House Judiciary Committee probing DA Fani Willis regarding motivations for Trump prosecution
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will be the subject of a probe pertaining to her motivations for prosecuting Trump
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The House Committee on the Judiciary is probing Fulton County (Georgia) District Attorney Fani Willis regarding her motivations for prosecuting former President Donald Trump.
The investigation was announced Thursday via a publicly released letter from Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who wrote to Willis claiming her "indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding [her] actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated."
TRUMP TO BE BOOKED AT FULTON COUNTY JAIL AFTER CHARGES STEMMING FROM 2020 ELECTION PROBE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, listens during a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 20, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
In the letter, Jordan alluded to Willis' past fundraising efforts highlighting her case against the former president.
"It is noteworthy that just four days before this indictment, you launched a new campaign fundraising website that highlighted your investigation into President Trump," Jordan wrote.
He continued, "Additionally, the forewoman of the special grand jury you convened to investigate President Trump earlier this year bragged during an unusual media tour about her excitement at the prospect of subpoenaing President Trump and getting to swear him in."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trump will turn himself in Thursday at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta after he was charged with 13 counts stemming from the state probe into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.
The court set Trump’s bail at $200,000, and he is expected to be quickly processed and released. Fox News Digital has learned his formal arraignment, where he is expected to plead not guilty, will take place sometime early next month.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It is expected that Trump will be required to take a mugshot. Others charged out of Willis’ probe, like former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and more, had their photos taken during processing.
TRUMP SAYS GEORGIA INDICTMENT COMES DURING 'DARK PERIOD' FOR US, VOWS TO FIX IT BY WINNING
Former President Donald Trump takes the stage during an organizing event at Fervent Calvary Chapel in Las Vegas on July 8, 2023. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
House Republicans are justifying the oversight of Georgia state indictments by pointing to news reports claiming Willis utilized many of the same witnesses and materials as Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"News outlets have reported that your office and Mr. Smith ‘interviewed many of the same witnesses and reviewed much of the same evidence’ in reaching your decision to indict President Trump," the committee letter reads. "The House Committee on the Judiciary thus may investigate whether federal law enforcement agencies or officials were involved in your investigation or indictment."
The committee is demanding the district attorney's office turn over all documentation of its use of federal funds, communications with the DOJ or its components, and any records of cooperation with officials of the executive branch.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, center, speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference in Atlanta. Former President Donald Trump and several allies have been indicted in Georgia over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The district attorney's office is asked to produce all requested materials by 10:00 a.m. on Sept. 7.