ATLANTA – A Fulton County judge disqualified Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis Monday from continuing to investigate state Sen. Burt Jones’ alleged role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Jones, R-Jackson, this year’s Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, was among 16 Republicans who formed an alternate slate of electors in December 2020 that sought to reverse the outcome of the November presidential contest that saw Democrat Joe Biden carry Georgia over Republican incumbent Donald Trump.
The GOP electors are among the targets of a special grand jury investigation Willis has launched to probe various efforts to overturn the Georgia results. Other targets include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer; U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; and Georgia Congressman Jody Hice, R-Greensboro.
Jones’ lawyer submitted a motion to disqualify Willis from continuing to investigate Jones because she had hosted a fundraiser last month on behalf of Democrat Charlie Bailey, who is running for lieutenant governor against Jones. The event occurred a week before Bailey defeated former Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall to win the Democratic nomination.
A hearing on the motion was held last week in Fulton County Superior Court. In a seven-page order issued Monday, Judge Robert C.I. McBurney agreed with Jones.
“The district attorney pledged her name, likeness, and office to Bailey as her candidate of choice at a time when, if Bailey were successful (which he was), he would face Senator Jones,” McBurney wrote. “She
has bestowed her office’s imprimatur upon Senator Jones’ opponent. … This scenario creates a plain – and actual and untenable – conflict.”
“Today’s ruling is a huge win for our campaign – but more importantly, for due process and the rule of law in Georgia,” Jones said in a statement following the decision.
The judge’s order prohibits Willis from issuing a subpoena requiring Jones to testify before the special grand jury, or from requiring him to submit any records to the district attorney’s office. She also is prohibited from characterizing Jones as a target of the investigation and can’t ask the grand jury to make any recommendations concerning Jones in its final report.
Those duties now must be turned over to a different prosecutor’s office, as determined by state Attorney General Chris Carr.
Bailey, in a statement issued Monday shortly before the judge’s ruling, accused Jones of seeking to distract the public from his “leading” role in trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
“Burt has shown a continued disrespect for the rule of law, but as a former prosecutor, I believe Burt is subject to the legal system, just like everyone else,” Bailey said.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.