Georgia Senate votes to create committee to investigate Fani Willis

by Lauren Irwin - 01/26/24 5:08 PM ET

FILE - Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. An Alabama man has been indicted on federal charges that he threatened violence against the Georgia prosecutor and Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff Patrick Labat related to an investigation into former President Donald Trump. The indictment was returned Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, and unsealed Monday, Oct. 30. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File) — FILE – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. An Alabama man has been indicted on federal charges that he threatened violence against the Georgia prosecutor and Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff Patrick Labat related to an investigation into former President Donald Trump. The indictment was returned Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, and unsealed Monday, Oct. 30. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

The Georgia State Senate voted Friday to create a special committee to investigate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis after Republican senators said she misspent tax dollars in her criminal prosecution of former President Trump.

The committee is tasked with making recommendations on state laws and spending based on its findings. It doesn’t require approval from the Georgia House or Gov. Brian Kemp (R). It cannot directly sanction Willis, The Associated Press reported.

The state Senate vote was 30-19.

While Republicans say the committee is necessary to determine whether Willis misused tax money, Democrats say it is a partisan attempt in honor of Trump.

Willis has been hit with allegations of a romance between her and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she appointed as the head of Trump’s 2020 election interference case.

Trump’s supporters have argued the alleged relationship between Willis and Wade is evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.

Willis has not responded publicly to the allegations but defended Wade’s qualifications in a speech on Jan. 14. Wade’s divorce case shows credit card statements purchasing plane tickets for him and Willis to Miami and San Francisco, the AP reported.

Most of the Republicans who reportedly supported creating the special committee also backed Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential results after the state went for President Biden.

The text of the bill said if Willis and Wade’s relationship was proven to exist, it would “constitute a clear conflict of interest and a fraud upon the taxpayers of Fulton Country and the State of Georgia.” It would establish grounds for Willis to recuse herself and appoint someone new to the cases instead of Wade.

“Today, Republicans voted to punish an elected official for telling the truth. The GOP wouldn’t even hear what we had to say,” Georgia State Democrats posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “You can’t claim to be the party that stands for our rights and freedoms anymore.”

“Today was all about red herrings. We want to know the truth about Trump’s attempt to steal the 2020 election. The GOP doesn’t. They’re doing everything they can to shift attention from what matters — the former President’s crimes,” they said in another post.