(AJC) - Fani Willis may use Georgia’s RICO law more than any other DA. At what cost?

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BY: Shaddi Abusaid & Jozsef Papp - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

October 24, 2025

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has built a reputation for bringing complex cases, wielding Georgia’s powerful racketeering law as a cudgel that attorneys say can strike wide-ranging defendants but can also weigh down a case and the state’s entire judicial system.

But after two of her highest-profile cases largely fell flat — the election interference case against President Donald Trump and the gang prosecution of rapper Young Thug — the district attorney is facing criticism from the legal community, even from some former prosecutors and law professors.

FULL ARTICLE: https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/10/fani-willis-may-use-georgias-rico-law-more-than-any-other-da-at-what-cost/

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COMMENTS ABOUT THIS ARTICLE:

"I think that Georgia's RICO law hurt the election interference case, because it allowed Fani Willis to go too broad and gave her the ability to indict too many people. I also don't feel that Willis had enough high-profile case experience to prosecute a case (RICO or not) of this magnitude.

I believe that Fani Willis thought that the election interference case was going to prosecute itself. I think her strategy was that the co-defendants she offered plea deals to, would agree to testify against the other co-defendants -- or provide her info that could be used against them (overall this didn't happen) -- and the trial would be finished. That didn't happen.

I believe that's what she was thinking, when she offered co-defendant Mike Roman, that pretty generous plea deal, which he turned down. Roman wasn't recommended for indictment by the grand jury, so when he turned down that generous plea deal -- it meant he was going to fight. Roman, who has worked for Trump, George W. Bush, and has experience gathering "intelligence" and doing research for the White House, was not only going to fight -- but he also knew "how" to fight. His first strategic move was hiring Ashleigh Merchant. Willis should've seen this "red flag"-- and strategized accordingly, but she didn't."

Elliott, 67 - Alpharetta, GA/Fairfax, Virginia

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"Fani Willis should've got settled into her District Attorney role, before she started those two big RICO cases. She came out of the gate going after Trump and Young Thug, while other important cases took a backseat -- and inmates had to sit in jail for months before their attorneys could help them. That wasn't right. Georgia's RICO law needs to be streamlined. Fani Willis says she likes it because she says it gives jurors the whole picture -- I think it made Fani Willis lazy and not put in the work required to provide solid evidence. That's why the YSL trial ended with so many plea deals and "2" not guilty verdicts. And it also ended with Donovan Thomas' murder unsolved.

Fani Willis can try and convince herself that the YSL trial was a success, but those with intelligence, know better."

Desiree, 39 - Atlanta (Candler Park)