Georgia GOP faces infighting after calls to defund Fani Willis
Brady Knox
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Georgia’s Republican Party is facing infighting over whether to defund Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Georgia Republican House Speaker Jon Burns, in a letter obtained by the Hill, denounced Republicans who were trying to defund Willis over her indictment of Trump, arguing that such a move would be unconstitutional and constitute interference in the criminal justice system.
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He characterized the attempt “to defund a duly-elected district attorney of this state and her office” as “an attempt to interfere with the criminal justice system.” He also said that the response to Hurricane Idalia should take precedence.
“While this real-time crisis unfolds, unfortunately, we continue to have a few members of the General Assembly making misleading or false claims about the General Assembly’s lawful powers regarding an ongoing criminal case before our Judiciary,” Burns wrote.
“It is an unfortunate reality of today’s politics that theatrics sometimes garner more attention than genuine human needs like those that will unfold today in south and coastal Georgia.”
He also claimed that the move to defund Willis would have the “unintended consequence” of negatively affecting the justice system in its handling of more serious crimes, such as rape and murder.
“It is unfortunate some would knowingly suggest such a reckless course of action despite the devastating effects it would have,” Burns said.
The state House speaker also claimed that their oath to the Constitution of Georgia and the United States means that they cannot question the criminal process.
“We trust that our criminal justice system will deal with this matter impartially and fairly, and we will not improperly intercede in this matter in direct contradiction to the oaths we took,” Burns declared.
State Republican Sen. Colton Moore saw the matter differently, saying he believed they were called by their constitutional duty to serve as a check on the powers of the judiciary.
“The Legislature has this great check and balance when it comes to controlling the purse. Ultimately, from what I’ve seen, I think [Willis] should completely be defunded of any state dollars. People in northwest Georgia and Georgians all over don’t want their tax dollars going to fund this type of political persecution,” Moore told the Hill earlier in August.
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The state senator has urged a special session to decide the matter, for which he was supported by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
“I just encourage all Georgia citizens to stop talking and get to action. Call their legislators, encourage them to sign on to this special session and keep the momentum rolling,” Moore said. “Because conservative Georgians and all Georgians are very upset when you have a political persecution going on.”