Fulton County DA refuses Jim Jordan’s ‘ignorant’ request for info on Trump charges
‘A more troubling explanation is that you are abusing your authority as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary to attempt to obstruct and interfere with a Georgia criminal prosecution,’ Fulton County DA Fani Willis wrote
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis came in swinging in her latest response to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, this time concerning a request for more information regarding her criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.
“A charitable explanation of your correspondence is that you are ignorant of the United States and Georgia Constitutions and codes,” Ms Willis wrote on 11 October.
She continued, “A more troubling explanation is that you are abusing your authority as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary to attempt to obstruct and interfere with a Georgia criminal prosecution.”
She was replying to Mr Jordan’s 27 September demands for more information on the Trump case, calling the district attorney’s prosecution of the former president “politically motivated.”
Mr Jordan asserted, “Congress in general, and this Committee in particular, have a strong legislative interest in ensuring that popularly elected local prosecutors do not misuse their law-enforcement authority to target federal officials for political reasons.”
Prosecutors in Georgia election interference case want to hear from Alex Jones and RNC chair Ronna McDaniel
Trump, January 6 and a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election: The federal investigation, explained
Jim Jordan is a conservative hellraiser in the House. Now he’s Trump’s top choice for speaker
The district attorney then pointed to her last letter. On 7 September, she called Mr Jordan’s “attempt to interfere with” her office’s “prosecution of state criminal cases” unconstitutional, underscoring the separation of powers issue at play. Ms Willis wrote: “Congress’s lawful prerogative to interfere with states’ administration of their criminal laws is extremely limited.”
In Wednesday’s letter, she said that her previous note explained “why the legal positions you advance are meritless. Nothing you’ve said in your latest letter changes that fact.” Ms Willis reiterated, “As I have explained, your requests implicate significant, well recognized confidentiality interests related to an ongoing criminal matter, as well as serious constitutional concerns regarding federalism and separation of powers. “
In her conclusion of the letter, Ms Willis wrote with a flourish: “I would encourage you to focus your attention on those issues, which would make life better for the American people.”
The exchange follows the House Judiciary Committee’s decision to launch a probe into the Fulton County investigation in August following the indictment of Mr Trump and 18 others.
The probe intends to look into “whether the Fulton County District Attorney’s office coordinated with federal officials, including DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith, for its politicized indictment of former President Donald Trump, a former White House Chief of Staff, and a former U.S. DOJ official,” the committee wrote.
The Independent has reached out to a spokesperson for Mr Jordan.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments