A Fulton County court has found Democrat DA Fani Willis in default for failing to comply with court deadlines in an open records lawsuit brought by government watchdog Judicial Watch. As a result, the anti-Trump prosecutor is ordered to produce potential documentation of communications Willis may have had with Special Counsel Jack Smith's office and the U.S. House select January 6 committee.
BREAKING: The Superior Court in Fulton County entered an order granting a motion for default judgment against DA Fani Willis in Judicial Watch’s lawsuit for communications Willis had with Special Counsel Jack Smith and the House January 6 Committee (1/3). https://t.co/FwnSr7UVWl
— Judicial Watch ⚖️ (@JudicialWatch) December 3, 2024
In March, Judicial Watch launched a lawsuit after Willis denied possessing any records responsive to an August 2023 public records request.
The organization, which investigates government misconduct, suggested in the civil action complaint that Willis likely lied about the purported lack of responsive records on hand.
As proof, Judicial Watch referenced a December 2021 letter Willis wrote to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), then chairman of the congressional January 6 committee. In the letter, Willis officially requested the committee's help with her Trump investigation and offered to trek to Capitol Hill to convene at the committee's convenience.
"It may well be most efficient for your staff and effective for our understanding of my staff and me to meet with your investigators in person. We are able to travel to Washington..." Willis wrote, also asking for access to congressional records, such as recordings, transcripts of witness interviews and depositions, communications, and travel documents.
The letter to Thompson is clearly a responsive record, Judicial Watch noted, yet it was neither produced in response to the request nor claimed to be subject to exemption under state law.
Judicial Watch additionally cited news reports indicating that representatives of Willis did indeed travel to the nation's capital to meet with J6 committee staffers in April, May, and November 2022, as Willis previously proposed.
By finding that Willis is in default (and has been since April 11), the court effectively declared that she violated Georgia's Open Records Act (ORA).
Willis now must hand over any available files within five business days.
In May, Judicial Watch asked the court to declare a default judgment, noting that Willis was served with the lawsuit weeks ago and had not filed an answer, which was due 30 days after service.
According to Monday's six-page court order granting Judicial Watch's motion for default judgment against Willis, she "never moved to open default on any basis (not even during the period when she could have opened default as a matter of right), she never paid costs, and she never offered up a meritorious defense."
Thus, Judicial Watch is entitled to judgment by default "as if every item and paragraph of the complaint were supported by proper and sufficient evidence," a Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled.
To rectify this, Willis may have to pay attorney's fees following the ruling. The court has set a hearing on the attorney's fees award for December 20.
"Fani Willis is something else. We've been doing this work for 30 years, and this is the first time in our experience a government official has been found in default for not showing up in court to answer an open records lawsuit," Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said in a press statement. "Judicial Watch looks forward to getting any documents from the Fani Willis operation about collusion with the Biden administration and Nancy Pelosi’s Congress on her unprecedented and compromised 'get-Trump' prosecution."
Judicial Watch has filed several suits involving Willis.
In January, Judicial Watch lodged another lawsuit against Fulton County for records regarding her hiring of Nathan Wade, whom she tapped to spearhead the prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump on election interference charges. Wade and Willis admitted to engaging in an undisclosed affair while the Trump probe was underway.
At the time, the two lovers took luxury trips together around the world, including trysts in Aruba, Belize, and the Bahamas, allegedly on the taxpayer's dime. Wade reportedly paid for the revelry using portions of the paychecks he earned for his work on the Trump case.
In October 2023, Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), seeking communications between Smith and Willis regarding requests and receipt of federal funding in the Fulton County-level investigation of Trump. To date, the DOJ is refusing to confirm or deny the existence of such records, claiming that to do so would interfere with enforcement proceedings. Judicial Watch's litigation challenging this claim continues.
House Republicans have called on Willis to disclose her crew's contacts with the J6 committee. Willis refused, claiming the request "violates well-established principles of federalism and separation of powers." She told U.S. House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): "You cannot—and will not—be provided access to any non-public information about this."
This month, the Georgia Court of Appeals was supposed to hear oral arguments about the slew of prosecutorial misconduct claims against Willis after a Fulton County judge's non-disqualification decision allowed her to remain in charge of the Trump case. However, the appeals court abruptly canceled the December 5 hearing "until further order." It's still unclear why the proceeding was scrapped.
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