Fani Willis Hit With a New Accusation

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may have avoided disqualification from the Trump case, but that decision has done little to put the conservative attacks against her to rest.

Willis is facing a new allegation that she illegally recorded a call between her and one of the defense lawyers in the case.

In a Tuesday interview with legal analyst Phil Holloway, attorney Christopher Kachouroff, who is representing Trump co-defendant Harrison Floyd, alleged that Willis recorded a phone call between her and one of Kachouroff's Maryland-based colleagues without their knowledge.

"She did reach out to us, one of my colleagues in Maryland, and was rude, abrupt with him on the phone, and he was dealing with the Maryland case and I was dealing with the Georgia case, and she ended up recording him," Kachouroff said.

Newsweek reached out to Willis' office via email for comment.

While the majority of states have one-party consent laws that allow a conversation to be recorded so long as one person consents, there are 11 states, including Maryland, that require two-party consent. Under Maryland's Wiretap Act, recording a private conversation without consent from both parties is punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Asked by Holloway if he was alleging that Willis illegally recorded the call, Kachouroff replied, "Oh yeah, it's a felony in Maryland."

Floyd, who served as a senior campaign staffer for Trump's 2020 campaign, was indicted in Georgia on three felony counts stemming from his alleged efforts to help Trump overturn his loss in the state. The charges include racketeering, conspiracy to solicit false statements and influencing witnesses. He is also facing federal charges for allegedly assaulting an FBI agent in Maryland. He has pleaded not guilty.

The claim that Willis violated Maryland state law is the latest accusation surrounding the district attorney and her sweeping RICO case against former President Donald Trump and his allies. Trump has also pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

On Wednesday, special prosecutor Nathan Wade's estranged wife filed contempt of court proceedings against him. Wade and Willis' romantic relationship was the focal point of the disqualification efforts against the district attorney's office. However, Judge Scott McAfee ultimately allowed Willis to remain on the prosecution so long as Wade stepped down. Wade handed in his resignation hours after McAfee's ruling.

Though the judge agreed not to remove Willis from the case, which would have been a major win for Trump, the efforts to disqualify her are still being pursued through other avenues.

The defense appealed McAfee's ruling to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which the judge allowed the defendants to do, while Georgia lawmakers in both the House and Senate are conducting their own investigations into Willis. A new state commission with power over prosecutors could also take action against Willis.

Responding to his attorney's new claims about Willis, Floyd wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "Fani Willis ILLEGALLY recorded a 📞 call with my lawyer. Its a felony! She is a DEI thug with a law license. Will anyone in GA stand up to her?"

Floyd is the only one of the 19 defendants in the case to spend time behind bars at the Fulton County Jail. Unlike the other defendants, the former Black Voices for Trump leader turned himself in without a lawyer or bond agreement on August 24. He was not released until August 30 after his lawyer negotiated a $100,000 bond.