House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) launched a probe into if Fulton County’s district attorney coordinated the indictment of former President Donald Trump with federal officials.
Just hours before Trump is expected to be arraigned in Fulton County, Jordan opened an investigation on Thursday into Fulton County’s District Attorney Fani Willis, requesting all records related to the Trump indictment and if Willis communicated with Special Counsel Jack Smith or any federal officials. The special counsel indicted Trump in Washington, D.C., for challenging the 2020 election.
“Your indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated,” Jordan wrote Willis.
“You did not bring charges until two-and-a-half years later, at a time when the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination is in full swing,” he said. “Moreover, you have requested that the trial in this matter begin on March 4, 2024, the day before Super Tuesday and eight days before the Georgia presidential primary.”
“The timing of this prosecution reinforces concerns about your motivation,” Jordan wrote:
The House Committee on the Judiciary (Committee) thus may investigate whether federal law enforcement agencies or officials were involved in your investigation or indictment. It may also investigate whether DOJ raised any concerns about how your investigation impacted federal interests, and if so, whether and how those concerns were resolved.
Willis previously denied any contact with Smith.
“I don’t know what Jack Smith is doing, Jack Smith doesn’t know what I’m doing. In all honesty, if Jack Smith was standing next to me, I’m not sure I would know who he was. My guess is he probably can’t pronounce my name correctly,” Willis told local media before she filed charges against Trump.
Jordan requested Willis respond to his request no later than 10:00 a.m. on September 7, 2023.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.