Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sent Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) an extremely frank letter on Wednesday declining his request for more information about her prosecution of Donald Trump and others for attempting to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
“A charitable explanation of your correspondence is that you are ignorant of the United States and Georgia Constitutions and codes,” Willis wrote in the letter obtained by CNN to Jordan, who serves as House Judiciary Committee chairman and has been angling to be House speaker. “A more troubling explanation is that you are abusing your authority as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary to attempt to obstruct and interfere with a Georgia criminal prosecution.”
Supporting the latter interpretation, Willis quoted Jordan saying in an appearance on Mark Levin’s show last month: “We’re trying to get all the answers, but we’re trying to stop this stuff as well.” “While you may enjoy immunity under the United States Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, that does not make your behavior any less offensive to the rule of law,” she added.
ADVERTISEMENT
“As the person chosen by the citizens of Fulton County to be their District Attorney, I serve them, and my team and I are exceptionally busy,” Willis continued. “We have already written a letter—which I have attached again for your reference—explaining why the legal positions you advance are meritless. Nothing you’ve said in your latest letter changes that fact.”
She added that Jordan’s requests implicate “confidentiality interests related to an ongoing criminal matter, as well as serious constitutional concerns regarding federalism and separation of powers.”
Willis had already provided details about the federal funding received by her office. But Jordan had also requested documents relating to her prosecution of Trump—a demand that Willis has previously rebuffed.
Last month, Jordan wrote Willis a letter saying his committee has “a strong legislative interest in ensuring that popularly elected local prosecutors do not misuse their law-enforcement authority to target federal officials for political reasons.” “We can only conclude from your hostile response to the Committee’s oversight that you are actively and aggressively engaged in such a scheme,” he added.
Jordan also wanted copies of any communications between Willis’ office and executive branch officials, especially those in the Department of Justice. “To the extent you have specific questions about the Department of Justice’s communications, we refer you to the Department of Justice,” Willis wrote in her letter Wednesday.
In August, the House Judiciary Committee launched a congressional investigation into Willis’ office on the same day that Trump surrendered at the Fulton County Jail on 13 charges related to allegations of subverting the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia. The indictment—which was the fourth criminal case brought against Trump in as many months—also named 18 of the former president’s allies as defendants.
Read it at Mediaite
