Georgia state Sen. Colton Moore said he remains committed to his efforts to defund Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis despite a lack of support from his fellow Republican legislators.
The senator has called for a special session of the Georgia Assembly to defund Ms. Willis’s office and launch an investigation into her professional conduct amid her prosecution of President Donald Trump for alleged election interference.
To secure the special session, Mr. Moore needs the support of three-fifths of each legislative chamber, but he has yet to drum up enough support—even within his own caucus.
“Republicans are the ones standing in the way,” he told The Epoch Times. “I only have three signatures on this. We’ve been at this now for three weeks. I’m gaining a signature a week—at that rate, we don’t make it.”
Yet despite the slow progress, he said he would not be deterred from his goal of holding the district attorney to account—even if it meant being sanctioned by his fellow senators.
Politically Charged
Ms. Willis is prosecuting President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants for their alleged roles in what she claims was a racketeering conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
The 41 charges filed in the 98-page indictment include violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, forgery, and impersonating a public officer, among others.
The Aug. 14 indictment was the fourth to be brought against the 45th president in just over four months. As with the preceding cases, President Trump has maintained that the latest is a politically motivated attack aimed at thwarting his presidential ambitions.
https://twitter.com/realColtonMoore/status/1692175623391957219
Mr. Moore, who is also of that view, said the indictment was “absolutely just ridiculous.”
“It just makes your blood boil when Mark Meadows is being charged in a racketeering conspiracy for simply visiting an election site where they were counting votes,” he said. “You know, some of the evidence is nothing more than a tweet calling the election fraudulent. So, these individuals’ First Amendment rights were violated, and this district attorney is using my constituents’ tax money to fund this type of political persecution.”
The senator added that it was arguable whether Ms. Willis even has the jurisdiction to bring such a case, given that many of the alleged crimes occurred at the Georgia State Capitol.
‘No Time to Wait’
President Trump has spoken out in support of Mr. Moore’s efforts to investigate Ms. Willis, saying the senator deserves thanks for his “courage and conviction.”But the former president’s backing, though meaningful to constituents, has yet to convince other state lawmakers to join the cause.
“Republicans are the ones standing in the way,” Mr. Moore said. “I only have three signatures on this. We’ve been at this now for three weeks. I’m gaining a signature a week—at that rate, we don’t make it.”
He added that those Republicans who had yet to join him in taking action against Ms. Willis were defying the wishes of their constituents. In Chatham County, for instance, the Republican Party voted unanimously to support his efforts, yet their Republican state Sen. Ben Watson has not signed on in support of the special session.
And that reluctance, Mr. Moore said, is likely due to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s opposition.
“Right now, they’re being pushed up—by constituents, by the people that they represent—they’re being pushed up against the governor, and it’s a difficult position for them,” he said.
“We have a law in the state of Georgia that clearly outlines the legal steps that can be taken if constituents believe their local prosecutors are violating their oath by engaging in unethical or illegal behavior,” he said on Aug. 31. “As long as I am governor, we’re going to follow the law and the Constitution, regardless of who it helps or harms politically.”
The governor also said that he had “not seen any evidence” that Ms. Willis’s conduct was deserving of a review by the state’s Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission—an oversight commission formed under a recently enacted law.
Some state legislators, rather than sign on for a special session, have proposed lodging complaints with the commission. But Mr. Moore said those legislators are simply trying to pass their responsibilities off onto someone else.
“You see a lot of a lot of finger-pointing by representatives, by senators, to solutions to the problem. But notice when they point their fingers at those solutions, those solutions don’t fall under their constitutional jurisdiction as a legislator,” he said, noting that the legislature has no control over the prosecutorial commission.
“Do your job as a representative, do your job as a senator, call for a special session … and let’s defund Fani Willis.”
“It gives them the power—ironically, through the Fulton County Superior Court—to subpoena any documents or persons to launch an investigative process,” he said. “So, that’s what I’m pushing for right now, and I’m steadfast in doing so.”
But to move forward, Mr. Moore acknowledged that he was going to need the support of his fellow legislators. That’s why he has started encouraging constituents to contact their state representatives and get on board.
“[Lawmakers are] doing everything they can to not do anything,” he said. “They’re hiding under their desks. We have a constitutional crisis in this state, and there is no time to wait.”
The Epoch Times has contacted the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and the office of Georgia Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch for comment.
