Fani Willis suggests creation of Georgia prosecutorial oversight panel is racially motivated
Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis suggested on Monday that the creation of a new prosecutorial oversight panel in Georgia is racially motivated.
“Georgia had never had a prosecutorial oversight committee,” Willis told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow when asked about the state Senate’s special committee investigation.
“All of a sudden, 14 minorities were elected to office to serve as district attorney,” she continued. “And now all of a sudden they need an oversight committee to look after district attorneys because they want to tell us how to prosecute and who to prosecute and where we should put our resources, as opposed to allowing the voters that put us in the seats to make those determinations.”
The new disciplinary board, approved by the GOP-controlled state legislature earlier this year and signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in March, will have the power to discipline and remove prosecutors from cases in Georgia found to have engaged in misconduct.
Willis, who is under investigation by the Georgia state Senate over her use of taxpayer money during her relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade, could come under scrutiny from the new body over the same allegations and other aspects of her handling of the prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
“They use false reasons for wanting to come after me,” the district attorney said Monday.
“What is so ironic is, although it’s only 14 of the 50 DAs in the state of Georgia, most of the citizens report to our jurisdictions, so, although we’re smaller in number than the other 36, most of the population has elected these minority DAs to serve them and has trusted their judgment,” Willis argued.
“But apparently we now need Daddy to tell us how to do our job.”
Willis, 52, also railed against House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who subpoenaed the DA back in February over allegations she’s mishandling federal funds.
“Jim Jordan has time after time after time attacked my office with no legitimate purpose,” she claimed. “Anyone who knows Jim Jordan’s history knows that he only has the purpose of trying to interfere in a criminal investigation.”
“He has now turned his tricks to he’s going to look at grant programs — which I invite him to do — and we have complied with his subpoenas,” she added. “But yet he continues his attacks to try to interfere in a criminal investigation — all while his jurisdiction has one of the worst crime rates, has poverty issues, and not one time has he used his position to try to investigate people who are attacking me and attacking others legitimately doing their job — making him illegitimate in his position.”
“It’s disgusting,” Willis said of the congressional probe. “Now at the state level, they’ve decided to follow this clown’s lead.”
A spokesperson for Jordan did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The Georgia state Senate special investigation panel held its third public hearing related to the Willis probe earlier this month, which delved into the amount of money the DA’s office has spent prosecuting the historic racketeering case against Trump and his co-defendants and the lack of oversight other government entities have over the district attorney’s office.
Willis has vowed not to appear before the panel, questioning state lawmakers’ authority to issue her a subpoena.
