What Doomed DeSantis From The Start

Ron DeSantis went from neck-and-neck with Trump to crashing and burning after just one presidential contest. The Daily Caller went inside the walls of the DeSantis Camp to get the real story of what went wrong. 01 February 2024 [View in Browser]( Leaks, Loyalists And One Big Loss: Insiders Describe What Doomed DeSantis From The Start Ron DeSantis went from neck-and-neck with Trump to crashing and burning after just one presidential contest. The Daily Caller went inside the walls of the DeSantis Camp to get the real story of what went wrong. "I knew we were going to lose almost immediately after I got there," a former campaign staffer told us. Read the inside story, from leaks to the liberal press to embarrassed donors and everything in between, now: It all started with a very public lie. After Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was accused of benefiting from the fat checks her office was writing her former lover to prosecute the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump, she struck a defiant tone. “I’m a little confused. I appointed three special counsels, as is my right to do, paid them all the same hourly rate. They only attack one,” Willis said. “I hired one white woman... I hired one white man... And I hired one black man, another superstar, a great friend and a great lawyer." The corporate media seemed to have taken her at face value, but we didn't. And we were right. The DCNF's Katelynn Richardson dug in and discovered Willis did not, in fact, pay all the outside attorneys contracted to handle the Trump case the same hourly rate. Katelynn obtained documents showing Willis' offered a significantly lower hourly rate to Georgia's top RICO expert than she had to Wade, her alleged lover. Wade, it should be noted, had virtually no prosecutorial experience and had mostly handled family, personal injury and criminal defense law. READ: [EXCLUSIVE: Contracts Show Fani Willis Offered Top RICO Expert Lower Hourly Rate Than Her Alleged Lover In Trump Case | The Daily Caller]( Katelynn dug deeper. She obtained billing statements confirming that Wade was billing significantly more per hour than Georgia's top RICO expert. Not only that, Wade's contract allowed him to earn orders of magnitude more than other outside attorneys on the case. In fact, county records show Wade has raked in $654,000 from the Fulton County District Attorney’s office since the start of 2022. That's significantly more than the other outside attorneys on the case. READ: [EXCLUSIVE: Fani Willis Falsely Claimed She Paid Her Alleged Lover The Same As Other Lawyers On Trump Case | The Daily Caller]( Things got really interesting when Katelynn obtained documents showing Willis' office had offered lucrative contracts to Wade's business partner. Wade's partner has raked in six figures since 2021 working for Willis' office, billing taxpayers at a rate of $150 per hour, according to documents. READ: [EXCLUSIVE: Fani Willis Handed Lucrative Contracts To Her Alleged Lover’s Law Partner. It’s Starting To Raise Eyebrows. | The Daily Caller]( Legal experts Katelynn spoke to sounded the alarm on this arrangement. “This is a mystery in and of itself,” Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney and legal analyst Philip Holloway said. “I have no clue why any DA’s office needs to pay a private lawyer to handle ‘first appearance’ calendars. Any Assistant DA could easily do that. They are already on the payroll and it is the most simple of all tasks.” John Malcolm, former deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s Criminal Division, added that payments to Wade's partner could pose additional problems for Willis if his work as a taint attorney -- someone who helps sift through evidence obtained through search warrants -- was for the Trump case. We won't stop following this story. Follow [Katelynn on X]( for the latest updates, and make sure to check out her [author page]( for all her incredible coverage. [READ MORE]( [Feedback]( [Unsubscribe]( [About us]( 2023 THE DAILY CALLER INC. | 1775 EYE ST, NW STE 1150-290 WASHINGTON, DC 20006 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.