A Fulton County judge is poised to make a decision in the next few weeks on whether Georgia’s state Senate investigation committee can compel District Attorney Fani Willis to testify.
The case, involving the subpoena powers of the Georgia Senate’s special committee, took center stage in a tense, three-hour hearing before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram on Tuesday. The hearing focused on whether the committee, created by Republican leadership in the state Senate, has the legal authority to force Willis, who is spearheading the high-profile racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and his allies, to appear before them.
The Battle Over Subpoena Power
Willis, who has been at the forefront of the investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, has rejected the subpoena issued by the Senate Special Committee on Investigations. In response to the committee’s request, her legal team filed a motion asking Judge Ingram to block the subpoena, arguing that the state’s constitution doesn’t allow individual legislative chambers to issue subpoenas without joint resolution from both the Georgia House and Senate.
The case comes at a particularly sensitive moment in the ongoing investigation, which has already led to criminal charges against Trump and 18 others involved in the alleged scheme. The committee’s formation and Willis’s refusal to comply have stirred partisan tensions, with Republican lawmakers criticizing her conduct and her handling of the Trump investigation.
Roy Barnes, a former Georgia governor and attorney for Willis, laid out the defense argument Tuesday. He emphasized that under state law, subpoena powers for ethics committees can only be granted by a joint resolution between both legislative chambers or through specific statutory authority. According to Barnes, the General Assembly has previously granted subpoena power, but only through a formal legislative process that involves both the House and Senate, not just one chamber acting unilaterally.
Barnes also expressed concerns about the scope of the committee’s inquiry, arguing that it overreached in requesting an extensive amount of documents and intrusive questions. He likened the situation to a hypothetical scenario where one chamber of the legislature could form a committee to investigate the actions of the other, potentially disrupting the balance of power between the legislative bodies.
“Imagine if the Senate decided to form a committee to investigate the House. What if they subpoenaed the speaker?” Barnes said. “It’s a ridiculous idea. The power to issue subpoenas should be carefully guarded.”
The Special Committee’s Focus and Purpose
Despite the legal challenges, the Senate committee maintains that it is within its rights to investigate potential misconduct by Willis, specifically concerning the investigation into Trump. According to Josh Belinfante, the committee’s attorney, the Senate has broad powers granted by the Georgia Supreme Court to issue subpoenas for investigations into state government practices, including the hiring of special assistant district attorneys.
Belinfante argued that the committee isn’t taking a position on the merits of the criminal case against Trump. Instead, its purpose is to review potential reforms to how special prosecutors and district attorneys are appointed and funded in Georgia. In particular, the committee is exploring whether there are budgetary limitations tied to the hiring of special assistant district attorneys, which could have long-term implications for how future investigations are conducted.
“There’s no question whether Fani Willis did something right or wrong—that’s for the Court of Appeals to decide,” Belinfante said. “But the state Senate has the right to investigate the processes surrounding these kinds of appointments, especially when state money is involved.”
As the investigation into Willis continues, the special committee’s role has increasingly become a point of contention in Georgia’s political landscape. The Republican-controlled Senate has raised concerns about Willis’s conduct, citing a February court hearing where it was revealed that she had been in a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she had hired for the case. Critics argue that this revelation raises ethical questions about the integrity of the investigation, though Willis has denied any wrongdoing.
Time Running Out for the Committee
The clock is ticking for the Senate committee, as it is set to dissolve before the start of the new legislative session in January. Given that the committee’s work is limited by time, its leadership, including Chairman Sen. Bill Cowsert, has floated potential reforms to limit the discretion of state prosecutors when appointing special counsel. These proposed changes aim to add safeguards to the process but are not expected to resolve the current dispute with Willis.
As the case moves forward, the judge’s ruling on the subpoena could have significant implications not only for the ongoing investigation into Trump’s alleged election interference but also for the broader question of legislative power in Georgia.
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