Fani Willis describes the investigations against her as “unlawful”

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis called a Georgia Senate investigation into her “unlawful” and said she would not testify before it.

Earlier this year, Republicans in the Georgia state Senate created a special committee to “thoroughly investigate allegations of misconduct” against Willis, who is prosecuting former President Donald Trump and 18 others accused of attempting to do so , seeking to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.

Willis, a Democrat, told reporters on May 6 that she had “not broken the law in any way.”

“I don’t even think they have the power to summon me, but they have to learn the law,” she said, adding: “I will not appear at anything that is unlawful and I have not broken the law in any way. “.”

The special committee was formed after Willis was embroiled in a scandal involving a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the case against Trump. It was argued that the relationship was inappropriate and should prevent Willis from continuing to lead the case, but she was allowed to stay on the condition that Wade was removed. Wade has since resigned and the decision to keep Willis on the case is being appealed.

The committee, which met for a hearing on May 3, is investigating Willis’ “potential conflicts of interest and misuse of public funds” while threatening to “enact new or amend existing laws” targeting the district attorney.

Newsweek emailed Willis’ office outside of business hours seeking comment.

During a community event Friday, Willis said the investigation would “disrupt” her business, Atlanta News First reported.

“Isn’t it interesting when we have a lot of African-American prosecutors? Now we need dad to tell us what to do,” Willis said Friday morning. “So you can all put that in your sound bite for today, but today I’m here so I can reach out to my community and it’s really messing up my business.”

She continued: “They can look however they want. The DA’s office did everything by the book. We follow the law. I’m sorry that people get angry when everyone in society can be prosecuted.”

Speak with NewsweekMatthew Mangino, a former district attorney in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, called the investigation “a fishing trip.”

He said: “I’m not sure where this investigation is going. If lawmakers wanted to remove Willis, they could file articles of impeachment — if there were any criminal offenses. The GOP controls the GA House of Representatives. Then the Senate could hold a trial,” where a two-thirds majority is required for conviction and removal.

“This seems like a fishing trip, maybe they’ll find something or just embarrass Willis. They have no reason to impeach him, but in politics you always have a reason to embarrass him.”

After Friday’s hearing, Georgia state Sen. Bill Cowsert, an Athens Republican, told reporters that Willis had an “open invitation” to appear before the committee but would be subpoenaed if they did not testify voluntarily would, Rahul Bali, a political reporter for WABE News in Atlanta, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Willis is up for re-election this year and faces her first challenge in the May 21 primary. Attorney Christian Wise Smith, who ran against her in 2020, is her only challenger. Despite the criticism she has faced, a new poll shows that Willis has expanded her support since she was first elected.