ATLANTA — A state senate committee meets Friday to hear from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. But Willis is expected to skip the hearing as she fights a senate subpoena in court.
Republicans formed this investigative state senate committee in response to their unhappiness about Willis’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump in an election interference case.
They want Willis to answer questions under oath, and they want documents.
Fulton County’s prosecution of Trump stalled after revelations that Willis had a personal relationship with the well-paid freelance prosecutor, Nathan Wade—who led the case for months against Trump.
Shortly after, Republican state senators formed an investigative committee to examine the relationship and the Trump prosecution.
"We haven’t seen that before. And what we’re seeing it used for is a political stunt versus using it for things we should be using it for. Investigating our prisons for example,." said Sen. Jason Estevez (D-Atlanta), who is one of three skeptical Democrats on the Republican dominated committee.
Records show that Republicans on the senate committee have subpoenaed text messages sent between Willis and Wade, but a court filing says it’s too broad and not relevant.
“The subpoenas also seek every text message exchanged between (Willis) and Former Special Counsel Wade for the last five years, regardless of their relevance to any legislative purpose,” Willis’s attorney, Roy Barnes, wrote in a court filing. “The financial and temporal burdens to comply with the subpoenas would be immense. Such demands would also seriously harm the important work her office does in keeping the citizens of Fulton County safe from crime.”
Barnes, a Democrat, is a former governor of Georgia. He also represented Republican Brian Kemp in court when Kemp was secretary of state.
