UNITED STATES NEWS

Fani Willis skips a Georgia state Senate hearing while challenging subpoena

Sep 13, 2024, 10:51 AM | Updated: 11:06 am

ATLANTA (AP) — A special Georgia state Senate committee that had subpoenaed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with plans to question her Friday about “alleged misconduct” related to her election case against former President Donald Trump was unable to do so because she didn’t show up.

The Republican-led committee was formed earlier this year to look into allegations of “various forms of misconduct” against Willis, an elected Democrat, with regard to her prosecution of Trump and others over their efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 election loss in Georgia. The committee last month sent subpoenas to Willis ordering her to appear and to produce piles of documents.

Willis is challenging those subpoenas in court but her challenge has yet to be heard. Her lawyers have argued that the subpoenas are invalid.

In Willis’ absence Friday, the committee heard from a lawyer in the office of legislative counsel and a former secretary of the state Senate, both of whom said the committee does have the power to use subpoenas to compel witnesses to appear and to produce documents.

Committee chairman Sen. Bill Cowsert noted at the beginning of the hearing that Willis was not present. As it drew to a close, he asked the doorman to check the hallway outside the committee room in the state Capitol to make sure she wasn’t waiting out there.

“Let’s please note for the record that Ms. Willis has failed to appear in compliance with the subpoena and has failed to produce documents requested,” Cowsert said. He added that the committee has hired outside legal counsel to assist in the enforcement of the subpoena.

The committee went into executive session to meet with its lawyer after the hearing was over. Then Cowsert and other Republican members of the committee left without addressing reporters.

In a court filing, the committee’s lawyers said that while the panel has not yet taken action to enforce its subpoena, it intends to do so.

Democratic committee member Sen. Harold Jones II told reporters that the committee is politically motivated and is “basically trying to serve the interests of former President Trump.” He said lawmakers should instead be spending their time on issues that are important to Georgians.

Among the alleged misconduct the committee is looking into is Willis’ hiring of special prosecutor Nathan Wade, with whom she had a romantic relationship, to lead the prosecution against Trump and others. The resolution creating the committee says the romantic relationship amounted to a “clear conflict of interest and a fraud upon the taxpayers” of the county and state.

Willis and Wade have acknowledged the relationship but have said it began after he was hired and ended before the indictment against Trump was filed. They have also said they split costs of their travel evenly.

Trump and other defendants argued that the relationship created a conflict of interes t that should disqualify Willis and her office from continuing with her prosecution of the case. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in March ruled that Willis’ actions showed a “tremendous lapse in judgment,” but he did not find a conflict of interest that would disqualify Willis. He said she could continue her prosecution as long as Wade stepped aside, which he did.

Trump and others have appealed that ruling to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which has scheduled arguments for December.

One of the committee’s subpoenas orders Wills to produce documents related to Wade, including documents related to his hiring and payment, documents related to money or items of value that Wade and Willis may have exchanged, text messages and emails between the two, and their phone records.

The committee also requested any documents her office sent in response to requests from the U.S. House, as well as communications Willis and her office had with the White House, the U.S. Justice Department and the House relating to the 2020 presidential election. And they asked for documents related to federal grant money Willis’ office has received.

Willis’ lawyers — including former Democratic Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes — argued in a court filing that the subpoenas are “overbroad and not reasonably tailored to a legitimate legislative need” and that they “seek confidential and privileged information, as well as private and personal information that is not the legitimate target of a legislative subpoena.”

They ask a judge to declare the subpoenas void because they fall outside of legislative subpoena power, because they were issued after the legislative session ended and because they violate the separation of powers provided for in the state Constitution. They also ask that the subpoenas be declared void because they seek privileged and confidential information. Finally, they ask that a judge permanently prohibit the committee members from pursuing or enforcing the subpoenas.

Lawyers for the committee wrote in a filing that Willis used the wrong legal avenue to challenge her subpoenas; that she should have filed a motion to quash them. They also noted that neither Willis nor her attorneys ever approached the committee to ask that the scope of the subpoenas be narrowed or to ask for more time to respond or a postponement of the committee hearing.

They wrote that subpoenas are within the committee’s authority and that if Willis does not file a motion to quash them, the committee will seek to have a judge enforce them.

United States News

FILE - President Joe Biden talks with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, left, and Rep. John Larson, D-Co...

Associated Press

Connecticut Rep. John Larson says a complex partial seizure caused him to stop speech on House floor

WASHINGTON (AP) — Connecticut U.S. Rep. John Larson, who inexplicably stopped speaking during a speech Monday on the House of Representatives floor, said Tuesday night he had suffered a complex partial seizure. The 76-year-old Democrat, who is serving his 13th term, said the House attending physician referred him for further evaluation following the incident. The […]

3 minutes ago

FILE - Death Row building is seen at the Louisiana State Penitentiary Friday, Sept. 18, 2009, in An...

Associated Press

Louisiana seeks to resume executions imminently after a 15-year pause

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana will seek to resume carrying out death sentences in the coming months after a 15-year pause, this time using nitrogen gas as the execution method, the state’s attorney general said Tuesday. Attorney General Liz Murrill told The Associated Press that she expects at least four people on death row to […]

5 minutes ago

In this courtroom sketch, Salman Rushdie testifies on the witness stand gesturing how the attacker ...

Associated Press

Excerpts from Salman Rushdie’s court testimony about a harrowing attack

MAYVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Author Salman Rushdie testified Tuesday in the trial of a man accused of attacking him with a knife just after he took his seat for a panel discussion at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. The noted author was on the witness stand for just about an hour, during which […]

2 hours ago

President Donald Trump, from right, speaks to reporters accompanied by Interior Secretary Doug Burg...

Associated Press

Apple changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America based on Trump’s order

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on its maps Tuesday after an order by President Donald Trump was made official by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System. The move follows Google, which announced last month that it would make the change once the official listing was […]

2 hours ago

FILE - PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger speaks during the PBS Executive Session at the Television...

Associated Press

With public broadcasters pressured by the Trump administration, PBS shuts down its diversity office

NEW YORK (AP) — PBS says it is shutting down its office of diversity, equity and inclusion to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order, firing the two executives brought on when the effort was begun in 2021. The move, eliminating the jobs held by Cecilia Loving and her associate Gina Leow, comes as public […]

2 hours ago

Scrim, a fugitive New Orleans rescue dog who gained fame evading a city-wide effort search for mont...

Associated Press

Fugitive dog recaptured in New Orleans after gaining national fame for escapades

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A scruffy New Orleans rescue dog famed for evading a monthslong effort to recapture him using nets and tranquilizer rifles has finally been caught and returned to domestic life Tuesday. Scrim, a 17-pound mutt who has become a Louisiana folk hero, first escaped from his adopted family in April and roamed […]

3 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Collins Comfort Masters

Collins Comfort Masters: Your go-to plumbing experts in Arizona

Collins Comfort Masters, a trusted name in HVAC, water and plumbing since 1985, is you go-to plumbers for the residents of Phoenix and the Valley.

...

Bright Wealth Management

How IRAs are a helpful tool in retirement planning

When it comes to retirement planning, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) can be a great tool for income growth.

...

The UPS Store

How The UPS Store is giving back to the community

PHOENIX -- As 2024 nears a close, The UPS Store is looking to give back to the Arizona community with the holiday season approaching.

Fani Willis skips a Georgia state Senate hearing while challenging subpoena