Fani Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County tasked with prosecuting former President Donald Trump, has recently made headlines due to allegations of hiring her purported lover as a prosecutor for the case. Adding to the controversy, she is now embroiled in another scandal, as a former staff member alleges being fired for exposing unethical conduct within their office.
In her inaugural year as district attorney, Willis was approached by Amanda Timpson, an employee, who raised concerns about another staff member named Michael Cuffee. Timpson alleged that Cuffee intended to divert funds designated for a gang prevention initiative towards unrelated expenses like computers, travel, and promotional merchandise.
In November 2021, when Timpson brought her concerns to Willis, she took the precaution of recording their conversation. This action was prompted by Willis’s prior dismissal of Timpson’s previous reports regarding the office’ violations.
The Washington Free Beacon, the outlet that first reported the incident, obtained the recording of the conversation. In this conversation, Willis expressed her “respect” for Timpson’s evaluation of the situation and apologized for Cuffee’s conduct. Despite Timpson sending an email to Willis in early December 2021, reiterating her worries about the misuse of federal funds, Willis did not reply.
Willis dismissed Timpson a few weeks later in January 2022 and reportedly had her taken out by seven armed cops. As an at-will worker, Willis informed Timpson in writing of her termination, stating that her skills were “no longer needed.” Timpson filed a whistleblower complaint against Willis’s office in August of 2022.
According to county expenditure documents that the Free Beacon examined, $1,245 of the funds designated for the gang prevention program went towards buying Dell items in November 2022. There appears to be a pattern at the Fulton County DA’s office, as $40,000 of a $2 million grant intended to clear the Atlanta police department’s backlog of rape kits was used on travel and laptops.
Even though Willis made restoring “integrity” to the office the focal point of her campaign for district attorney, it appears that her pledges were empty rhetoric.
