ATLANTA – The state Senate committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ role in prosecuting President Donald Trump for interfering in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election is giving her until May 10 to testify before the panel.
The Senate Special Committee on Investigations’ Republican majority voted 5-2 along party lines Wednesday to set that deadline for Willis to comply with a subpoena to appear as a witness. If she fails to appear, the committee plans to ask a judge to set a deadline for her to testify.
The committee initially subpoenaed Willis last spring, but she argued the subpoena was unlawful and went to court to block it. A Fulton Superior Court judge upheld the legality of the subpoena in December.
“This has been going on for a year now,” Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, the committee’s vice chairman, said Wednesday. “The district attorney has thumbed her nose at the committee. … We may need to escalate to the next step.”
Josh Belinfante, a lawyer hired by the panel, told committee members Willis’ lawyer – former Gov. Roy Barnes – has said she wouldn’t be available to testify until late next month or early in May, citing her travel and trial schedule. While lawyers for the two sides agreed March 10 that she would submit documents the commission requested, Belinfante said he has yet to receive them.
Barnes argued during a court hearing in December that Senate Republicans were conducting a vendetta to punish Willis for prosecuting Trump. A Fulton grand jury indicted Trump – then a former president – in August of 2023 on charges of participating in a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia that saw Democrat Joe Biden capture Georgia’s 16 electoral votes on his way to turning then-incumbent Trump out of the White House.
Barnes further asserted that the committee lacked the authority to subpoena Willis, a power he said rests only with the full General Assembly. He also contended the subpoenas did not serve any legitimate legislative purpose.
Belinfante countered that investigating Willis’ handling of the election interference case might show existing state laws governing the hiring and compensation of district attorneys in Georgia are inadequate and need changing.