A Georgia judge has ordered Fulton County District Attorney Fani Williams to hand over records related to her communications with special counsel Jack Smith and the US House Committee on January 6 after failing to comply with a request under the Open Records Act (ORA).
The nonprofit Judicial Watch sued Willis in March after his office said it had no documents or communications on file between Willis and Smith or Willis and the January 6 Committee.
But it turned out his office had connections, and on Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered Willis to appear within five business days. McBurney also ruled in his decision that Willis violated Georgia’s open records act by failing to respond to the Judicial Watch lawsuit.
McBurney entered a default judgment after the DA did not mount a ‘good defense.’ Instead, Willis said he was not properly served.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024, in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images)
“Plaintiff is therefore entitled to default judgment as if every count and section of the complaint were supported by proper and sufficient evidence,” McBurney wrote in his decision, while ordering him to pay Judicial Watch’s attorney’s fees. “Here, this means that the Plaintiff found that the Defendant violated the ORA by failing to turn over the records or notify the Plaintiff of its decision to withhold some or all of such records.”
A hearing on attorney fees and costs will be held on Dec. 20, 2024 at 10 am.
“Fani Willis is one. We have been doing this work for 30 years, and this is the first time that a public official has been found guilty of not appearing in court to answer an open case,” Judicial. Watch President Tom Fitton said. “Judicial Watch is looking forward to receiving any documents from Fani Willis regarding her collusion with the Biden administration and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi regarding her unprecedented and compromised ‘get-Trump’ prosecution.”
The documents that Judicial Watch sought to obtain stem from the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into whether Willis is cooperating with the January 6 House Committee on their investigation.
HOUSE JUDGES INVESTIGATE FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ‘INVOLVED’ WITH JAN 6 COMMITTEE
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks at the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
US lawmakers said Willis asked the House Select Committee on Jan. 6. to share the evidence with his office.
Last year, President-elect Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty to all charges related to fraud in an alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Specifically, Willis charged Trump with one count of violating the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives to speak after winning the Democratic primary Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Buckhead, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
The four defendants who were indicted along with Trump have taken steps to enter pleas to testify against the other defendants.
Trump’s team and other defendants previously asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to hold oral arguments to decide whether Willis can continue to prosecute the case.
The charges against Trump have not been officially dropped, although the case remains on hold as Trump and his co-defendants appeal a Fulton County judge’s decision not to recuse Willis from prosecuting the case.
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The Court of Appeal canceled the arguments in November, which had been scheduled for early December.
Fox News Digital’s Haley Chi-Sing contributed to this report.
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