DA Willis Alleges Jordan’s Interference in Investigation

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor behind the indictments of former President Donald Trump and other defendants, Thursday accused House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan of interfering with a criminal investigation and attempting to punish her over the Trump charges for personal political gain.

Her claims, outlined in a letter to the Ohio Republican, come after he demanded records of her communications with Department of Justice officials behind Trump’s federal indictments in connection with an alleged plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Jordan claims that Willis, through the Trump prosecution, is attempting to interfere with the 2024 election and said her investigation may infringe on the rights of Trump and the other defendants.

Willis, in her letter, said that Jordan’s claims in an Aug. 24 letter include “inaccurate information and misleading statements” and have an “obvious purpose to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous misrepresentations.”

Jordan’s letter was sent 10 days after the Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 other defendants on charges they had schemed to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

Jordan’s office didn’t respond to the Journal-Constitution’s request for comment.

Meanwhile, some Georgia Republicans are pushing for Willis to be sanctioned or impeached, but GOP Gov. Brian Kemp has rejected those calls.

In his letter, Jordan wrote that Willis started her investigation of Trump in February 2021 but didn’t bring the charges against him until 2023, when the campaign for the GOP presidential nomination began.

Further, Jordan wrote that Willis has asked that the trial against Trump start on March 4, 2024, the day before the Super Tuesday elections and eight days before Georgia’s presidential primary.

“It is therefore unsurprising many have speculated that this indictment and prosecution are designed to interfere with the 2024 presidential election,” he wrote.

Willis, in response, said Jordan’s concerns about the timing of her investigation were unfounded and that many witnesses in the case were uncooperative, forcing her to seek judicial approval for a special grand jury to compel evidence and testimony.

Willis also denied allegations that she’s unfairly targeting Trump and said his status as a political candidate can’t make him legally immune from criminal prosecution.

She also noted that the special grand jury had recommended the charges in the case, with a separate jury issuing indictments.

“The select group of defendants who you fret over in my jurisdiction are like every other defendant, entitled to no worse or better treatment than any other American citizen,” she told Jordan. “Your letter makes clear that you lack a basic understanding of the law, its practice, and the ethical obligations of attorneys generally and prosecutors specifically.”

In addition, Willis addressed an inquiry from Jordan about her office’s use of federal funds, and said that money is used to process “long-neglected sexual assault kits and prosecute dangerous sexual offenders who are identified via DNA results.”

“If you and your colleagues follow through on your threats to deny this office federal funds, please be aware that you will be deciding to allow serial rapists to go unprosecuted, hate crimes to be unaddressed, and to cancel programs for at-risk children,” Willis said in her letter. “Such vengeful, uncalled-for legislative action would impose serious harm on the citizens we serve, including the fact that it will make them less safe.”