Republican efforts to investigate Fani Willis expand to state level after Trump indictment
Eden Villalovas
Video Embed
Republicans are targeting Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis after she indicted former President Donald Trump and his allies this month for allegedly working to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Georgia state Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, a Republican, said the legislature is poised to hold hearings to determine if Willis is using “her position in a political manner” and whether her office is being “weaponized against Republican candidates running for office” following a two-year-long investigation into the former president and other Republican defendants.
BIDEN LEANS INTO HEALTHCARE AS ISSUE TO PUMMEL ‘MAGA’ REPUBLICANS IN 2024
“We believe she is definitely tainted,” Gooch said. “She’s politicizing this, and we want to make sure these people get a fair trial and a fair shake.”
Gooch told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview that Georgia Republicans are creating an oversight commission to investigate district attorneys and solicitors-general.
Senate Bill 92 went into effect in July, granting lawmakers the ability to remove or punish elected prosecutors for misconduct or other acts. The commission is expected to be launched by October.
The new state statute has been contested by some Georgia district attorneys, who have filed a lawsuit calling the law unconstitutional. The bill is also being targeted by a civil rights nonprofit organization, the Public Rights Project, which filed a lawsuit to stop the law from taking effect.
The House Judiciary Committee launched a probe into Willis on Thursday, the same day Trump was arrested at an Atlanta jail on RICO charges. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) wrote to Willis, claiming her “indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) announced the investigation while showing her support for Trump outside the Fulton County Jail.
A second Republican-led probe into Willis is underway from Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), who seeks to use the upcoming appropriations bill to slash federal funding to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. Clyde’s amendments move to defund other prosecutors looking into Trump, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and special counsel Jack Smith.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“We want to make sure we calm down, we look at this stuff deliberately, and we do it in a mature way,” Gooch said while condemning some other Republican efforts, such as those by state Sen. Colton Moore, who called for a special legislative session to consider impeaching Willis.
“There’s a lot of angry people in this state on both sides of this issue. But there’s still a majority of the Republican base who feel like there was fraud in the 2020 election, and they don’t feel like it was completely vetted properly and investigated,” Gooch said.