OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is threatening to hold Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in contempt of Congress after ignoring a subpoena demanding she produce documents relevant to one of the panel’s ongoing investigations.
According to ABC News, the Ohio lawmaker penned a letter to Willis on Thursday, stating that if she fails to provide all documents pertaining to a House investigation into allegations of misusing federal funds, the committee “will consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceeding.”
Jordan warned the embattled DA that she must comply by March 28 with the documents subpoena. On Feb. 2, Jordan’s committee issued a subpoena to Willis seeking documents pertaining to her office’s use of federal tax dollars that were supposed to go towards at-risk youth.
“While you have indicated that additional documents may be forthcoming in response to the Committee’s subpoena, the Committee has yet to receive any additional responsive materials in the three weeks since your initial response,” Jordan noted in his letter. “Accordingly, the Committee expects that you will produce all responsive documents to the subpoena in the categories prioritized by the Committee no later than 12:00 p.m. on March 28, 2024.”
Jordan highlighted that the committee seeks to examine records detailing the receipt and utilization of federal grant funds provided by the Department of Justice. Furthermore, the committee aims to scrutinize any documents containing communications alluding to the improper use of said federal funds.
In a statement after receiving the subpoena sent in early February, Willis issued a statement denying any misuse of funds.
“Our federal grant programs are focused on helping at-risk youth and seeking justice for sexual assault victims who were too long ignored,” Willis said at the time. “Our federal grant-funded Sexual Assault Kit Initiative has been cited by the United States Attorney General as a model program.”
The second subpoena from Jordan comes on the heels of a ruling earlier in the week by the judge presiding over her case against Trump in which he dismissed six charges against the former president and 18 co-defendants.
Judge Scott McAfee wrote in his ruling that there is not sufficient evidence of “solicitation of violation of oath by public officer.”
“The Court’s concern is less that the state has failed to allege sufficient conduct of the Defendants — in fact it has alleged an abundance. However, the lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned opinion, fatal,” McAfee wrote, according to Fox News.
“As written, these six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission, i.e., the underlying felony solicited,” he added.
Meanwhile, Willis will learn whether she will be disqualified from the election interference case, perhaps by Friday, according to reports.
The announcement came after McAfee heard closing arguments from several lawyers involved in the racketeering case against Trump and others.
“The decision will come down to whether the judge believes Willis had a financial incentive to hire special prosecutor Nathan Wade for the case. Willis and Wade admitted to a romantic relationship, but the timeframe of that relationship was the crux of the argument about whether the relationship was improper,” AOL reported.
Allegations have surfaced regarding Willis, who is leading one of the four criminal cases against former President Trump, suggesting that she engaged in an improper extramarital affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Critics contend that the relationship presents a conflict of interest, potentially compromising the case. Although Willis’ office denies any financial or professional impropriety, concerns have been raised that the affair undermines public confidence in the prosecution.
