With Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis under the hot light of accountability for alleged conflicts of interest with the election integrity case she brought against former President Trump, the liberal ladies of ABC’s The View jumped to her defense on Friday. The coven frantically tried to throw everything at the wall hoping it would stick: attacking Trump’s lawyers, playing the race and gender cards, and praising her angry outbursts in the courtroom.
Their first desperate defense of Willis came in the form of trying to flip the conflict of interest charge against Trump’s lawyers because they were married and owned a private firm together:
BEHAR: Meanwhile, the two lawyers prosecuting her, who were questioning her --
SUNNY HOSTIN: Yeah, they’re married.
BEHAR: They're married to each other and they have a law firm together.
HOSTIN: Yes, they do.
BEHAR: So, isn't that a conflict of interest and do they have a problem?
What Behar didn’t seem to have the mental bandwidth to understand was that Willis was the one with the power in this situation. She’s the state prosecutor who brought the case to begin with and allegedly picked her boyfriend to take it to trial, and Trump’s lawyers were the private attorneys responding in defense of a client.
Staunchly racist and anti-Semitic co-host Sunny Hostin (the descendant of slave owners) had to break the bad news to Behar that it was not against the law for lawyers to marry; and bizarrely played the gender card:
And Georgia has a law in place that it is not unethical or illegal to have a romantic relationship with co-counsel. Even opposing counsel. Can you imagine that? The only thing -- because I would imagine in Georgia and all places across the country men would not be able to practice law if it were -- if it weren't -- [Laughter]
Hostin got the card game going, but it was faux conservative Ana Navarro who was playing a full hand when she argued that the biggest reason Willis was being scrutinized was because she’s a black woman:
Look, I think as a woman she's got a double standard because as you say, tons of men do things like this and there's no problem. I think as a woman of color she even gets more scrutiny and we know that. She knew that. She should have known better. She should have disclosed. She should have not done this.
Navarro seemed to be in favor of conflicts of interest she sarcastically exclaimed: “God forbid there be conflicts of interest.” “So, like this woman, every $100 meal, every little cruise to Aruba, every little cruise to the Bahamas she took is being disclosed and she’s being dragged through the mud,” she whined.
Hostin agreed “there's the appearance of impropriety,” but lauded Willis's attitude and disrespectful outbursts from the witness stand:
HOSTIN: But I think she handled her business in the courtroom. I mean, a man is not a plan, I'm not on trial, you’re on trial. That's what happens when you put a really good lawyer on the witness stand.
BEHAR: I like when she said I will not emasculate a black man.
HOSTIN: Exactly. She was speaking to her constituents. My father is from Georgia. I spent a lot of time in Georgia. She was speaking to those Georgians.
It’s hypocritical for Behar to tout Willis for refusing to “emasculate a black man” when, last year, she claimed Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and Justice Clarence Thomas didn’t know what it was like to be black in America.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
February 16, 2024
11:03:43 a.m. Eastern(…)
JOY BEHAR: First of all, what's wrong with sex on the first date? I mean –
[Laughter]
Okay, so defense attorneys are making the case -- what they call a conflict of interest. Meanwhile, the two lawyers prosecuting her, who were questioning her --
SUNNY HOSTIN: Yean, they’re married.
BEHAR: They're married to each other and they have a law firm together.
HOSTIN: Yes, they do.
BEHAR: So, isn't that a conflict of interest and do they have a problem – do they have a case against her?
HOSTIN: They don't have a case against her. I think this is certainly just a political move. This is so that Trump can push this and try to kick this case and this can down the road so that if he becomes president, god forbid, of the United States, then he's going to say you can't prosecute me in state court because I'm too busy being -- he's not really going to be too busy – too busy being the president of the United States. So, that is what this is really about.
And Georgia has a law in place that it is not unethical or illegal to have a romantic relationship with co-counsel. Even opposing counsel. Can you imagine that? The only thing -- because I would imagine in Georgia and all places across the country men would not be able to practice law if it were -- if it weren't -- [Laughter]
(…)
11:05:35 a.m. Eastern
ANA NAVARRO: Look, I agree with Sunny. I don't think they've been able to prove conflict of interest which is the issue they are looking at but it doesn't look good.
This is not a good look for Fani Willis. I think she should have disclosed. I think you don't create a mess where you eat and she did. And I also think – Look, I think as a woman she's got a double standard because as you say, tons of men do things like this and there's no problem. I think as a woman of color she even gets more scrutiny and we know that. She knew that. She should have known better. She should have disclosed. She should have not done this.
But, you know, what I have found interesting is – So, there's a lot of people now particularly on the right who have become champions against conflicts of interest. God forbid there be conflicts of interest.
SARA HAINES: I see where you're going.
NAVARRO: So, like this woman, every $100 meal, every little cruise to Aruba, every little cruise to the Bahamas she took is being disclosed and she’s being dragged through the mud. Well, if you want to talk about conflict of interest, let me talk about all the things that Clarence Thomas.
(…)
11:08:21 a.m. Eastern
HOSTIN: I agree that there's the appearance of impropriety. Right? Like, you don't even want the appearance of impropriety. But I think she handled her business in the courtroom. I mean, a man is not a plan, I'm not on trial, you’re on trial. That's what happens when you put a really good lawyer on the witness stand.
BEHAR: I like when she said I will not emasculate a black man.
HOSTIN: Exactly. She was speaking to her constituents. My father is from Georgia. I spent a lot of time in Georgia. She was speaking to those Georgians, because every – They were asking her questions about whether or not she had money in her -- how could she have so much money in her home?
BEHAR: Oh, the cash.
HOSTIN: I always have cash in my home!
(…)
