Georgia Senate committee investigating Fani Willis probes use of special purpose juries

ATLANTA - The Georgia State Senate special committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis held its fifth meeting into allegations of misconduct during her prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

The bipartisan committee, chaired by Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert, was established to probe potential conflicts of interest and allegations that Willis' office misused federal and state grants. The findings of this investigation will inform legislative actions, including the enactment or amendment of laws and adjustments to state appropriations, aimed at restoring public confidence as deemed necessary.

"Rules and regulations I'm worried about are the ethical behavior of district attorneys and their assistant district attorneys. I think every citizen in Georgia ought to have some guarantee, some expectation of what that's going to be," said Sen. Cowsert, R-Athens. 

The senator expressed concern over the lack of enforceable ethical guidelines for district attorneys. 

"That's part of the role of this committee is to recommend if we need uniform state laws, ethical procedures, boundaries, guardrails or whatever," he told the committee during Friday’s hearing. 

The committee quizzed former Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter, and other lead prosecutors, including Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Marie Broder, Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale III, and Republican state Rep. Mesha Mainor. The topic was the use of special prosecutors and special purpose grand juries. 

RELATED: Fulton DA Fani Willis urges court to dismiss Trump’s disqualification bid in new brief

"There was a group of DAs, including myself, who worked with lawmakers to put the oversight bill into place," said Barksdale III, who represents the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit. 

The prosecutors called to testify would not comment about the specific allegations against DA Willis but believe more oversight is needed and support the recent creation of a state panel that has the authority to discipline and remove prosecutors.  

"There really was no body or no law that was actually disciplinary like in the Judicial Qualifications Commission," said Porter. 

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (Photo by Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)

Willis has previously said she would not appear before the Republican-led committee, telling FOX 5's Rob DiRienzo that Cowsert couldn't subpoena her.

"I will not appear to anything that is unlawful, and I have not broken the law," she said. "I’ve said it amongst these leaders, I’m sorry folks get pissed off that everybody gets treated equally."

Willis decisively won her primary election in May and will face Republican challenger Courtney Kramer in the general election in November.

What led to the Fani Willis probe

In January, Willis was accused by one of the defendants in the Georgia election interference case of maintaining an inappropriate relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Additionally, she was alleged to have financially benefited from this relationship and the investigation into former President Donald Trump and his associates for their purported interference in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Following three months of contention and multiple days of testimony, Fulton County Superior Court Judge McAfee ruled that either Willis or Wade must step aside for the case to proceed in Fulton County. Wade tendered his resignation shortly thereafter.

Timeline: Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Nathan Wade controversy 

Throughout the ordeal, neither Willis nor Wade admitted any wrongdoing.

Special committee approved 

The Georgia Senate authorized the formation of the special committee to investigate Willis on Jan. 26, with the inaugural meeting held on Feb. 9.

On March 6, attorney Ashley Merchant, representing the defendant who initially raised concerns about Willis, testified for over three hours regarding how she and her client uncovered the relationship between Willis and Wade and why they believed it to be unethical and potentially criminal.

RELATED: Attorney Ashleigh Merchant testifies before senate committee investigating Fani Willis 

At the most recent hearing in May, the committee examined sworn testimony from Amanda Timpson, a former employee with the district attorney's office who claims she was demoted and then fired after trying to stop employees from using a federal grant meant for the creation of a Center of Youth Empowerment and Gang Prevention for travel, computers and "swag."

Timpson claimed she worked to get the grant for the department under the direction of dormer DA Paul Howard. When Willis was elected, she said her team wanted the money for equipment, travel and swag. She claims all of it is illegal and directly outlawed by the terms of the grant.