Fani Willis rebukes Jim Jordan over investigation into Trump case
District Attorney Fani Willis of Fulton County, Georgia, responded Thursday to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan’s accusations about his investigation into her Trump election interference case.
Late last month, Jordan (R-Oh.) demanded a tranche of documents detailing communications between Willis and federal officials about former President Donald Trump, arguing that her case could affect the 2024 election.
But Willis, a Democrat, scolded and chided in her response Thursday that it was “clear you lack a basic understanding of the law.”
Especially Jordan did not take the bar exam despite his law studies.
“Your attempt to invoke the authority of Congress to intervene and disrupt an ongoing criminal proceeding in Georgia is in flagrant contravention of the Constitution,” Willis wrote in a fiery nine-page letter to Jordan.
“There is absolutely no support for Congress to purport to scrutinize or in any way oversee an ongoing criminal investigation and prosecution in Georgia.”
She stressed that his “violation of Georgia’s sovereignty is an insult and will not be tolerated.”
Willis filed 41 counts last month against Trump and 18 of his allies over alleged interference in the 2020 election in Georgia, including a racketeering charge against each of them.
Specifically, Trump faces 13 charges and has already pleaded not guilty and vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Willis disclosed several examples of federal funding for programs her office used, which was an important data set Jordan was looking for.
Instead of providing all of the material Jordan requested, she tore his letter apart piece by piece with her response, providing him with examples of racist threats she had faced.
“Because it appears that you have a vested interest in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, you should consider directing the USDOJ to investigate the racist threats made to my staff and me as a result of this investigation,” she wrote.
Jordan has pursued a similar strategy against other prosecutors targeting Trump. Earlier this year, he subpoenaed Mark Pomerantz, a former lawyer in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
Bragg, who filed a 34-count indictment against Trump over an alleged hush-money payment scheme that was uncovered in April, sued him in response.
On Thursday, Jordan sent a letter to Special Counsel Jack Smith, informing him of his congressional investigation into allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by Jay Bratt, one of Smith’s top lawyers.
In addition to leading the House Judiciary Committee, Jordan also chairs the Subcommittee on Arming the Federal Government.
A spokesman for the Judiciary Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump faces a total of 91 felony counts on four separate counts that could result in a prison sentence of over 700 years.
He remains the overwhelming front-runner in the 2024 GOP contest.
