Judge Issues Rebuke to Georgia Prosecutor Investigating Trump

Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis in her office on Jan. 4, 2022. Ben Gray/AP Photo

A judge overseeing the Fulton County grand jury probe into the 2020 election and former President Donald Trump criticized local District Attorney Fani Willis Thursday for partaking in a fundraiser against an individual she is investigating.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney issued a rebuke of Willis during a hearing because she took part in a fundraiser for Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Charlie Bailey last month. Bailey is facing off against Republican candidate Burt Jones, who was informed by the Fulton County DA’s office that he’s being investigated as part of their probe.

“I don’t know that it’s an actual conflict, but … it’s a ‘what are you thinking’ moment,” McBurney told Willis, according to local media. “If we’re trying to maintain confidence that this investigation is pursuing facts in a nonpartisan sense … that strikes me as problematic.”

He told her that her appearance is “not a lowercase ‘a’ appearance. It’s like a capital ‘A’ with flashy lights fundraiser with the district attorney for the political opponent of someone I’ve named a target of my investigation, where I’m the legal adviser to the grand jury, and I’m on national media almost nightly talking about this investigation.”

“That’s problematic,” the judge continued. However, he stopped short of ruling to remove her from the inquiry.

What the Lawyers Say

Anna Green Cross, a lawyer representing the Fulton County DA’s office, said that the fundraiser was held while Bailey was still competing in a Democratic runoff election, and it was not clear which candidate would face Jones. She said the event was held several weeks before a notice was sent to Jones about the investigation.

But attorneys for Jones argued that Willis’s actions merit her removal from the investigation and suggested that Georgia’s attorney general appoint a new district attorney, court documents show.

“I suspect given the list of good Democratic district attorneys in this state that we can find somebody who doesn’t have a conflict and hasn’t hosted a fundraiser for either one,” Jones’s attorney William Dillon said Thursday, reported CNN. “Because certainly if somebody hosted a fundraiser for Senator Jones, the attorney general shouldn’t nominate that person either. Find somebody who doesn’t have a dog in the hunt. Fani Willis had a dog in this hunt.”

Jones was asked to appear before the grand jury as a witness on July 26, it was reported. He secured the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor in May.

Officials say that he took part in a meeting with 16 others who were deemed alternative electors following the November 2020 elections, according to court documents. The grand jury has issued subpoenas to some of those alternative electors, documents show.

Several high-profile Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have been called to testify in the case. Former President Donald Trump has criticized the inquiry and has denied wrongdoing.