Judge denies Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis' request for temporary restraining order over state Senate committee subpoenas

ATLANTA, Georgia (Atlanta News First) – A judge on Tuesday denied an emergency motion by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to block the execution of two subpoenas from a Georgia State Senate committee.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram ruled that Willis' request for a temporary restraining order to avoid testifying before the Georgia Senate Special Investigations Committee and producing documents for the committee was unjustified.

On Friday, Willis defied the committee's subpoena to testify, according to state Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens), who chairs the committee. The other subpoena was for him to produce documents to the committee before Friday, which Willis reportedly did not produce.

In her decision, the judge wrote that Willis had argued that the subpoenas required her to “make an unprecedented[ed] Production of documents for testimony on September 13, 2024,” which would “place a serious burden on the prosecution” and “tie up scarce resources,” and would also place the prosecution in a “state of legal uncertainty” due to a “potential delay in the enforcement of the subpoenas.”

DA Fani Willis defies state Senate committee subpoena

Willis had previously stated that she did not recognize the committee's authority to subpoena her and that the committee had no authority over her office or her efforts to prosecute former President Donald Trump and more than a dozen of his Republican allies for their alleged interference in the 2020 election in Georgia.

Senators on the committee have said their mandate is to investigate allegations of legal and ethical irregularities arising from a romantic relationship between Willis and Nathan Wade, the lead prosecutor in Trump's historic election impeachment. Both Willis and Wade have acknowledged the relationship but said it had no bearing on their investigation into alleged election interference by Trump and more than a dozen of his Republican allies.

The committee has the power to issue subpoenas and compel the production of documents and witness testimony. It has already met five times and, once its investigation is complete, will issue a report detailing its findings and any changes it believes are needed in state law to improve transparency among local prosecutors.

The committee has no power to remove Willis from office or to bring charges against anyone.

In May, Willis said she would not comply with a subpoena from the committee.

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“First of all, I don't think they have the authority to subpoena me, but they have to learn the law,” Willis said. “I'm not going to do anything that's unlawful and I haven't broken the law in any way. I'm sorry people are mad because everyone is treated the same.”

After the meeting, GOP members who make up the majority of the committee left the building without taking questions from reporters. But Democratic Sen. Harold Jones II (D-Augusta) said the hearings were clearly an attempt to sow doubts about Willis's indictment of Trump and some of his allies.

“I think this is fundamentally about serving the interests of former President Trump,” Jones said. “We're not going to get anything done here, we're not looking out for the people's business, and those are just the facts that exist.”

No one had ever defied a subpoena from a state Senate committee, as special investigative committees are extremely rare.

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