House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan announced the committee launched an inquiry into whether Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis coordinated with federal officials, including Special Counsel Jack Smith, with her indictment of former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Jordan, Ohio Republican, in a letter sent Thursday to Ms. Willis, demanded information and communications with the Department of Justice and Executive Branch officials and information on her office’s federal funding.
Republicans on the committee suspect that Ms. Willis’ indictment and prosecution of Mr. Trump; former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and John Eastman — a former Justice Department official, among others, raise substantial federal interests. They are concerned that her actions may be politically motivated. Both the state and federal prosecutions allege that Mr. Trump and his allies violated election laws to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“There are questions about whether and how your office coordinated with DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith during the course of this investigation, and Congress has an interest in any such activity that involves federal law enforcement agencies and officials that fall under its oversight,” Mr. Jordan wrote. “News outlets have reported that your office and Mr. Smith ‘interviewed many of the same witnesses and reviewed much of the same evidence’ in reaching your decision to indict President Trump.”
Mr. Trump and 18 others were indicted by a Fulton County grand jury this month and are accused of committing various crimes as part of a scheme to keep the former president in power after his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
In early August, Mr. Trump was charged by Mr. Smith on a four-count, 45-page indictment that accuses him of engineering three schemes to stop Mr. Biden’s election victory and remain in office.
SEE ALSO: Ahead of surrender, Trump hires a new lawyer in Georgia
Ms. Willis wouldn’t answer a reporter’s question last week about any possible coordination with Mr. Smith’s office.
“Your indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated,” Mr. Jordan wrote. “Just four days before this indictment, you launched a new campaign fundraising website that highlighted your investigation into President Trump.”
The Ohio Republican references the special grand jury forewoman on the panel convened by Ms. Willis, who did a cable news media tour earlier in the year on CNN and MSNBC and spoke to The New York Times.
During an MSNBC interview, the grand juror said, “I kind of wanted to subpoena the former president because I got to swear everybody in.” She added, “So I thought it’d be really cool to get 60 seconds with President Trump, of me looking at him and being like, ’Do you solemnly swear…’ And me getting to swear him in.”
Mr. Jordan wrote, “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.”
He reminded Ms. Willis that a Fulton County court has disqualified her from targeting current Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones as part of her probe, on the grounds that she actively supported and held fundraising events for his Democratic opponent.
SEE ALSO: Trump unloads on Democrats’ presidential hopefuls
“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,’” Mr. Jordan said.
He questioned the timing of the prosecution and noted that it was reported she directed her office to open an investigation into Mr. Trump in February 2021 and asked several Republican officials in Georgia to preserve documents relating to a “matter … of high priority” that her 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,” Mr. Jordan said. “It is therefore unsurprising many have speculated that this indictment and prosecution are designed to interfere with the 2024 presidential election.”
Mr. Jordan called for Ms. Willis to provide all documents and communications relating to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office’s receipt and use of federal funds by Sept. 7.
He also requested all documents and communications between or among the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and DOJ and its components, including but not limited to the office of Mr. Smith, relating to her office’s investigation of Mr. Trump or any of the other eighteen individuals against whom charges were brought in the indictment.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.