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Fulton DA emails accuse Trump attorney of disrespect
Emails from Fulton County DA Fani Willis' office shed new light on claims of racism against former President Donald Trump's attorney, Steve Sadow, in response to criticism of how she’s handling the Georgia election interference case.
ATLANTA - Emails obtained by the FOX 5 I-Team shed new light on claims of racism made by Fulton DA Fani Willis in response to criticism of how she’s handling the election interference case.
Willis has already lashed out publicly at critics of her decision to hire a special prosecutor with limited felony trial experience, a man court filings claim she’s also dating.
"God wasn’t it them that attacked this lawyer of impeccable credentials?" she said during a speech at AME Church over MLK weekend. "The Black man I chose has been a judge more than 10 years. Been in private practice more than 20. Some will never see a Black man as qualified, no matter his achievements."
The speech came on Jan. 14, days after accusations surfaced in court filings that she paid special prosecutor Nathan Wade at least $660,000 to head up the Trump investigation, while at the same time allegedly vacationing together on trips to California and the Caribbean.
Timeline: Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Nathan Wade controversy
So far, her only explanation is to point out that Wade is African American and is being unfairly treated. Willis has until Feb. 2 to file her official response in court.
But according to recent emails between her office and Trump attorney Steve Sadow -- copied to the other legal defense teams in the racketeering case -- Willis leveled accusations of racism and lack of respect.
The issue involved a document Sadow wanted to confirm the DA's office did not have. A Jan. 8 motions hearing was fast approaching and Sadow needed to know whether to involve the court to ensure discovery.
Multiple emails to the DA's office went unanswered. On Dec. 27, Sadow wrote "PLEASE respond to my emails below."
On Jan. 10 -- two days after the Nathan Wade motion was filed by another defense attorney -- Executive District Attorney Daysha Young responded with a lengthy email criticizing Sadow's tone.
After first admitting she decided some of Sadow's emails were "deemed not worthy of a response," Young wrote about her boss, "we are both aware, especially as an African American woman, some find it difficult to treat us respectfully."
Willis herself also weighed in:
"In the legal community (and the world at large), some people will never be able to respect African Americans and/or women as their equal and counterpart. That is a burden you do not experience. Further, some are so used to doing it they are not even aware they are doing it while others are intentional in their continued disrespect."
Manny Arora represented Kenneth Chesboro, one of the four defendants in the case who already took plea deals.
"It just seems so inappropriate to go to the nuclear option of saying you’re a racist, and you don’t respect women and those kinds of things," said Arora.
Sadow had no comment about the emails. That same day, he responded to Willis by writing, "No defense counsel has treated you or your prosecutors in a disrespectful or condescending manner… the relationship among counsel in our case has nothing to do with race or gender, nor should it."
He also wrote Young's email "is simply offensive, uncalled-for and untrue. So is any suggestion that defense counsel are attempting to "bully" the State, as if that was somehow possible."
As for Nathan Wade, Arora believes the special prosecutor should step down, no matter his race.
"It just seems beneath us all," he said. "I would just like to see a clean trial. And unfortunately, around Trump World, nothing ever seems to be clean. But now these prosecutors are feeding into it. It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy of idiocy."