House Judiciary Committee Launches Congressional Investigation into Fulton County DA Fani Willis
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has initiated a congressional investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. This move comes just as former President Donald Trump is set to surrender at the county jail after being charged in connection with schemes to interfere with Georgia’s 2020 election results. CNN was the first to report on this development.
The committee has sent a letter to Willis, inquiring about her communication and coordination with the Justice Department, which has indicted Trump twice on separate cases. They are also investigating whether she used federal funds to conduct her investigation, which resulted in Trump’s fourth indictment.
This line of inquiry into Willis’ use of federal funding in a state-level investigation parallels the Republican investigation into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who indicted Trump in New York earlier this year. The Republicans had questioned whether Bragg used federal funding in his probe.
In the letter to Willis, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan accused her of being politically motivated, citing her establishment of a campaign fundraising website shortly before the indictment and her requirement of mugshots for those charged, including Trump. Jordan claimed that these practices were not observed in previous indictments.
Willis has previously denied coordinating with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office and has defended her investigation against claims of political bias. However, Georgia Republicans may launch their own state-level investigation into Willis’ probe, according to GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been in contact with top officials in the state about a potential probe. Greene also expressed interest in a congressional-led inquiry into Willis’ actions.
House Republicans have been seeking to defend Trump and distract from his ongoing legal battles by using their congressional majority to launch investigations and issue subpoenas. They have also intensified their own investigations into the Biden family, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowing to proceed with an impeachment inquiry if the Biden administration does not provide more documents and information related to Republican-led investigations into Hunter Biden.
There are concerns among some moderate Republicans about whether such interventions in ongoing investigations are appropriate and whether an impeachment inquiry is justified. However, members of the House Judiciary panel, who would oversee an impeachment inquiry, have reportedly been discussing the possibility of launching one soon.
Trump’s allies have called for Congress to expunge his previous two impeachments, but there is pushback against this idea, even within the House Republican caucus. Regardless, House Republicans have been laying the groundwork to target Willis and election laws more broadly. Republican Rep. Russell Fry introduced a bill earlier this year that would allow current and former presidents and vice presidents to move their civil or criminal cases from state courts to federal courts.
The House Judiciary Committee is currently exploring ways to move Fry’s bill forward and schedule a markup. Fry argues that “rogue prosecutors” should not have the power to target high-ranking officials for their political agendas.
Separately, the House Committee on Administration has been working on a conservative election integrity package that Republicans claim is “transformative.” Democrats, however, argue that the bill undermines the freedom to vote and burdens election workers. The bill recently passed out of committee and is ready for a floor vote in the House. Republicans held nine hearings on the bill, one of which was conducted in Atlanta.
Critics, including Rep. Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the panel, accuse Republicans of defending Trump through their hearings on the bill. However, Republicans deny these claims, stating that their aim is to strengthen voter integrity and protect conservative political speech.