OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee is pressing Democratic Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to provide details regarding her prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
“Your indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated,” says a letter sent to Willis by the committee.
The panel lashed out at Willis for appearing to politicize her prosecution of the former president.
“Turning first to the question of motivation, it is noteworthy that just four days before this indictment, you launched a new campaign fundraising website that highlighted your investigation into President Trump,” the letter goes on to say.
“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,” the letter continued.
“Last week, the Fulton County Superior Court’s Clerk publicly released a list of criminal charges against President Trump reportedly hours before the vote of the grand jury,” the letter goes on. “A Fulton County court has disqualified you from targeting current Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones as part of your probe on the grounds that you actively supported and held fundraising events for his Democratic opponent.
“And unlike officials in other jurisdictions, Fulton County officials ‘have suggested [they] will process [the former President] as [a] typical criminal defendant, requiring mug shots and possibly even cash bond,'” which happened, the letter noted further.
Jordan then lashed out at Willis over the timing of the indictment.
“The timing of this prosecution reinforces concerns about your motivation,” the letter said. “In February 2021, news outlets reported that you directed your office to open an investigation into President Trump. Indeed, sometime on or around February 11, 2021, your office purportedly sent a letter to several Republican officials in Georgia, requesting that they preserve documents relating to a ‘matter . . . of high priority’ that your office was investigating.
“Yet, you did not bring charges until two-and-a-half years later, at a time when the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination is in full swing. Moreover, you have requested that the trial in this matter begin on March 4, 2024, the day before Super Tuesday and eight days before the Georgia presidential primary,” the letter adds. “It is therefore unsurprising many have speculated that this indictment and prosecution are designed to interfere with the 2024 presidential election.”
The committee’s chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), listed additional questions on the X platform.
“Was Fulton County DA Fani Willis working with [special prosecutor] Jack Smith? Was she communicating with the Executive Branch? Were any federal funds used in the investigation of President Trump?” he wrote.
Was Fulton County DA Fani Willis working with Jack Smith?
Was she communicating with the Executive Branch?
Were any federal funds used in the investigation of President Trump?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) August 24, 2023
During an interview on Real America’s Voice streaming network with host Charlie Kirk earlier this month, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he heard from a highly “reliable source” that Willis was given instructions by “someone in Washington” to indict Trump on the Monday before grand jurors were scheduled to return the following day.
He theorized that the motive behind the haste was to shift focus away from a situation involving David Weiss, the U.S. attorney who had dedicated years to probing Hunter Biden but opted not to pursue any real charges, shortly after Weiss was designated as a special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland days earlier.
“I am told by a reliable source that Friday evening, somebody from Washington called the District Attorney of Atlanta and said, you have to indict on Monday. We have to cover up all of the mistakes we just made with Weiss,” he explained after noting that it was “hearsay.”
“And she said, apparently, ‘My jurors aren’t coming back until Tuesday,’” Gingrich continued.
“‘You didn’t hear me. You have to on Monday,’” he added, quoting the alleged Washington sources.
“‘But they’re not gonna get her before noon,’” Gingrich noted further, quoting Willis. “They said, ‘That doesn’t matter.’ She said, ‘This means that it’s gonna be eight or nine or ten o’clock.’ They said, ‘It doesn’t matter. We need the news shifting off of Weiss.”
Kirk asked Gingrich who made the phone call, but Gingrich said he didn’t know.
“I’m telling you upfront, this is hearsay, but it’s from a person who has remarkably good sources,” Gingrich said.
WATCH:
