House Republicans continue Fani Willis investigation, requesting documents from DA employees
Rep. Jim Jordan, GOP chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., sent employees from the Fulton County District Attorney's office requests Thursday to hand over documents and interviews related to the Jan. 6 Committee as they continue investigating District Attorney Fani Willis.
"The committee previously wrote to District Attorney Willis requesting documents relating to her coordination with the January 6 Select Committee. Because District Attorney Willis has declined to cooperate, the committee must pursue other avenues to obtain this information," a press release states.
Jordan and Loudermilk sent letters to Assistant Chief Investigator Michael Hill, Assistant Chief Investigator Trina Swanson-Lucas, Chief Senior District Attorney Donald Wakeford and Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten, requesting "all documents and communications" between the employees and "any member, staff member, agent, or representative of the January 6 Selection Committee."
The letters also request the employees hand over "all documents and communications referring or relating to records in your possession obtained" from the Jan. 6 Committee.
All employees were asked to submit the requested documentation no later than Feb. 20.
The letters sent Thursday say the lawmakers had previously written to Willis "requesting documents relating to her coordination with the January 6 Select Committee."
The lawmakers say they received a letter from Willis in December in which she confirmed the requested documents existed "but declined to produce such materials on the grounds that the materials were 'protected from disclosure by attorney-client privilege, work product privilege, and other common law protections.'"
The DA's office asserted the same claim in a court filing that same month when it declined to turn over any new communications between Willis and special counsel Jack Smith, who had also been investigating alleged efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The filing asserted that the documents either did not exist or were exempt from disclosure under Georgia law.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had previously ordered Willis to produce any records of communication with either Smith or the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 within five business days. In doing so, the judge sided with Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group that had filed suit against Willis, determining that Willis had violated the state's open records act by failing to respond to the lawsuit.
The House Judiciary Committee launched its investigation into whether Willis coordinated with the House Jan. 6 Committee in December 2023. Jordan and Loudermilk took the lead on the probe after learning that Willis' office "coordinated its investigative actions with the partisan Select Committee."
The lawmakers said at the time that Willis asked the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 to share evidence with her office.
Willis charged Trump with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hill, Swanson-Lucas, Wakeford, Wooten and the DA's Office but did not immediately hear back.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's feud with Trump likely won't blow up Tesla's robotaxi push, analysts say
Elon Musk's relationship with President Donald Trump imploded in a series of social media posts. Tesla's stock took a 14% dip on Thursday before it recovered some of the losses. Analysts said the feud won't have lasting impacts on Tesla's business, including robotaxis. Elon Musk's public sparring with President Donald Trump last week may have briefly put a dent in Tesla's value, but analysts say they can't see any reason the feud would have a long-term impact on the company's business, including its robotaxi ambitions. The feud between Musk and Trump began with the Tesla CEO's criticism of the GOP's spending bill, which slashes EV tax credits and is estimated to add more than $2.4 trillion to the national deficit. The clash then escalated with threats coming from both sides: Trump threatened to cancel government contracts with Musk's companies, and the CEO fired back by saying he'd shut down SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft before reneging. During Musk's fight with Trump on Thursday, Tesla's stock dipped 14%, wiping out $138 billion from the company's market cap. The company recovered some of the losses the following day. Yet the CEO saw one of his biggest single-day hits to his net worth with an estimated $34 billion loss. Still, some analysts say this storm will pass. "Musk's and Trump's relationship has an impact on the stock and maybe investor sentiment, but as far as the actual business impact for Tesla, I never thought Trump getting elected was positive or that negative for Tesla," Seth Goldstein, Morningstar analyst, told Business Insider. "So with the feud that started between Trump and Musk, I never really viewed that as that positive or negative for Tesla either." While it may not be helpful to no longer be in Trump's good graces, Goldstein said the president has already made clear that he would cut EV subsidies, which the analyst viewed as having the most negative impact not just on Tesla but on all EV makers. Gene Munster, Tesla investor and managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, estimated in a Friday report that the elimination of the tax credits could reduce 2025 deliveries by 15%. As far as Tesla's June robotaxi launch in Austin goes, which Musk says will unlock trillions of dollars of market value for his company, analysts say there's little reason to believe the administration would want to hinder progress there. "In my view, the White House has little to gain in standing in front of autonomy, given autonomy is central to physical AI, and for the US to be a leader globally in AI, it also needs to be a leader in physical AI," Munster said in his Friday report. "The bottom line, I expect cooler heads to prevail and the Federal Government will continue to support the growth of these services." Goldstein told BI that he doesn't see many avenues the administration could take to hinder Tesla's robotaxi progress. He said the Department of Transportation is reviewing federal standards for autonomous vehicle safety. "In theory, if Trump wanted to see Musk face retaliation and target Tesla, they could, say, require autonomous vehicles to have lidar in order to be approved by the federal government for operation, but I don't think they're going to get that detailed," Goldstein said. "I think that Trump could more easily just target SpaceX by just cutting their contracts if he really wanted to hurt Elon, versus making some really weird, nuanced policy." Spokespeople for the DOT and the White House did not respond to a request for comment. In a note on Friday, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote that Musk's feud with Trump doesn't impact the "longer-term vectors that drive the stock's value." "AI leadership, autonomy/robotics, manufacturing, supply chain re-architecture, renewable power, critical infrastructure... Tesla still holds so many valuable cards that are largely apolitical, in our opinion," Jonas wrote. By late Friday afternoon, the online jabs had slowed down, but the Trump-Musk alliance remained on ice. The president told NBC News on Saturday that he doesn't expect to mend his relationship with Musk and warned the CEO against supporting Democratic candidates. Still, during a press gaggle on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said he hadn't thought about Musk but wished him and his company well. "I mean, I hope he does well with Tesla," Trump said. A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's dysfunctional government can learn from these Republican governors
President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are struggling to do their jobs because they are losing focus on what they were elected to do. They are creating political sideshows and distractions from the issues that truly matter to Americans, and the issues that voters wanted Trump to fix. Instead of fixing the economy, for example, Trump is locked in a social media battle with Elon Musk. Why? Republicans in control of the federal government should take a note from popular GOP governors who are delivering on what voters actually want without all of the noise that is engulfing the presidency and Congress. Opinion: Musk is angry Trump used him. I'm frustrated we're focusing on the wrong thing. Trump has made progress on securing the border, despite his deportation struggles, but the economy is where he struggles. His unpredictable and ill-advised tariff policy has investors worried, and his administration is pushing a bill that would raise the country's deficit. The old adage 'it's the economy, stupid' rings true even today. If Trump cannot handle the basics of the job, then Americans are unlikely to give him leeway on other issues. In contrast, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is more popular than Trump in the Sunshine State and is overseeing a strong economic run while presiding over a strong public school system. Florida's job growth is outpacing the national average. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is another example. He enjoys extraordinarily high approval ratings, even though Trump had a narrow victory in the state in 2024. He's done so on the back of good job creation marks and, again, a strong public school system. These are two Republican governors doing the job we need the federal GOP to do, instead of the bickering we're seeing unfold on social media. This isn't to say that either of those two governors don't take swings in the culture war. DeSantis is probably best known for his actions against Disney and other social debates. Kemp also has a history of fighting "woke" and dabbling in the culture wars. But in surrounding themselves with competent allies and running the government well, voters give them a longer leash. The lesson here for Trump is to take care of the basic issues that impact voters, then he can get bogged down in his culture war stances. Both Kemp and DeSantis have gotten away with their antics because they are competent executives. Opinion: There is no 'reverse discrimination,' people. There is only discrimination. In state governments, this includes going to the DMV, the quality of public schools and paying taxes. If these types of experiences are painless, people have a more positive view of the government. Federally, this is reflected in the economy, as people's daily lives are most significantly impacted by the state of the economy. Culture war issues matter at the margins, but people broadly vote based on the economy. Because Trump is struggling with the economy, his actions in other areas are a glaring distraction. He could stand to ask governors like DeSantis and Kemp about how to lead along conservative principles without all the mess and failure. Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kemp, DeSantis show Trump how Republicans should govern | Opinion
USA Today
24 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump's dysfunctional government can learn from these Republican governors
Trump's dysfunctional government can learn from these Republican governors | Opinion You might not have noticed, but there are Republicans doing the job of governing. They're just not in the federal government. Show Caption Hide Caption Six takeaways from the President Donald Trump, Elon Musk feud From disappointment to threats, here are six takeaways from the public spat between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are struggling to do their jobs because they are losing focus on what they were elected to do. They are creating political sideshows and distractions from the issues that truly matter to Americans, and the issues that voters wanted Trump to fix. Instead of fixing the economy, for example, Trump is locked in a social media battle with Elon Musk. Why? Republicans in control of the federal government should take a note from popular GOP governors who are delivering on what voters actually want without all of the noise that is engulfing the presidency and Congress. Opinion: Musk is angry Trump used him. I'm frustrated we're focusing on the wrong thing. Republican governors succeed in spite of Trump Trump has made progress on securing the border, despite his deportation struggles, but the economy is where he struggles. His unpredictable and ill-advised tariff policy has investors worried, and his administration is pushing a bill that would raise the country's deficit. The old adage 'it's the economy, stupid' rings true even today. If Trump cannot handle the basics of the job, then Americans are unlikely to give him leeway on other issues. In contrast, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is more popular than Trump in the Sunshine State and is overseeing a strong economic run while presiding over a strong public school system. Florida's job growth is outpacing the national average. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is another example. He enjoys extraordinarily high approval ratings, even though Trump had a narrow victory in the state in 2024. He's done so on the back of good job creation marks and, again, a strong public school system. These are two Republican governors doing the job we need the federal GOP to do, instead of the bickering we're seeing unfold on social media. This isn't to say that either of those two governors don't take swings in the culture war. DeSantis is probably best known for his actions against Disney and other social debates. Kemp also has a history of fighting "woke" and dabbling in the culture wars. But in surrounding themselves with competent allies and running the government well, voters give them a longer leash. Trump should follow DeSantis, Kemp's lead: Focus on what voters need The lesson here for Trump is to take care of the basic issues that impact voters, then he can get bogged down in his culture war stances. Both Kemp and DeSantis have gotten away with their antics because they are competent executives. Opinion: There is no 'reverse discrimination,' people. There is only discrimination. In state governments, this includes going to the DMV, the quality of public schools and paying taxes. If these types of experiences are painless, people have a more positive view of the government. Federally, this is reflected in the economy, as people's daily lives are most significantly impacted by the state of the economy. Culture war issues matter at the margins, but people broadly vote based on the economy. Because Trump is struggling with the economy, his actions in other areas are a glaring distraction. He could stand to ask governors like DeSantis and Kemp about how to lead along conservative principles without all the mess and failure. Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.
