Trump lashes out at Fulton County DA over Atlanta crime as potential ‘CON JOB’ indictment nears

Former president Donald Trump has again lashed out at Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Truth Social, ahead of a week in which it is expected he will be indicted for 2020 election interference in the Atlanta, Georgia area.

Returning to themes of attack he has deployed before, he called Ms Willis “RACIST” and criticised her professional record combating crime in Atlanta.

He called the city “one of the deadliest communities in the US” with “gang members roaming the streets”, adding that they are treated with “kid gloves”.

Toward the end of the rambling sentence, the former president got to his point, saying he had heard — without providing evidence — that Ms Willis is using the potential indictment against him as a “campaign and fundraising CON JOB”.

Mr Trump has attacked Ms Willis on numerous occasions — with an increasingly desperate tone — including a recent baseless allegation of an extramarital affair with a gang member.

In response, the district attorney has issued a memorandum to staff about the new lie told about her instructing them not to comment publicly on the matter.

The former president rounded out his latest diatribe by yet again describing his 2 January 2021 phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as “perfect” and that it was his “duty and right” to challenge election fraud as president.

Mr Trump wrote in full on his social media platform on Saturday morning: “I hear that RACIST Fulton County (Atlanta) District Attorney ‘Phoney’ Fani Willis, who weakly presides over one of the deadliest communities in the US, with thousands of murderers, violent criminals & gang members roaming the streets while going untried, free, & are treated with ‘kid gloves’, is using a potential Indictment of me, and other innocent people, as a campaign and fundraising CON JOB, all based on a PERFECT PHONE CALL, AS PRESIDENT, CHALLENGING ELECTION FRAUD - MY DUTY & RIGHT!”

In a publicly released recording of the call, Mr Trump attempts to pressure Mr Raffensperger into “finding him votes” despite there being no evidence of electoral fraud or other issues. The then-president insisted he had won the state but still said he wanted to find 11,780 votes to clear the margin by which Joe Biden had triumphed in the November 2020 election.

The call is expected to be just one part of a multi-faceted indictment handed down by the Fulton County grand jury which has heard evidence of the multiple ways in which the former president and his allies attempted to overturn the results of the election.

Late on Friday night, Mr Trump broke an unusually prolonged silence on Truth Social — in which he had predominantly only reposted videos — by sharing his two cents on the naming of David Weiss as special counsel in the Justice Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden.

The former president wrote: “David Weiss was picked by the two Democrat Senators from Delaware under “Blue Slip.” He would not have been picked by me. But I have a great idea. Why don’t they use Deranged Jack Smith[?].”

Mr Trump continued: “Weiss has been investigating Hunter for 4 years, giving him the ‘sweetheart’ deal of all sweetheart deals. But a brilliant Judge in Delaware saw through it all. Now, I read, the Department of Injustice wants a new Judge and Jurisdiction. But so do I, with far stronger reasons than Hunter & Crooked Joe. MAGA!!!”

Mr Weiss was nominated to the post of US Attorney for the US District Court for the District of Delaware by Mr Trump.

The former president has tried to get his federal election interference case moved out of the District of Columbia and over to West Virginia to what he sees as a chance to get a better jury.

Many of the more than 1,000 people charged with crimes relating to the Capitol riot of 6 January 2021 have tried this and all have been denied as their crimes took place in Washington, DC.