JUST IN: Fani Willis Suffers Major Legal Setback After Trump Case Implodes
A Georgia judge has ruled that state lawmakers can subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of an ongoing investigation into whether her office committed misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump.
In a December 23 order, Judge Shukura Ingram gave Willis until January 13 to file a list of claimed privileges and objections her office has to anything that has been subpoenaed by lawmakers. Willis has indicated that she will be appealing the decision.
“We believe the ruling is wrong and will appeal,” former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes, who is representing Willis in the case, told the Associated Press.
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The ruling comes just weeks after an appeals court removed her from the highly controversial racketeering case she brought against Trump and his allies over their objections to the 2020 election results. The court cited an “appearance of impropriety,” which namely stemmed from Willis’ relationship 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 court ruled.
NEW: Former Fulton County DA employee and friend of Fani Willis since college says she was definitely in a relationship with Nathan Wade since 2019.
This completely contradicts the filings of Wade and Willis in which they claimed it began in 2022.
Giving false statements to the… pic.twitter.com/mt5FUIDqUu
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 15, 2024
The timeline of the relationship between Wade and Willis has been central to both the Georgia Senate investigation and the disqualification hearings concerning Willis.
Back in March, Ashleigh Merchant, a lawyer for a Trump co-defendant in Willis’ “election interference” case, testified that information on Wade’s cellphone data indicated that he visited a condo owned by Willis on numerous occasions prior to his hiring.
“It’s pinging from his house all the way down to the condo at midnight 1 a.m. And then he calls her when he gets there. And then it goes silent for four or five hours. And then, you know, early in the morning hours, he starts pinging again, driving back, and then he texts her when he gets home,” Merchant said while describing the location of Wade’s phone.
Additional witnesses, including former employees of the Fulton County D.A.’s office, employees of surrounding counties and a former law partner of Wade’s, have also given testimony that calls the timeline into question.
Wade also admitted to meeting with the Biden White House while testifying before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month. According to a report, the former prosecutor met with White House staff “on several occasions while working on the investigation.” He was also instructed to brush up on his knowledge of racketeering laws, suggesting that Willis was informing the White House about her impending case. Both Willis and Wade have previously claimed that they did not coordinate with the White House at any point.
Back in August, a Republican-led Georgia State Senate committee sent subpoenas to Willis that compelled her to testify before the body in September. The embattled district attorney ultimately skipped the hearing when lawmakers were expected to question her.
“The law is clear, and the ruling confirms what we knew all along,” Georgia State Senator Greg Doleful told the Associated Press. “Judge Ingram rejected every argument made by Willis in her attempt to dodge providing testimony to the committee under oath. I look forward to D.A. Willis honoring the subpoena and providing documents and testimony to our committee.”
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