Trump to Seek Millions In Damages From Fani Willis After Botched Prosecution
President Donald J. Trump is seeking nearly $6.3 million from Fulton County, Georgia, after the collapse of a high-profile prosecution brought by District Attorney Fani Willis — a case critics long argued was politically driven from the start.
In 2023, Willis indicted President Trump under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alleging that he acted unlawfully in challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election. The sweeping indictment targeted not only the President but several allies, igniting national controversy and accusations of partisan lawfare.
The case ultimately unraveled. In December 2024, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court had erred in allowing Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade — who was also her romantic partner — to remain involved in the prosecution. The appellate court concluded that the “significant appearance of impropriety” required that Willis and her office be “wholly disqualified.”
Willis appealed the decision but was unsuccessful.
Following the dismissal, Trump’s legal team moved to recover $6.3 million in attorneys’ fees under a Georgia statute providing that when a district attorney is disqualified and a case is dismissed, the defendant “shall” be entitled to reimbursement.
The motion, filed by attorney Steve Sadow on behalf of President Trump, spans three pages and is supported by nearly 200 pages of documentation itemizing the legal costs incurred during the lengthy prosecution.
The filing argues that the statute “mandates such recovery when a prosecuting attorney is disqualified due to improper conduct and the case is dismissed,” asserting that Willis initiated a “politically motivated, lengthy investigation.”
“This dismissal paves the way for the award of reasonable attorney fees and litigation expenses,” the motion states.
“Each of the necessary elements have been met: DA Willis was disqualified based upon improper conduct, the criminal case was dismissed, and the criminal case was pending when the statute went into effect. This motion is timely filed,” the document adds. It further notes that co-defendants in the case are likewise eligible to pursue reimbursement.
“President Trump intends to adopt the motions for attorney fees and costs filed by his co-defendants,” a footnote explains. “He will do so in a separate pleading after all such motions are filed.”
The financial exposure for Fulton County could grow substantially. Willis has acknowledged that combined reimbursement requests from multiple defendants could total roughly $17 million.
Speaking to Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne, Willis signaled that she plans to fight the reimbursement effort aggressively.
“We’re gonna fight with everything we legally can in that particular case. The law’s unconstitutional and just wrong in so many ways,” Willis said.
She criticized the statute that enables defendants to seek reimbursement, arguing it was enacted for improper reasons.
“The first problem is that the law was written with the intent of legislators trying to help their friends, and so whenever you do something for a wrong purpose, it’s going to work out wrongly. It’s terribly written. It looks like they wrote it on the back of a napkin,” Willis said.
However, not all legal observers agree with her assessment. Attorney Chris Anulewicz, who represents one of the former defendants, told Winne that he believes the law was crafted precisely in response to what he views as misconduct by the district attorney’s office.
The dispute now centers on whether the statute applies strictly to proven wrongdoing or whether an “appearance of impropriety” — as determined by the appellate court — is sufficient to trigger mandatory reimbursement. While courts did not find criminal wrongdoing by Willis, they ruled that the optics surrounding her relationship with the special prosecutor fatally compromised the prosecution.
Willis has also questioned the nature of the expenses defendants are seeking to recover, citing hotel stays exceeding $1,000 per night and seafood lunches costing more than $300. But Trump’s legal team maintains that such costs were incurred as a direct consequence of what they describe as an unprecedented and politically charged prosecution.
Last month, Willis mounted a forceful defense of her actions, testifying for more than three hours before a Georgia Senate panel investigating her handling of the election interference case.
For President Trump and his supporters, the reimbursement effort represents more than a financial matter. It is framed as accountability — a test of whether prosecutors can pursue expansive political cases without consequence when courts later determine those cases were fatally compromised.
The coming legal fight could set a precedent in Georgia and beyond: If elected prosecutors are disqualified for conduct that undermines public confidence, should taxpayers bear the cost — or should the government be required to make defendants whole?