Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis faced criticism from Rep. Jim Jordan regarding her reaction to his committee’s inquiry into her prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
In a prior letter this month, Willis had strongly criticized Jordan and his committee, alleging that they were attempting to disrupt her prosecution through their requests for records. Jordan, however, challenged her stance, stating that her perspective on congressional authority was inaccurate.
“Your letter contends that the Committee, by conducting oversight into apparently politicized local prosecutions, is ‘obstruct[ing] a Georgia criminal proceeding’ and ‘advanc[ing] outrageous partisan misrepresentations.’ Your position is wrong,” Jordan said in a response letter.
Jordan asserted that, based on Willis’ reaction to the committee’s request for records to assess potential political motivations in the case against Trump, the committee could only deduce that she is actively and strongly involved in such a scheme.
Willis, in her response to the records request, contended that her case was a matter for state and local jurisdiction, arguing that Congress lacked the authority to investigate. However, Jordan countered that prosecuting a former president involves significant federal interests.
“If state or local prosecutors can engage in politically motivated prosecutions of senior federal officers for acts they performed while in federal office, this could have a profound impact on how federal officers choose to exercise their powers,” Jordan wrote.
The Examiner noted further:
Wednesday’s letter is the latest step in the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into Willis’s office and the case against Trump, which was launched on Aug. 24. A grand jury indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants on Aug. 14 for racketeering charges related to efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election, marking the fifth indictment and fourth criminal case for the former president.
Jordan and House Republicans on the committee have accused Willis of using the 41-count indictment to interfere with the 2024 presidential election, of which Trump is the GOP front-runner. The Ohio congressman’s first request for records came hours before Trump turned himself in to Fulton County officials to be arraigned and have his mug shot taken.
The committee has raised concerns about the indictment’s legitimacy, with records requests aiming at discovering whether Willis had “coordinated” with the Justice Department — particularly special counsel Jack Smith, who delivered an indictment against Trump for similar reasons to the Georgia case.
