The Legislature’s subpoena power will be put to the test on Tuesday afternoon, when a judge will hear arguments over whether a state Senate committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can force her to testify.
The fight, before Fulton Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram, is a novel one: the General Assembly’s subpoena power has never before been scrutinized by the courts, according to legal experts. The outcome will also determine whether Willis must publicly answer potentially embarrassing questions about her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the outside attorney she tapped to lead her 2020 election interference case against Donald Trump and his allies.
At issue is a pair of subpoenas issued in August by the Senate Special Committee on Investigations, the panel created by GOP leaders to investigate Willis and her conduct, including whether she misspent any public funds.
Willis’ relationship with Wade could get her disqualified from prosecuting the case. In a separate but related legal fight, a three-judge panel on the state Court of Appeals must decide by mid-March whether a trial court judge erred in allowing the DA to remain on the case.
‘Legislative interference’
The senators sought Willis’ testimony at a Sept. 13 hearing, as well as the production of a trove of documents, including all of the DA’s communications with Wade over the last five years and information about his hiring and the more than $720,000 he was paid over his more than two years overseeing the Trump probe. Lawmakers also sought records of the DA’s dealings with the federal government related to the election case, which led to felony racketeering charges against Trump and 18 others.
Willis has described the committee and its work as highly partisan, aimed at punishing her for pursuing the president-elect. She declined to appear at that September hearing, and that day her legal team, led by former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes, went to court to challenge the summons.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Barnes has argued that the subpoenas are overly broad in their scope, are seeking privileged information and violate constitutional separation of powers by intruding on Willis’ duties as a member of Georgia’s executive branch.
“The subpoenas are a legislative arrogation of executive power, meant to punish and harass a single district attorney for a single prosecution,” Barnes and his colleague John Bartholomew argued in a recent court filing. “And they are legislative interference in the exercise of executive power because they seek to interfere with an ongoing prosecution.”
Barnes and Bartholomew have argued that only the House and Senate Ethics Committees or both chambers of the General Assembly acting together have the authority to compel any action from Willis. Not only that, but the panel issued the subpoenas after the Legislature adjourned for the year, which means the summons are unenforceable, they said.
‘Substantial delay’
The Committee on Investigations, meanwhile, is asking Ingram to require Willis to comply with the subpoenas or find the veteran prosecutor in contempt for failing to obey.
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Led by Athens Republican Bill Cowsert, the panel is arguing that as a committee of the state Senate it possesses “inherent authority” to conduct investigations, which are important tools for lawmakers to gather information as they draft laws, appropriate state dollars and oversee the conduct of public officials — including DAs. Issuing subpoenas, the committee said in a recent court filing, is “often a necessary component of effective investigations.”
“The Special Committee is authorized to investigate the Fulton County District Attorney’s office,” the panel’s attorneys, Josh Belinfante and Vincent Russo, argued in a recent filing. “This is nothing new for the Georgia General Assembly, nor is it, as (Willis) alleges, a partisan interest.”
They said the DA’s refusal to testify and provide documents to the committee “has caused substantial delay in the special committee’s investigation, and has subsequently, hindered the committee’s ability to finish its inquiry and provide the Senate with recommendations for proposed legislation in this area or changes in appropriations.”
Whichever side loses before Judge Ingram is expected to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Cowsert’s panel is limited in how it can act — it lacks the power to prosecute, disbar or directly discipline Willis and its authorization will expire next month as the new legislative session begins. But it can continue to draw the media spotlight on Willis.
Cowsert previously told the AJC that he is also considering broader legislation that would set ethical guidelines for DAs around the state, as well as limit the use of special grand juries and special prosecutors. (Wade was one of three special prosecutors on the case, and Willis utilized a special grand jury earlier in the investigation.)
The special committee isn’t the only legislative body looking into Willis and Wade.
The House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, led by Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, a vocal Trump ally, is carrying out a similar probe. Committee staff members questioned Wade behind closed doors for roughly four hours in October after subpoenaing him. Jordan has similarly threatened to compel Willis’ testimony in Washington, though time is quickly running out before this Congress adjourns for the year.
Willis cruised to reelection last month over a Republican opponent with more than 68% of the vote.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
About the Author
