Among all the networks, it was ABC that fangirled the hardest at Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ turn on the witness stand in a hearing to determine whether her office is fit to prosecute former President Donald Trump.
Watch as World News Tonight anchor David Muir breathlessly introduced the report from Atlanta, making sure both to highlight the dramatic moment, and to remind viewers of the truest potential victim of Willis’ removal from the case:
DAVID MUIR: And we do begin tonight with that stunning moment in court. The high drama playing out in Georgia late today. The prosecutor who brought the case against Donald Trump and his alleged co-conspirators taking the stand herself to defend herself. The dramatic moment when D.A. Fani Willis showed up in the courtroom today, insisting she wanted to testify, crossing the room there to the witness stand. Taking the oath. On the stand, Willis was defiant, fielding questions about alleged misconduct. At one point, though, Willis telling the lawyer, questioning her, “You're confused. You think I'm on trial, these people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020”. But could Fani Willis be removed from the case? And what happens to the case against Trump if that happens?
And there you have it- the truest and purest victim here is the case against Donald Trump. Nothing else matters, except that the Bad Orange Man be compelled to wear a color-coordinated jumpsuit sometime before Election Day, 2024. There is no other logical explanation for the shoddy coverage accorded to L’affaire Willis and Wade.
You’ll recall that the networks did not originally cover the breaking allegations against Willis and Wade, accusing them of financial improprieties, to wit: Willis hiring Wade as a special prosecutor billing $250 an hour, and Wade turning around and taking Willis on lavish vacations and cruises. None of the allegations were covered until Willis took the stage at Mother Bethel AME church during Martin Luther King Day Weekend and defended herself from those accusations. Likewise, the announcement of the hearing drew no news coverage until the actual hearing featuring Willis on the stand.
The coverage itself was laden with a percentage of superlatives fit for coverage of the red carpet on Oscar night. “Stunning”. “Dramatic”. “Defiant”.
The superlatives perhaps blinded folks from noticing some of the more interesting aspects of the testimony offered in court- such as the cash component of the testimony. Viewers only saw Willis’ testimony as to cash and reimbursements, but never heard Wade’s, which sounded far more damning.
Correspondent Steve Osunsami closes his live hit by asserting that the removal of Willis is “a tall order”. Did ABC News even watch the same hearing as everyone else did?
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on ABC World News Tonight on Thursday, February 15th, 2024:
DAVID MUIR: Good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a very busy Thursday night. And we do begin tonight with that stunning moment in court. The high drama playing out in Georgia late today. The prosecutor who brought the case against Donald Trump and his alleged co-conspirators taking the stand herself to defend herself. The dramatic moment when D.A. Fani Willis showed up in the courtroom today, insisting she wanted to testify, crossing the room there to the witness stand. Taking the oath. On the stand, Willis was defiant, fielding questions about alleged misconduct. At one point, though, Willis telling the lawyer, questioning her, “You're confused. You think I'm on trial, these people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020”. But could Fani Willis be removed from the case? And what happens to the case against Trump if that happens? ABC's Steve Osunsami from Georgia tonight.
REPORTER: DA Willis, how are you feeling about your testimony?
STEVE OSUNSAMI: In a stunning change of heart, the Fulton County prosecutor accused of profiting from hiring her lover to help lead the election interference case against former President Trump and 18 co-conspirators walked right up to the judge and said she was ready to testify.
FANI WILLIS: I'm ready to go.
OSUNSAMI: Fani Willis called the lawyer who called her here a liar.
FANI WILLIS: It is a lie. It is a lie. It's highly offensive when someone lies on you, and it's highly offensive when they try.
ASHLEIGH MERCHANT: Objection…
WILLIS: Someone says you slept with somebody the first day you met them. Don't be cute with me and then think you're not going to get an answer.
OSUNSAMI: It is a rare event for a prosecutor to sit on the witness stand and take questions from the lawyers of clients she's trying to convict.
WILLIS: You're confused. You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.
OSUNSAMI: The attorney for one of the defendants, who's doing most of the digging here, wants her client's case thrown out and is asking the judge to remove Willis from the election interference case because she enjoyed romantic getaways that were allegedly paid for my special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who Willis hired.
MERCHANT: He paid for the flight and the cruise on Royal Caribbean that time?
WILLIS: So, yes, he paid. He tells me how much it is, and I give him the money back. If you tell me it's a G, then you're going to get a thousand dollars. Whatever it is. I didn't ever make him produce receipts to me. Whatever he told me it was, I gave him his money back.
OSUNSAMI: Willis told the court that she paid Wade the money back, sometimes thousands of dollars, in cash.
MERCHANT: You gave him cash before you ever went on that trip?
WILLIS: Uh-huh.
MERCHANT: Okay. And so when you got cash to pay him back on these trips, would you go to the ATM?
WILLIS: No, lady.
MERCHANT: So the cash that you would pay him, you wouldn't get it out of the bank?
WILLIS: I have money at my house.
OSUNSAMI: Willis says that she and Wade ended their romantic relationship in August of last year. It was his ex-wife who helped make the relationship public during their bitter divorce by sharing receipts of some of those trips with the boss.
MERCHANT: So, all of the vacations she took, she paid you cash for?
NATHAN WADE: Yes, ma'am.
OSUNSAMI: One of the big arguments is over when Willis and Wade started dating. The two say it was months after she hired him. But Willis' former friend and employee, who says she was forced to resign, testified today through a video call that the two have been romantic since 2019, a year before the election.
STEVE SADDOW: Did you observe them do things that are common among people having a romantic relationship?
ROBIN YEARTIE: Yes.
SADDOW: Such as? Can you give us an example?
YEARTIE: Hugging, kissing.
MUIR: So let's bring in Steve Osunsami live from Georgia tonight. And Steve, aside from all of this that played out this afternoon on live television, the cable networks carrying it, the bigger picture here. What happens if the D.A. Is disqualified? Does the case against Trump and the alleged co conspirators move forward here?
OSUNSAMI: Well, David, the state could assign the case to a different prosecutor, who would then decide whether or not to move the case forward. But there are plenty of choices of prosecutors in the state of Georgia, if you're looking for one who wants to stop this. Even so, it would still be a tall order to remove Willis from this case. David?
MUIR: We’ll see. Steve Osunsami leading us off tonight, Steve, thank you.
