Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has come under fire from House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), who has been escalating threats to investigate her office since she indicted Donald Trump on election fraud charges in Georgia – and her no-nonsense stance has been getting praise.
She immediately fought back with a letter effectively warning Republicans in the House to stop interfering in a state prosecution.
And longtime prosecutors who spoke to The Guardian with their insights said that reaction is essential for the rule of law in the country.
“Historically, congressional committees have assiduously honored the bedrock independence necessary for the execution of the criminal prosecutorial function,” said former DOJ fraud investigations chief Paul Pelletier. “It’s particularly rich here where Congressman Jordan, who callously refused to honor a lawful congressional subpoena, now seeks to investigate the motives of a duly elected prosecutor.”
He added that Willis “is not going to countenance purely mischievous interference with her prosecutors. Given the many subtle and not-so-subtle calls to violence by Trump allies, it’s the most judicious path.”
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Other prosecutors warned that Jordan's attacks on Willis risk more than obstructing the investigation, but also increasing the risk of violence and threats against her and the prosecutors working under her.
“The rule of law means nothing to them, and the facts mean nothing to them,” said former DOJ inspector general Michael Bromwich. Members like Jordan don't truly "respect" Trump, he added. But“they are afraid of the political damage he can cause them. That’s why they’ve become his unquestioning puppets.”
All of this comes at a moment when Jordan is also under fire for waging war on researchers trying to combat election misinformation, resulting in threats to their funding and chilling from the risk of legal action. Some Democratic lawmakers, like Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), have suggested that Democrats need to adopt a new strategy to rein in abuse of the majority's committee powers.
