the cyber operation’s goal was not intelligence gathering, but instead to gain access to and control critical infrastructure across the U.S. The report added that the hackers could wreak havoc on U.S. systems in the event of a major conflict between the U.S. and China. The hackers’ “choice of targets and pattern of behavior is not consistent with traditional cyber espionage or intelligence gathering operations,” the report said. “The U.S. authoring agencies are concerned about the potential for these actors to use their network access for disruptive effects in the event of potential geopolitical tensions and/or military conflicts.”
Biden administration grants airports $970 million for improvements, modernization
The Biden administration said Thursday it is providing $970 million for improvements at 114 airports around the country, with work ranging from wider concourses and new baggage-handling systems to new terminals at some small airfields. Administration officials said the money comes from a $5 billion grant program to modernize airport terminals. The largest sum, $50 million, will go to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida for a project to connect terminals behind the security checkpoints and provide new retail space and other amenities. AUDIO RELEASED FROM DEADLY FLORIDA INTERSTATE PLANE CRASH: ‘WE’VE LOST BOTH ENGINES’ O’Hare International Airport in Chicago will get $40 million to widen a concourse, reconfigure a security checkpoint and other changes. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia, San Francisco International and Los Angeles International will receive amounts ranging from $31 million to $36 million. A Federal Aviation Administration official said there were more than 600 applications and requests totaled $14 billion. The administration has gone to great lengths to promote new and proposed protections for air travelers — seeing airlines as an easy target of consumer frustration. President Joe Biden has railed against fees that some airlines charge to let families sit together. The Transportation Department published an online “dashboard” to prod airlines to commit to improving customer service. “Another part of that better travel experience is to invest in our physical infrastructure, to improve the airports,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in discussing the airport grants with reporters. Last month, the Transportation Department announced $244 million in grants for improvements to other airport facilities including runways and taxiways.
North Dakota Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller enters gubernatorial bid against congressman
North Dakota’s lieutenant governor joined the state’s open gubernatorial race on Thursday, setting up a Republican contest against the state’s single congressman. Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller, former CEO of electrical distributor Border States, is running to succeed Gov. Doug Burgum, who announced last month he won’t seek a third term. Miller had been chief operating officer for Burgum’s office from 2020-2022, before he appointed her to replace the resigning Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford, who joined the private sector. She’ll be up against Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong, an attorney and former state senator who holds North Dakota’s single seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. NORTH DAKOTA GOV. DOUG BURGUM, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, WON’T SEEK THIRD TERM “As a business leader, I created jobs and made every dollar count,” Miller said in her announcement. “As Lt. Governor, I worked with Governor Burgum to grow the economy, cut taxes, balance budgets, reduce regulation and fight the Biden administration. When I’m governor we will keep the momentum going and take the state to the next level. We’re just getting started!” As lieutenant governor, Miller presides over the state Senate and chairs several state government boards that oversee such things as major investment funds and plans for the Capitol grounds. North Dakota’s dominant Republican Party will endorse candidates for statewide offices at its convention in April in Fargo, but voters choose the nominees in the June primary. Republicans have held the governor’s office since 1992. A Democrat has not won a statewide election since 2012. NORTH DAKOTA GOV. DOUG BURGUM SUSPENDS REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN Democrat Travis Hipsher, a security guard, and independent Michael Coachman, an Air Force veteran and frequent candidate for state office, also recently announced their gubernatorial bids. Voters passed term limits in 2022, meaning no future governors can be elected more than twice, though Burgum could have run for a third or even fourth term.
2 House members from Florida missed Mayorkas’ impeachment vote over massive Palm Beach flight delays
Two U.S. House members from Florida missed the vote Tuesday that secured Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment due to massive flight delays. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., said he would vote to impeach Mayorkas, while Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., fully expected to vote against impeaching the Biden Cabinet official, yet both members of Congress failed to get back to Washington, D.C., in time due to massive delays at Palm Beach International Airport. Mast shared a video to X from the airport “on about hour nine of waiting for a flight with a broken circuit board.” “Hoping to get off the ground soon, but they did just call votes in the House of Representatives as they normally do at this time, and it looks like I’m going to miss the vote to impeach Mayorkas,” he said. “I was there for the first one – absolutely voted to do that – but it looks like I’m going to miss this one.” HOUSE REPUBLICAN WHO OVERSAW MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT WON’T RUN FOR RE-ELECTION “There’s a couple other Palm Beach reps here as well. Lois Frankel is here in the airport sitting back there behind me,” Mast said, showing the seating area next to the flight gate. “A few other representatives from this area that are going to miss it as well. But that is how I would be definitely doing that had I been there – there went Lois walking behind me.” In the post itself, Mast wrote, “Not only is Secretary Mayorkas horrible at his job, he is willfully refusing to do it. Thankfully, despite mechanical failures on my flight, we still had enough votes to impeach him tonight. He has abandoned the trust of the American people, and he deserves to be impeached.” Frankel also confirmed the flight delay in a statement of her own. “Unfortunately, my flight from Palm Beach to Washington was severely delayed today. I waited at the airport for eight hours, which caused me, along with a Republican colleague on the same flight, to miss the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted no, as I did last week,” Frankel said. “House Republicans’ vote to impeach Secretary Mayorkas despite having no evidence of wrongdoing was a shameful political stunt that does nothing to fix our broken immigration system.” The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to impeach Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis – by just one vote. The 214-213 vote historically made Mayorkas the first ever sitting U.S. Cabinet official to be impeached. It was nearly 150 years ago that President Ulysses S. Grant’s secretary of war, William Belknap, resigned before the House approved articles of impeachment against him over a kickback scheme in government contracts. The Senate acquitted Belknap that same year, 1876. USER’S MANUAL TO WHAT’S NEXT NOW THAT THE HOUSE IMPEACHED MAYORKAS The charges against Mayorkas next go to the Senate for a trial, but neither Democratic nor even some Republican senators have shown interest in the matter, and it may be indefinitely shelved to a committee, according to The Associated Press. The Senate is expected to receive the articles of impeachment from the House after returning to session Feb. 26. It was House Republicans’ second attempt to impeach Mayorkas after a vote failed last week. Three House Republicans who broke ranks last week over the Mayorkas impeachment – Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Tom McClintock of California – all did so again Tuesday. With a 219-212 majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had few votes to spare. His margin got even smaller later Tuesday night when New York Democrat Thomas Suozzi won a special election to the seat once held by Republican George Santos before his expulsion from Congress. In a dramatic development the first time around, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, left the hospital bed where he was recovering from surgery to cast his “no” vote against Mayorkas’ impeachment. Joining the three Republican defectors, Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, switched his vote to “no” at the last minute – a procedural move to be able to bring the resolution back to the floor. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hearing underway on evidence against DA Fani Willis in Trump case that could disqualify her
The Georgia judge overseeing the sweeping racketeering case against former president Donald Trump is set to hear evidence Thursday related to allegations that district attorney Fani Willis is having an “improper” affair and should be disqualified from the case. Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee will hold an evidentiary hearing on Thursday starting at 9:30 a.m. and into Friday on allegations first brought by co-defendant GOP political operative Michael Roman earlier this year. The allegations in Roman’s court filings, which have been echoed by three subsequent co-defendants in the case, include that Willis was engaged in an “improper” relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade whom she hired to help prosecute Trump. Willis has admitted to having a “personal” relationship with Wade but has denied any conflict of interest. She also argued that according to Georgia law, in order for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest has to be harmful to a defendant’s case. JUDGE IN TRUMP GEORGIA CASE SAYS DA FANI WILLIS’ ALLEGED ‘IMPROPER’ AFFAIR ‘COULD RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION’ Judge McAfee said on Monday that depending on his findings after hearing the evidence presented from both sides, Willis could be disqualified from the case. “In studying the law that’s been filed up to this point, I think it’s clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one. And the filing submitted on this issue so far have presented a conflict in the evidence that can’t be resolved as a matter of law,” he said. McAfee was appointed to the bench by Republican Governor Brian Kemp in 2021. “Specifically looking at defendant Roman’s motion, it alleges a personal relationship that resulted in a financial benefit to the district attorney. And that is no longer a matter of complete speculation. The state has admitted a relationship existed. And so, what remains to be proven is the existence and extent of any financial benefit,” the judge said. “So, because I think it’s possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations,” he said. Ashleigh Merchant, lawyer for Michael Roman, will take center stage Thursday in presenting what she believes is enough evidence to disqualify Willis and her team. Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner, will testify first on Thursday. His testimony will determine whether others will be required to testify. In legal filings last month, Roman alleged that Wade billed Fulton County for 24 hours of work on a single day in November 2021, shortly after being appointed as a special prosecutor, and that Willis financially benefited from her alleged lover’s padded taxpayer-funded salary by taking lavish vacations together on his dime. According to the court documents, Wade, who has no RICO and felony prosecution experience, billed taxpayers $654,000 since January 2022. Judge McAfee said Monday that “the particulars” of Wade’s experience will not be relevant in the evidentiary hearing, which will take place on Thursday, Feb. 15, adding, “in my mind as long as a lawyer has a heartbeat and a bar card that lawyer’s appointment standing alone is a matter within the District Attorney’s discretion.” FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ADMITS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PROSECUTOR BUT DENIES CONFLICT OF INTEREST McAfee said the issues “at point” here are “whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues. And that’s only relevant because it’s in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of their relationship.” Willis responded to the allegations in a court filing and admitted to having a “personal” relationship with Wade but denied any conflict of interest. She also argued that, according to Georgia law, in order for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest has to be harmful to a defendant’s case. GEORGIA WHISTLEBLOWERS LINING UP TO TESTIFY AGAINST FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS, STATE LAWMAKER SAYS Willis told the Superior Court that while the allegations against her are “salacious,” they have no “merit.” Willis claims that while she and Wade “have been professional associates and friends since 2019,” there was “no personal relationship” between her and Wade in November 2021 at the time of Wade’s appointment, and that Roman and his lawyers “offer no support for their insistence that the exercise of any prosecutorial discretion (i.e., any charging decision or plea recommendation) in this case was impacted by any personal relationship.” Willis’ filing said Roman’s motions “attempt to cobble together entirely unremarkable circumstances of Special Prosecutor Wade’s appointment with completely irrelevant allegations about his personal family life into a manufactured conflict of interest on the part of the District Attorney.” The state has also revealed that DA Willis’ father will be testifying on Thursday, remotely from California.