The Excerpt podcast: Can Fani Willis survive Trump's Georgia case?

On Saturday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: Can Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis survive former President Donald Trump's Georgia election case? USA TODAY Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer has the latest. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was remembered at a Moscow funeral. USA TODAY National Correspondent Deborah Barfield Berry examines an enthusiasm gap among voters of color. The CDC drops COVID-19 guidance for five-day isolation. China will send new pandas to the U.S.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Podcasts:  True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Saturday, March 2nd, 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today, a look at the latest Fani Willis hearing, plus Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny is laid to rest, and we examine an enthusiasm gap among voters of color.

♦

Final arguments wrapped yesterday in the hearing over whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from former president, Donald Trump's Georgia election fraud case for having an affair with the private lawyer she hired, Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in the indictment. I caught up with USA Today domestic security correspondent, Josh Meyer for the latest and what happens next. Josh, thanks for hopping on today.

Josh Meyer:

Always a pleasure, Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

So Josh, what did we hear in defense closing arguments here?

Josh Meyer:

So the defense lawyers were really throwing everything they could at Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. They used terms like liars, cheaters, love-struck teenagers. They accused them of playing the race card to cover up their misdeeds and milk the lucrative gravy train of the Donald Trump election fraud case in Georgia. Pretty much everything they could to try to get the judge to disqualify them from the case.

Taylor Wilson:

And on the other side, what did we hear from prosecutors in their final arguments?

Josh Meyer:

So the prosecutors, it was one guy, Chief Deputy District Attorney Adam Abbate, and he said that lawyers for Trump and the other defendants failed to prove any of the many allegations they've been making since January 8th when the allegations first surfaced in a court motion.

He also said that unlike the claims from the defense attorneys, they don't have to just prove the appearance of a conflict of interest, that they actually have to prove a conflict of interest occurred with regard to Willis having an affair with Wade and also going on vacations with him in which Wade paid for some of the vacations with money that he earned from Fulton County.

Taylor Wilson:

And Josh, when can we expect a decision here from the judge and what is he expected to decide? Where do the tea leaves point right now?

Josh Meyer:

So the judge, Scott McAfee, very smart guy by the way, he asked a lot of questions. He's a former federal and Fulton County prosecutor. He said he's going to weigh all the different arguments. He's going to quote, "take the time to make sure that I give this case the full consideration it's due." And he said, "I hope to have an answer for everyone within the next two weeks."

Now it's not clear what he's going to do. A lot of the legal experts that I've spoken to said that he's not going to dismiss the case outright like the defense would like him to do. The bar is really high for him even to disqualify Fani Willis from the case.

So I think the consensus is that he may allow her to stay on the case, but you just don't know. I mean, some of the evidence arguing for disqualification seemed pretty persuasive. The judge did ask a lot of questions. So we really don't know what's going to happen and I think we'll just have to wait and see.

Taylor Wilson:

Even if Fani Willis does not get removed from the case, Josh, she's clearly been dragged through the mud here. How might this impact the Trump case if she stays on?

Josh Meyer:

That's a good question, Taylor. I think people talked about that. They said this is going to taint the case no matter what happens, and I think that's the case. I think that they'll probably appeal it, certainly. If they lose the case, they would certainly appeal it and they will definitely appeal it on the grounds of all of this selective prosecution.

One of the main arguments for the defense is that Fani Willis hired Wade because she was personally benefiting from their relationship. So that is a high bar to prove, but it is also something that I think gives them grounds for an appeal, especially now that Wade and Willis have confirmed that they did have a relationship.

They do say that it started after she hired him and that therefore there's no conflict of interest, and that it ended before they filed the indictments. So they're trying to undercut the argument that there's a financial incentive to keep the case going, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Taylor Wilson:

Josh Meyer is a domestic security correspondent with USA Today. Thanks as always, Josh.

Josh Meyer:

Sure.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny was put to rest yesterday as thousands of defiant mourners gathered for his funeral in Moscow. Mourners risking arrest by police, clapped and chanted anti-Putin slogans as they paid tribute to Navalny. The vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin died last month at an Arctic penal colony. He was 47 years old. A memorial service for him took place in an Orthodox church before he was buried at a nearby local cemetery where music from Terminator 2, his favorite movie, was played.

Some in the crowd chanted his name while others chanted messages for the president like, "Russia without Putin." A Putin spokesman urged those gathering in Moscow and elsewhere not to break the law saying that, "any unauthorized gatherings were violations," in comments to Russian state media. But there were no immediate reports of arrests.

♦

Voters of color could be key on Super Tuesday and beyond, but advocates are worried that an enthusiasm gap may keep some voters home. I spoke with USA Today national correspondent, Deborah Barfield Berry to learn more. Deborah, thanks for making the time today.

Deborah Barfield Berry:

Thank you for inviting me.

Taylor Wilson:

So why is there this enthusiasm gap among voters of color?

Deborah Barfield Berry:

Well, some of the polls say there are some concerns about whether candidates are talking enough about issues that they care about, particularly whether it's about the cost of living, rising costs, whether they're excited particularly about a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

And then there are some concerns among younger voters, as we've talked about before, about whether Biden has taken a strong enough stance on Palestine. So there are a lot of folks who are feeling some kind of way about whether the candidates are addressing enough of the issues that they care about.

Taylor Wilson:

Deborah, how does the issue of poverty factor in here?

Deborah Barfield Berry:

One group in particular, the Poor People's Campaign is launching its Get Out to Vote effort three days ahead of Super Tuesday intentionally. They're also launching it ahead of Juneteenth and Freedom Summer, all those big milestones and anniversaries of important moments in Black history.

They argue that for the most part, that candidates, particularly the presidential candidates, haven't talked enough about poverty, which they say is a huge issue in this country, which they say has a huge impact on low-wage workers, not just people of color, but white people, other people as well.

So they argue that those candidates, whether presidential or down to your local state lawmaker should be talking more about that, should be coming up with some serious solutions to try to address that.

And if they get people wild and excited about pushing their lawmakers on that, that they should show up not only next Tuesday, but they should show up on the primaries that are coming after that, and particularly to make sure they show up in November because that is an issue that they say is really pressing and really important to our next generation.

Taylor Wilson:

How are activists working to get out the vote among voters of color and what do these efforts look like?

Deborah Barfield Berry:

In some places, like I was just in South Carolina not that long ago because of the South Carolina primary, they were down there literally knocking on doors. They were doing rallies. They were doing some of the traditional things of calling people. They were doing bus tours. Some of them are gearing up for that.

The Poor People's Campaign on Saturday, they're launching these campaigns all across the country, including the 30 states where they're going to go to state houses and other places, and again, urge people to show up and vote, not only for the primaries, but gearing them up for the general election.

Some of the advocates I talked to or some of the organizers of civic engagement groups are worried that people are not enthused, that they are not energized, that they are not excited about this election, yet many of them will still argue that this is a very important election.

Of course, all of them are, but they argue that much is at stake here, including even the concept of what democracy looks like in America. So they are really pushing hard earlier than sometimes even usual, to get some folks interested in not only the primary, but the general.

Taylor Wilson:

And Deborah, how important a role could voters of color play on Super Tuesday coming up and also just across the board in this year's election outcomes?

Deborah Barfield Berry:

Well, as some of the advocates pointed out, and as we know from some of the numbers, is that some races, especially in 2022, were decided by just a few hundreds or a few thousand votes. So in that case, that means for real, as people say, that every vote matters. In many cases it really does, especially in some of those battleground states, especially some of the ones coming up Tuesday.

Those states have very diverse populations, so North Carolina, for example, and California. We're talking about populations where there are many more people of color who can be engaged, who they are urging to be engaged because they could have an impact on turning around a Senate race or a presidential race, which we clearly knew happened in 2020. They are trying to encourage folks to vote in saying that, "Yes, your vote might really matter, so please show up."

Taylor Wilson:

Deborah Barfield Berry is a national correspondent with USA Today. Thanks as always, Deborah.

Deborah Barfield Berry:

Thank you.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

The CDC is updating its COVID-19 guidance, so people who test positive will no longer be directed to isolate at home for five days. Health officials yesterday announced a new policy focused on actions people can take to reduce the spread of a variety of common respiratory viruses, including COVID, but also influenza, RSV, and more.

Those actions include staying at home when sick, staying up to date with vaccines, practicing good hygiene, and improving indoor air quality. The changes mark the first time the agency has revised its coronavirus guidelines since 2021. The CDC said it's intended for people and employers, not for hospitals or nursing homes that have separate guidance.

♦

For the first time in more than two decades, China is sending pandas to the United States. The San Diego Zoo is set to receive a pair that could include a female descendant of two of the zoo's former Panda residents. Zoo officials told the associated press that the new pandas are expected by the end of summer.

Pandas have been a symbol of diplomacy between the US and China since 1972, when China gifted a pair to the National Zoo in Washington. The San Diego move would soften fears that China was ending its panda diplomacy with Western nations due to diplomatic tensions.

♦

Be sure to check out tomorrow's Sunday edition of The Excerpt when my colleague, Dana Taylor looks at how traffic deaths plague poor and rural areas of the country. She'll be joined by USA Today investigative data reporter, Austin Fast.

And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your pods, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, back Monday with more of The Excerpt from USA Today.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Excerpt podcast: Can Fani Willis survive Trump's Georgia case?