The reason Fani Willis is being questioned in the case against Trump and his associates has nothing to do with race or sex.  It has to do with whether there is an appearance of a conflict of interest — period. 

Fani Willis’ testimony evokes long-standing frustrations for Black women leaders

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is used to prosecuting high-profile, challenging cases. But as she parried questions about her own personal conduct from the witness stand against the legal teams for defendants her office has accused of election interference, many Black women recognized a dispiriting scene.

Here are some paragraphs from the article and an analysis:

“It absolutely feels familiar. There is no secret that the common sentiment among Black women in positions of power (is that they) must over-perform to be seen as equals to their counterparts,” said Jessica T. Ornsby, a family litigation attorney in the Washington, D.C., area.”

This hearing has nothing to do with making a black woman over-perform.  It is trying to find out if Fani, as D.A., hired a lawyer, who had no experience prosecuting a big case, because she had a personal relationship with him and whether she got any benefit from the money.

These people, who are being charged with serious crimes, would have the same questions of a white man who hired a female or male that he had a personal relationship with.  It has nothing to do with her being a woman or being black. 

“Here, Ms. Willis is being scrutinized for things that are not directly related to her job performance, in ways we see other Black women regularly picked apart,” Ornsby said.

This questioning is absolutely about her job performance.  Does she have the proper sense not to hire a person she is involved with?  Anybody with an ounce of common sense knows what that looks like. 

In interviews with The Associated Press, many Black women leaders expressed frustration and disappointment that public attention had turned from the merits of the criminal case to the personal conduct of the Black woman overseeing the prosecution. For them, the court challenge to Willis echoes familiar experiences of tests of their authority, competence and character.

Her personal conduct has a great deal to do with this case.  As a D.A., you are not supposed to transfer a bunch of taxpayer money to someone you go on trips with, whether you are black, white, brown, or any other color. 

“I love that she stood up for herself, but I hate the fact that she had to,” said Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. She said that when she saw video of the testimony she felt: “Why are you all treating her like SHE’S on trial?”

Anyone who did this would have to stand up for herself.  It is essentially a trial to determine if she and Wade should prosecute this case or if they have a conflict of interest, or the appearance of one.  Again, it has absolutely nothing to do with whether she is a woman or black.

LaTosha Brown, co-founder of voting rights group Black Voters Matter, despaired of the fact that Willis was having to answer questions about “whether she has money, whether she has cash or not and why she has cash, who she sleeps with, who is she flying on an airplane with.”

It is Willis and Wade who had no receipts to show she paid Wade back and who said she paid with cash to show she didn’t receive a direct benefit from the taxpayer money she paid to Wade.  Therefore, it is legitimate and necessary to ask where the cash came from and where it went. 

Wade’s answer was troubling, to say the least.  He said he paid for the trips with a business credit card, and when he got the cash from Willis for reimbursement, he did not deposit that cash in his business account, which would be a logical way to go.  A lawyer should know better than to mingle personal and business expenses. 

“So, what is this really about?” Brown added. “When white power, particularly white men, are being held to account ... the first thing to do is to disqualify the people that are holding them accountable,” especially when those people are Black women.”

It would be nice someday if women in power, like Fani, Kamala, and Hillary, just answered questions like adults instead of routinely playing the race and sex cards when they are asked questions they don’t like or when anyone disagrees with their policies or opinions. 

It is pathetic that most of the media also play the race card and the sex card, but usually only in the case of Democrat women. 

Image via Picryl.