GOP renews calls for DA oversight amid Willis allegations
Speaker Burns pledges to "quickly strengthen oversight" on prosecutors
Republican state leaders are renewing their calls for prosecutorial oversight amid allegations of impropriety against the Atlanta prosecutor who last summer indicted former President Donald Trump and several of his allies for trying to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
A pre-trial motion filed Monday alleges that Nathan Wade, a private attorney that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis hired to help prosecute the case, used more than $650,000 in funds earned from his work to pay for trips with the DA to vacation destinations.
Co-defendant Michael Roman and his attorneys say that Willis and Wade’s alleged romantic relationship is a conflict of interest and is asking a judge to bar the DA’s office from prosecuting the case going forward.
The 127-page document offered no evidence of romantic ties between Willis and Wade nor any documented proof of vacation-related purchases, only referencing “sources close” to the two prosecutors as well as Wade’s divorce filings. But Roman’s attorneys go on to argue that Wade’s hiring itself was unconstitutional because it was never approved by Fulton County commissioners.
A spokesperson for Willis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the DA’s office would respond to the allegations “through appropriate court filings.”
The allegations are already having an impact a few blocks away at the state capitol, where lawmakers recently gaveled back into session. Republican leaders are again expected to take steps toward expanding state oversight of local prosecutors.
State House Speaker Jon Burns called the allegations in the filing “extremely troubling” and added that the public “deserves transparency and the truth” from Willis about what is being alleged.
“We look forward to quickly strengthening oversight of prosecuting attorneys in the coming days to ensure District Attorneys across the state are doing their job to serve the public’s best interest,” the powerful Republican said.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill last year creating an outside panel with powers to investigate complaints made against prosecutors. Some Republican lawmakers asked the panel to sanction Willis shortly after the Trump indictment was announced.
But those oversight efforts hit a roadblock when the state supreme court blocked the new panel from conducting business, ruling that they lacked any legal directive to approve the rules lawmakers set for the panel.
A new version of the law, Senate Bill 332, seeks to remove the top court from the process, allowing the panel to quickly begin investigating complaints. No such measures have emerged in the House yet.
Gov. Kemp, who has previously dismissed calls to punish or oust Willis, has yet to weigh in on the matter.