The office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis issued a statement on Thursday saying that she fully plans to fight back against a subpoena that was issued for her by a state Senate committee, marking yet another batch of legal troubles to had her way this year. Willis, who is a very active Democrat, received a summons issued by the GOP-led Senate Special Committee on Investigations and Fulton Superior Court Judge Shermela Williams, which states that a hearing has been scheduled for Thursday afternoon, according to the DA’s spokesman, Jeff DiSantis.
Reports from AJC.Com say that the hearing is going to allow Willi’s personal lawyer, former Gov. Roy Barnes, to make a case for why she shouldn’t be held in contempt of court for refusing to obey a subpoena. It’s important to note this showdown is not sudden. No, this conflict has been built over a period of months.
Willis and Barnes, also a Democrat, have argued that the investigative panel acting alone does not have the legal authority to compel her testimony. Bill Cowsert, the Athens Republican who leads the Senate committee, said he believes “the law is clear” that his panel has the legal authority to force Willis’ attendance. “The legislative branch has the inherent power to investigate and to utilize subpoenas,” he said earlier this spring. Barnes and Cowsert did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Cowsert’s committee was created earlier this year as nine defendants in theelection case, including Trump, sought to disqualify Willis from the prosecution because of a romantic relationship she had with Nathan Wade, the private attorney she hired to oversee the case. The committee’s GOP boosters designed it to investigate whether Willis had any conflicts of interest or misspent any public funds, including during vacations with Wade. While it lacks the power to prosecute, disbar or directly discipline Willis, it can recommend changes to the state budget or draft legislation setting stricter oversight guidelines for prosecutors. Cowsert told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month that he is considering legislation that would regulate district attorneys’ conduct and the use of special grand juries and special prosecutors but that he also wanted to hear directly from Willis.
Willis believes the committee is made up of a bunch of Republican senators who are targeting her because “they worry their hero is treated the same as everybody else,” making a reference to Trump. Or, and hear me out here, maybe they’ve been fighting back against Willis because she’s involved in lawfare against a presidential nominee and is attempting to influence an election by removing the political enemy of the candidate for her political party? If Trump were actually being treated like everyone else, there would be no uproar. But he’s not. And the American people see that too.
“The Legislature’s subpoena power has never been tested under Georgia law, according to legal experts previously interviewed by the AJC. They expect the fight will likely end up before the state Court of Appeals, the same body that is currently considering whether Willis should be removed from the election case,” the article read.
Given the corruption Willis has been involved in concerning her prosecution against Trump, it seems like an easy decision to make. Boot her.
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