The Democrats’ effort to use the criminal justice system against President-elect Trump to influence the outcome of the 2024 election has backfired in more ways than one.
Less than a week after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was booted from the prosecution against the president-elect, a judge ruled that state lawmakers can subpoena her office as part of an investigation into whether she engaged in inappropriate behavior during the proceedings, according to The Associated Press.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram filed the order Monday, telling Willis she has until Jan. 13 to submit arguments over whether the subpoenas seek legally shielded or confidential information. Ingram wrote that the would issue a final order later saying what Willis had to respond to.
Willis, though, wants the ruling overturned.
“We believe the ruling is wrong and will appeal,” former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, who is representing Willis in the case, wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
A state appeals court earlier this month removed Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others, citing an “appearance of impropriety” that might not typically warrant such a removal. The Georgia Court of Appeals panel said in a 2-1 ruling that because of the romantic relationship Willis had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade “this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings.”
Republican state lawmakers issued a subpoena to Willis in August to compel her to testify and provide documents related to Trump’s case. A committee has been investigating Willis over her relationship with Wade and other examples of misconduct.
However, her attorney argued that the Senate committee lacked the authority to compel her testimony and was requesting confidential and privileged information. The committee in October asked the judge to compel Willis to comply with the subpoenas, arguing that her refusal delayed the conclusion of the investigation.
The Georgia Court of Appeals officially disqualified Willis from the Trump case earlier this month.
According to the 31-page decision handed down Thursday, the state’s appeals court ruled that there was, in fact, a conflict of interest that arose when Willis hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade and proceeded to have an undisclosed affair with him during the prosecutorial process.
Applying the “appearance” standard, the three-judge panel—comprised of all GOP appointees—concluded that the “significant” “appearance of impropriety” was indeed “improper.”
“While we recognize that an appearance of impropriety generally is not enough to support disqualification, this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings,” the ruling reads, finding that the lower court’s “remedy” was insufficient.
President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the court’s decision, arguing that the entire case against him should be dismissed. “It was started by the Biden DOJ as an attack on his political opponent, Donald Trump,” he said during an interview with Fox News, “They used anyone and anybody, and she has been disqualified, and her boyfriend has been disqualified, and they stole funds and went on trips.”
After Willis’ attempt to weaponize the justice system against Trump, turnabout is fair play. The fact that she thought it acceptable to appoint Wade to the case even though she had a romantic relationship with him suggests Willis did not believe she would ever be held accountable.
Even more egregious is that Willis still tried to justify her conduct, claiming that the criticism against her was motivated by – you guessed it – racism and sexism and all the left’s favorite buzzwords. If Willis has been up to more misconduct, then this ruling indicates she might regret her decision to prosecute this ridiculous case against the president-elect – especially since it did not produce the desired outcome on Election Day.