by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did not appear before a state Senate committee Friday to testify about the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump, defying a subpoena the panel issued last spring.
Willis has argued the subpoena is unlawful and has gone to court to block it.
Friday’s hearing was the sixth the Senate Special Committee on Investigations has held to look into a romantic relationship between Willis and Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the case, and whether she misused taxpayer funds.
In Willis’ absence, the committee spent about 90 minutes hearing from two witnesses who testified the panel had the legal right to issue the subpoena and has the authority to compel the district attorney to testify if she refuses to appear voluntarily.
Legislative counsel Stuart Morelli cited state and federal court rulings asserting the authority of legislative bodies to conduct investigations and compel testimony.
“The investigative power has to be inherent to the legislative process,” Morelli said. “[Otherwise], you’re legislating in the dark.”
Former Secretary of the Senate David Cook delivered one caveat to the Senate’s power to enforce a subpoena. Cook said the law allows the legislature to find in contempt a subpoenaed witness who refuses to testify only while the General Assembly is in session. The legislature adjourned the 2024 session at the end of March.
However, Cook said the Senate can go to court to seek a declaratory judgment finding an uncooperative witness in contempt. Toward that end, the committee has hired a lawyer to pursue its subpoena of Willis in court.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted along party lines in January to form the committee after one of Trump’s co-defendants in the case filed a motion accusing Willis of being involved in an improper relationship with Wade. Trump later joined the motion, which sought to disqualify Willis from the case.
Willis argued the relationship did not constitute grounds for dismissing the indictment against Trump and others for participating in a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Wade stepped down from the case in April after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Willis could continue prosecuting Trump only if Wade discontinued his role as special prosecutor.
