Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is having a tough month and now her second high profile case has been paused.
The trial of Atlanta-area rapper Young Thug, accused of leading a small criminal empire, has been indefinitely paused. Defense attorneys have filed motions seeking the dismissal of the judge in the case. On Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville ruled that prosecutors have one week to file their rebuttal. Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, has accused Judge Glanville, through his lawyers, of conspiring with prosecutors to continue the case without inviting them to all relevant discussions.
Last month, Brian Steel, Young Thug’s lead attorney, was held in contempt of court for questioning why Glanville held a private meeting with prosecutors in Willis’s office and failed to notify him. Judge Glanville refused to answer questions about the meeting — including the potential pressuring of a key witness — leading to a heated exchange that nearly resulted in Steel being jailed. “This is crazy! This is like communist Russia!” Steel exclaimed, according to the Washington Post.
The Young Thug trial, now Georgia’s longest-running criminal case in history, involves allegations that the rapper directed or participated in violent crimes, including carjackings and robberies at gunpoint. Jury selection has already dragged on for 10 months, and the case is not expected to go to trial until next year. Judge Glanville has dismissed previous attempts to end the trial entirely.
Prosecutors appeared stunned by the judge’s decision, signaling another round of recriminations by Willis as she fights to salvage her political career in an election year. Legal observers compare this situation to the extensive charges she brought against President Trump and 18 co-defendants, some of whom have agreed to testify against their former colleagues. Meanwhile, attorneys for others have introduced damning evidence of corruption within Willis’s office, including nepotism in hiring Wade while they were dating and potentially diverting federal anti-gang resources to continue her case against Trump.
State and federal officials have launched separate probes into Willis’s handling of taxpayer dollars. A Georgia lawmaker has publicly accused her of protecting her stalker. Facing a credible Republican challenger in November, Willis’s political future is uncertain. Additionally, a Georgia court of appeals is currently considering whether to remove her from the case.
