Georgia state Senate approves special committee investigation into Fani Willis

By Shirin Faqiri, CNN

(CNN) — The Georgia state Senate on Friday passed a resolution creating a special committee to investigate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis amid allegations of an improper affair with her lead prosecutor in the 2020 election subversion case against former President Donald Trump.

The resolution, which cleared the GOP-controlled state Senate 30-19, allows the special committee to subpoena people and evidence while putting witnesses under oath for their testimonies. At the end of its investigation, the committee will submit a report “that will recommend any changes to either legislation or appropriations,” according to state Sen. Greg Dolezal, who introduced the resolution.

“This resolution is about an officer of the state of Georgia, within a subdivision of the state of Georgia, and how they are using state funds,” Dolezal said on the Senate floor. “This falls squarely within what we should be talking about and what we should be addressing.”

The allegations against Willis and Nathan Wade first surfaced in a 127-page court filing earlier this month by former Trump 2020 campaign official Mike Roman, who was indicted over his role in the fake electors plot in Georgia.

Roman alleges that Wade is romantically involved with Willis and used money he billed the district attorney’s office for his work on the case to take her on lavish vacations.

Willis and Wade have not directly addressed the accusations, and the Fulton County district attorney’s office has not yet commented on the allegations specifically. The judge overseeing the case against Trump has given Willis until the end of next week to reply in writing to the allegations to the court.

In comments Willis made at Atlanta’s Big Bethel A.M.E. Church earlier this month, the DA defended her team of prosecutors in the case, calling into question why only one of the three prosecutors was being attacked.

“Is it that some will never see a Black man as qualified – no matter his achievements? What more can one achieve? The other two have never been judges, but no one questions their credentials,” Willis remarked.

The situation brings yet another twist in the multiyear effort to punish those involved in attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.

Legally, it is unlikely to kill the case, but this could be a big political gift to Trump, who is seeking to discredit the Georgia charges as illegitimate and politically motivated.

The-CNN-Wire
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