Judge denies Fani Willis' attempt to stop subpoena from Georgia Senate committee
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A Fulton County judge has denied District Attorney Fani Willis' attempt to stop a subpoena forcing her to testify before the Georgia Senate committee investigating her.
The subpoenas, issued by the State Senate Special Committee on Investigations, seek Willis' testimony and documents related to her ongoing investigation into 2020 election interference and her relationship with Nathan Wade, a former special prosecutor. Willis filed an emergency motion for an injunction to halt the subpoenas, which demanded her appearance at last week's hearing.
Willis and her legal representation have argued that the subpoena's broad demands for documents would harm the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his allies. She requested a permanent injunction to prevent enforcement of the subpoenas by the committee.
"I will not appear to anything that is unlawful, and I have not broken the law," Willis previously told FOX 5's Rob DiRienzo. "I’ve said it amongst these leaders, I’m sorry folks get pissed off that everybody gets treated equally."
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives for the final arguments in her disqualification hearing at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (Photo by Alex Slitz / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEX SLITZ/POOL/AFP via Getty Image
In a ruling on Wednesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura L. Ingram denied Willis' emergency motion to stop her appearance, saying that the time requested by the committee "has passed" and that, while the chairman of the committee announced that it had already hired someone to enforce the subpoena after Willis' no-show, they have not yet taken action to enforce the subpoena.
"As such, this is no longer an emergency," Ingram wrote. "The Motion is denied as there is no emergency and the proper procedure for challenging a subpoena is a motion to quash."
The judge said that if the committee moved to compel Willis to comply with the subpoena, she could then file a motion to quash to try and stop it, which the court would then look into.
Ingram's ruling did not go into the validity of the committee's subpoena.
What led to the Fani Willis probe
In January, Willis was accused by one of the defendants in the Georgia election interference case of maintaining an inappropriate relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Additionally, she was alleged to have financially benefited from this relationship and the investigation into former President Donald Trump and his associates for their purported interference in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Following three months of contention and multiple days of testimony, Fulton County Superior Court Judge McAfee ruled that either Willis or Wade must step aside for the case to proceed in Fulton County. Wade tendered his resignation shortly thereafter.
Timeline: Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Nathan Wade controversy
Throughout the ordeal, neither Willis nor Wade admitted any wrongdoing.
Willis decisively won her primary election in May and will face Republican challenger Courtney Kramer in the general election in November.