Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicated she won’t appear before the Georgia Senate committee’s investigation following their warning to issue a subpoena. This move prompted a reaction from Georgia’s lieutenant governor.
At a press conference earlier this week, Ms. Willis was questioned about her potential testimony before the committee.
The district attorney gained national prominence when she launched legal proceedings against former President Donald Trump and over a dozen others, alleging their involvement in a plot to illegal overturn the election results in the county.
“First of all, I don’t think they even have the authority to subpoena me, but they need to learn the law,” Willis said.
When posed with a different question regarding her potential testimony, Willis suggested that she wouldn’t comply. She went on to criticize the Republican-led panel, labeling it as “unlawful.”
“I will not appear to anything that is unlawful, and I have not broken the law,” she said. “I’ve said it amongst these leaders, I’m sorry folks get [angry] that everybody gets treated equally.”
The Democratic district attorney refrained from commenting on a recent ABC News interview with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who resigned amidst allegations of being romantically involved with Ms. Willis.
However, she expressed criticism towards the Senate’s investigation into potential misconduct within her relationship with Mr. Wade, who also played a role in the Trump case before stepping down in March as per a judge’s directive.
Republican state Senator Bill Cowsert, the chairman of the Senate committee, asserted in an interview with a local Fox station that his committee possesses the authority to compel her testimony. He further stated that she could face contempt charges if she fails to cooperate.
“I sure hope it doesn’t get to that,” Cowsert told the station.
“If she’s not willing to come and explain her conduct, then we will subpoena her and ask her to come, require her to come,” he told a local radio station.
“If subpoenaed by the Committee, [Ms. Willis] will be required to appear or she will be in violation of Georgia law.” He added, “This is what treating everybody evenly looks like, even if DA Willis doesn’t like being held accountable,” Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican, wrote on social media.
The Senate special committee announced its intention to thoroughly investigate allegations of misconduct against Ms. Willis, focusing on potential conflicts of interest and misuse of public funds, aiming to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s appeals court has agreed to hear an appeal by President Trump’s lawyers seeking to disqualify Ms. Willis due to allegations surrounding her relationship with Mr. Wade. This appeal could potentially delay the case, adding to another favorable ruling for Trump, whose trials might be postponed until after the November election.
President Trump’s lead attorney in Georgia, Steve Sadow, expressed Trump’s anticipation to present arguments to the appeals court for dismissing the case and disqualifying Ms. Willis over alleged misconduct.
Allegations against Ms. Willis emerged in a January motion filed by Ashleigh Merchant, a lawyer representing former Trump campaign staffer Michael Roman. The motion claimed an inappropriate romantic relationship between Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade, alleging financial benefits to Ms. Willis from Mr. Wade’s work and lavish vacations.
They acknowledged the relationship but rejected assertions of financial gain from it. Both also denied allegations of an earlier start to their relationship, contrary to at least one witness’s claim during a televised court hearing on her disqualification in February.
The pair asserted that their relationship didn’t commence until spring 2022, several months after he was hired for the Trump case. They maintained that their romance ended in the summer of 2023.
The pair testified that they split travel expenses roughly equally, with Ms. Willis frequently covering costs or reimbursing Mr. Wade in cash. However, they failed to produce any financial records or statements to substantiate this assertion.
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