There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing someone corrupt and vile getting what they deserve this side of heaven. Which is why the news that embattled District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia Fani Willis is being ordered to pay $21,578 in lawyer fees and litigation costs is a tiny, sweet little taste of justice. The penalties come a result of her failure to comply with Georgia’s Open Records Act (ORA). Judge Robert McBurney issued the ruling, which comes after many months of what amounts to legal jiu jitsu that was originally started by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, which sought records of Willis’ communications with Special Counsel Jack Smith and members from the House January 6 Committee.
All of this first started in August 2023, which was when Judicial Watch first filed a request under the state’s ORA. Conflicting responses soon emerged from Willis’ office. That’s strange because, at first, the office said these records didn’t exist. Evidence that was discovered by Judicial Watch seemed to suggest that wasn’t true. That evidence then led to the organization filing a lawsuit in March 2024. Documents from the case show Willis’ office ducking, diving, rolling, and juking to evade providing the documents the group requested.
Check out the details from Trending Politics News:
After initially claiming no records existed, her office repeatedly denied the existence of responsive documents, even after the lawsuit was filed. It wasn’t until a December 2, 2024, court order that the DA’s office conducted what was described as a “diligent search.” This search suddenly unearthed records Willis had previously claimed did not exist—records her office then deemed exempt from disclosure. In a memo submitted to Judicial Watch, Willis’s office provided a copy of a letter to the January 6 Committee as part of its compliance.
However, Judicial Watch had already identified this letter as a responsive record that was improperly withheld. The memo, unsigned and undated, underscored what the court described as a clear violation of the ORA. Judge McBurney’s order, issued on January 3, paints a damning picture of Willis’s handling of the records request. The court noted that the DA’s office failed to conduct any search for records until the lawsuit forced its hand. Even then, efforts to comply were lackluster, with no comprehensive examination of emails or case files.
Judge McBurney then wrote in the decision, “This response was perplexing and eventually suspicious to Plaintiff, given that Plaintiff subsequently uncovered through own effort at least one document that should have been in the District Attorney’s Office’s possession that was patently responsive to the request.” He found that Judicial Watch had successfully demonstrated both a violation of the ORA and a lack of “substantial justification” for the violation.
“The ORA is not hortatory; it is mandatory. Non-compliance has consequences,” McBurney explained in the ruling. “One of them can be liability for the requesting party’s attorney’s fees and costs of litigation. To recover its relevant and reasonable fees and costs under the ORA, Plaintiff must do two things. First, it must show that Defendant violated the ORA. Second, Plaintiff must also demonstrate that Defendant lacked “substantial justification” for the violation(s).”
At the end of all this, Willis is now being ordered by the court to pay a whopping $19,360 in attorney’s fees and $2,218 in litigation expenses. Oh, and it all has to be paid within two weeks. The order from the court also shines a spotlight on the admission from a DA’s Records Custodian who, under oath, stated that no search for the records requested by Judicial Watch was conducted. The response was, instead, a denial, which turned out to be false.
The report closed by stating, “The ruling is the latest blow to Willis, whose high-profile role in cases related to the January 6 Capitol protests has already drawn scrutiny. As of now, Willis has two weeks to comply with the court’s order to pay the $21,578 penalty.”
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