'This is all meant to stop me,' Trump said, reflecting on all charges and cases against him
Major bombshells dropped on DA Fani Willis’ romance with prosecutor
Fox News senior correspondent Steve Harrigan breaks down key developments in a hearing regarding Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis’ romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump says the charges against him Fulton County, Georgia, "have to be dropped," telling Fox News Digital that the case is a "scam" while District Attorney Fani Willis testified publicly about an allegedly "improper" affair she had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Willis took the stand in Georgia Thursday to defend her relationship with Wade, whom she hired in 2021 to help prosecute the former president in a sweeping racketeering case related to the 2020 election.
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman alleged in court filings last month that Willis should be disqualified from the case, claiming that she financially benefited from hiring Wade because of their personal relationship.
Both Willis and Wade confirmed their relationship under oath in court Thursday, but testified that the romantic involvement began in early 2022 after Wade's contract in the Trump case began.
JUDGE WARNS FANI WILLIS OVER OUTBURSTS IN HEATED TESTIMONY
Fani Willis and Donald Trump (Getty Images)
"There is no case here," Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview during Willis’ testimony. "It is so badly tainted. There is no case here. There was a perfect phone call. It was perfect. But by going after Trump, she's able to get her boyfriend more money than they ever dreamed possible."
Trump blasted Willis as "disgraced."
"The case will have to be dropped," he told Fox News Digital. "There's no way they can have a case. The whole thing was a scam to get money for the boyfriend."
Trump said the case is another example of "election interference," pointing to Wade's trips to the White House.
Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. (Getty Images)
"This all comes out of the White House. Don’t forget Wade, the lover, he spent hours at the White House," Trump said. "This is all a weaponization of politics."
He added: "It’s all about trying to stop somebody who is killing them in the polls, and it is a sad thing to watch for our country."
Trump said charges brought against him are just "a weaponization of law enforcement."
"And you’re seeing it now because they got caught," he said. "The two lovers got caught."
But Trump said the Fulton County case, like the others in separate jurisdictions, are "all the same."
"This is a total breakdown of law and order and a total breakdown of justice — it is weaponization at a level that nobody’s seen before. Nobody’s seen anything like this," Trump told Fox News Digital.
Willis charged Trump out of her investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Trump was charged with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.
He pleaded not guilty to all counts. Fulton County prosecutors have proposed that the trial begin on Aug. 5.
Trump spent Thursday morning in a New York City courtroom for a hearing related to charges related to alleged hush-money payments brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Former President Donald Trump appears in a New York City courtroom in Manhattan, New York on Thursday, February 15, 2024. Trump’s request to have civil charges stemming from District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into alleged hush-money payments was denied. (Jane Rosenberg)
New York Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump’s request to dismiss the case altogether, and scheduled the trial to begin on March 25 in New York City.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Meanwhile, on Friday, New York Judge Arthur Engoron is expected to hand down his ruling in the trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against Trump, his family and his business empire.
James sued Trump, his family and his business empire, claiming he inflated his financial statements and deceived banks. Trump has denied any wrongdoing. The former president has repeatedly said his assets were actually undervalued. Trump has repeatedly said his financial statements had disclaimers, requesting that the numbers be evaluated by the banks.
New York Attorney General Letitia James sits in the courtroom during the fraud trial of former President Donald Trump and his children on Friday, Nov. 03. (Dave Sanders-Pool/Getty Images)
"Letitia James is worse than this one," Trump said, referring to Willis. "Letitia James campaigned on ‘I will get Trump’—that’s a bigger scam than this one."
"We’re definitely gonna sue him, we’re gonna be a real pain in the a--," James once told a supporter on video.
James also once said Trump was an "existential threat," and said "the No. 1 issue in this country is defeating Donald Trump."
Justice Arthur Engoron presides over the civil fraud trial of the Trump Organization at the New York State Supreme Court in New York City on November 13, 2023. (ERIN SCHAFF/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
"Nothing else matters," James said.
Trump told Fox News Digital that the judge, Engoron, will "do whatever Letitia James wants."
"This has nothing to do with the law," Trump said. "It has to do with politics."
Trump also pointed to the ruling last month in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, which requires him to pay Carroll more than $83 million in damages after he denied allegations he raped her in the 1990s. Trump was never charged with rape.
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 26: E. Jean Carroll (C) and attorney Roberta Kaplan (R) is seen leaving Manhattan Federal Court on January 26, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by GWR/Star Max/GC Images) (GWR/Star Max/GC Images)
"A woman that I have absolutely no idea—I have never heard of her— and she is getting $90 million?" Trump said. "We were abused in that case by a bully judge— a Democrat. And that’s another one— this is all the same stuff."
Trump then pointed to "Deranged" Special Counsel Jack Smith, who charged him in two separate cases, in two separate jurisdictions—one related to 2020 election and Jan. 6 in Washington D.C., and another related to his retention of classified records in Florida.
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 01: Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to give remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. Trump was indicted on four felony counts for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.
"It’s all corrupt stuff. It is all politics--using the law to try to stop a party that is substantially ahead, and a particular person that’s substantially ahead in every poll—including against Biden," Trump told Fox News Digital. "This is all meant to stop me."
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
