A judge has ruled that the Georgia state Senate may subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of an inquiry into potential misconduct in her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump, though Willis will have the opportunity to challenge whether the lawmakers’ demands are overly broad. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram issued an order on Monday granting District Attorney Fani Willis until Jan. 13 to argue whether the subpoenas request information that is legally protected or confidential. Ingram stated that a final order would follow, specifying what Willis must provide in response, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.
A state appeals court recently removed Willis from the Georgia election interference case involving Donald Trump and others, citing an “appearance of impropriety” that typically would not warrant such a removal. The Georgia Court of Appeals panel said in a 2-1 ruling that because of the romantic relationship Willis had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, “this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings.”
The Times said that Willis’ office immediately filed a notice of intent to ask the Georgia Supreme Court to review the decision. In August, the Republican-led Senate committee issued subpoenas to District Attorney Fani Willis, requiring her to testify at its September meeting and provide a substantial number of documents. The committee, established earlier this year, is investigating allegations of “various forms of misconduct” by Willis, a Democrat, during her prosecution of Donald Trump and others involved in alleged attempts to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.
The resolution establishing the committee specifically criticized Willis’ decision to hire Wade to lead the prosecution of Trump and others, alleging that the arrangement represented a “clear conflict of interest and a fraud upon the taxpayers” of both the county and the state, the Times noted further. Willis’ attorney, former Democratic Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, contended that the Senate committee lacks the authority to subpoena her. He also argued that the subpoenas are overly broad and not connected to any legitimate legislative purpose, claiming the committee is seeking confidential, privileged, and personal information.
In October, the committee petitioned Judge Shukura Ingram to compel Willis to comply with the subpoenas. In a court filing, the committee’s lawyers argued that Willis’ refusal to cooperate had hindered their ability to complete the investigation and issue recommendations for potential legislation or budget adjustments stemming from the inquiry.
A Georgia court of appeals disqualified Willis and her team from prosecuting President Donald Trump in his election interference case last week. The court did not entirely dismiss Trump’s indictment, but Willis and the assistant DAs working in her office now have “no authority to proceed.”
“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” the filing says, per Fox News. “The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.”
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