A Georgia state court has reportedly ordered Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to conduct a new and more thorough search for records related to her criminal case against President Donald Trump, Fox News reports. The judge ruled Willis’ previous search methods were inadequate, particularly concerning communications involving key investigators Nathan Wade and Michael Hill, who played significant roles in the probe of Trump’s alleged 2020 election subversion in Georgia. Willis’ interactions with federal bodies and her personal connections to special prosecutor Nathan Wade have drawn particular attention, adding complexity to the high-profile legal battle.
This ruling follows a prolonged effort by the conservative watchdog Judicial Watch, which has pushed to obtain all communications between Willis’ office, the U.S. House January 6 select committee, and former special counsel Jack Smith’s team. Judicial Watch argues that these interactions suggest improper coordination between Willis’ prosecution and federal authorities, undermining the independence of her case, which charged Trump and 18 others with racketeering and related offenses.
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, explained that just the “existence of the interactions showed Willis’ work lacked independence and that her indictment against Trump and 18 others was a ‘political operation’ rather than an ‘honest, good-faith process.’”
The judge also found omissions in Willis’ previous search and required her to submit a comprehensive report on how she searched records within 14 days. According to Fox News, “the order is the latest setback in the case for Willis after a judge ordered her office in January to pay about $22,000 in legal fees to Judicial Watch, finding that she failed to fully respond to the watchdog’s initial open records requests.”
Fitton told Fox News Digital that “the lawsuit is about any collusion and collaboration with Congress and the Justice Department, Jack Smith, and we haven’t seen the documents, but they show that there has been because their very existence shows that they were talking to them.”
The Georgia Court of Appeals ultimately removed Willis from the case, ruling that her romantic relationship with Wade created a conflict of interest. Since that decision, the case has been put on hold indefinitely. However, Willis remains under scrutiny from legal challenges and lawmakers over her handling of the investigation and prosecution.