The district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, responded to reports that a cyberattack targeted the county’s court system, saying that her case against former President Donald Trump and others wasn’t impacted.
“This incident has been reported to law enforcement and is under active investigation,” the statement added. “Fulton County departments and agencies are continuing operations, but many major technology systems affecting service to the public and internal operations are still unavailable.”
County spokesperson Jessica Corbitt told news outlets on Jan. 30 that there was no estimate for when the outage would be repaired. Most county offices remained open, though certain transactions were limited, according to the county’s website.
The FBI office in Atlanta confirmed to media outlets that it was aware of the breach and had been in contact with the county’s information technology department but declined to discuss specifics.
The racketeering and election-related case against the former president and more than a dozen others wasn’t impacted, according to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Visitors to the website that houses Fulton County’s online court records were greeted by a message saying it was “temporarily unavailable.”
Additionally, the county’s statement said, the Atlanta Police Department was not sending emails to or opening emails from the district attorney’s office out of concern for its own systems. That was hindering prosecutors’ work because about 85 percent of their cases come from Atlanta police.
A Fulton County grand jury in August indicted President Trump and 18 others. They’re accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to try to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Four people have already pleaded guilty after reaching plea deals with prosecutors. But the former president and the others who remain have pled not guilty.
Officials have not signaled whether they believe the cyberattack was launched against the county due to the case against President Trump and the others.
This all comes as a defendant in the Trump case, Michael Roman, recently filed a court motion arguing that Ms. Willis should step down from the case because she allegedly engaged in an “improper” and “clandestine” relationship with her special prosecutor in that case, Nathan Wade.
Later, President Trump’s attorneys joined that motion, adding that Ms. Willis also made inflammatory, racially charged statements in response to the allegations.
Neither Ms. Willis, a Democrat, nor Mr. Wade have publicly confirmed or denied the relationship allegations. A lawyer for Mr. Roman, Ashleigh Merchant, told a local media outlet that she is preparing to obtain more evidence and witnesses to back up her allegations.
Some legal analysts and Democratic officials have suggested that Ms. Willis step down from the case.
Mr. Roman’s court papers also claim that Mr. Wade used county-provided taxpayer funds to take Ms. Willis on vacations. There also have been reports that he participated in multiple meetings with White House officials.
Cobb County Judge Henry R. Thompson said in a Jan. 30 order that the parties involved in the divorce came to an “agreement as to all issues presently before the Court” and that the agreement is “just and proper in these circumstances.”
Attorneys for Jocelyn Wade had issued a subpoena to Ms. Willis in the divorce proceedings, which Ms. Willis had tried to fight.
Ms. Willis, an elected Democrat, is up for reelection in 2024. How she responds to the allegations might turn into a problem for her campaign.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s office has until Feb. 2 to respond to the Roman allegations in writing to Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the Trump case.
