Christopher Harris is a digital producer at CBS News Atlanta.
Fani Willis delivered a fiery defense of her office and her prosecution of President Trump Monday, speaking at an International Women's Day gathering at the Georgia State Capitol.
Willis used her keynote address to push back against political attacks tied to the collapsed racketeering case she once brought against Trump and several allies over efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election.
"They want to show you that they are powerful and strong by coming after me," Willis said. "My crime is that I have the audacity to hold people accountable who commit crimes in my jurisdiction, no matter who they are."
Her comments came just hours after a new ruling in the long-running legal battle tied to the case.
On Monday, Scott McAfee ruled that Willis and her office remain disqualified from participating in ongoing litigation over nearly $17 million in attorneys' fees sought by former defendants, including Trump.
The decision means the Fulton County District Attorney's Office cannot take part in the dispute over the legal costs. However, McAfee allowed Fulton County Government to intervene in the case because taxpayers could ultimately be responsible for paying any court-ordered reimbursement.
Fourteen former defendants, including Trump, are seeking $16.85 million in attorney's fees under a Georgia law enacted in 2025 that allows defendants to recover legal costs if a prosecutor is disqualified from a case.
The legal battle stems from the sweeping 2023 racketeering indictment brought by Willis that accused Trump and more than a dozen allies of participating in a coordinated effort to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election results.
The case collapsed after the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Willis and her office, citing a conflict of interest tied to her relationship with a special prosecutor hired to work on the case. The court said the situation created an "appearance of impropriety" that undermined public confidence in the prosecution.
In his order Monday, McAfee said Willis' office could not intervene in the fee dispute because it had already been "wholly disqualified" from the case.
Trump attorney Steve Sadow praised the ruling in a statement posted on social media, calling the prosecution a "dismissed lawfare case."
But Willis used her speech to frame the criticism as political retaliation for pursuing powerful figures.
"They wanted me to look the other way on crimes of their colleagues and their hero," Willis said. "I refused because I took an oath to hold all who break the law accountable."
The Fulton County district attorney also criticized state lawmakers who have launched investigations into her conduct, describing a Senate hearing she attended at the Capitol earlier this year as a "waste of taxpayers' money."
"I was here to testify before what I can only describe as a clown show," Willis told the audience.
Willis, who became the first woman elected as Fulton County district attorney, said she believes the backlash reflects broader resistance to women and minority leaders holding powerful positions.
"There are powerful people across this country and this state that would like us to return to an era where voices like mine and yours are not heard,"
she told the crowd.
The judge's ruling sets the stage for the next phase of the case, a series of evidentiary hearings to determine whether the attorney's fees requested by the former defendants are reasonable.
If approved, the reimbursements could become one of the largest payouts tied to a dismissed criminal prosecution in Georgia history.