The Georgia Senate approved the creation of a committee to investigate Fani Willis, the prosecutor in the case that accuses Trump of electoral interference in the Peach State. State Republicans accused the official of wasting public money in the criminal proceedings she is carrying out against the former president. She had also been accused of misconduct for an alleged affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
The text was presented by Greg Dolezal (R), the Georgia Senate Transportation Committee chairman, and was approved with 30 votes in favor and 19 against. This SR 465-type resolution does not require the endorsement of the House of Representatives or that of Governor Brian Kemp.
Therefore, the Georgia Senate established a Special Senate Investigations Committee to examine whether Willis has potential conflicts of interest related to her hiring of special prosecutor Wade, with whom she was allegedly having an affair.
BREAKING: The Georgia State Senate, in a 30-19 vote, has sanctioned the establishment of a committee to probe allegations of an affair involving Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. pic.twitter.com/8a8AH86rvy
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 26, 2024
“Let’s see where the facts take us. (...) The reality is, as these new facts have come to light, it has caused great concern not only for us, but constituents all over [the] state of Georgia,” said Senator Dolezal.
The resolution directly accuses Willis and Wade of “profiting significantly from the prosecution at the expense of taxpayers,” alleging that Willis paid large sums to Wade, who allegedly took advantage of the funds to take her on trips to Napa Valley, Florida and the Caribbean.
What is Trump being accused of in Georgia?
Joe Biden defeated Trump in Georgia by about 11,779 votes in 2020, after more than 5 million were cast in the state. The Republican’s legal team unsuccessfully tried to prove electoral interference and enough fraud cases to twist the numbers, which Willis ended up using to accuse Trump.
The prosecutor has been leading the investigation from the beginning and is trying to determine whether Trump violated state laws by trying to overturn President Biden’s victory in Georgia. On the other hand, the former president accuses Willis of being biased against him, something he already presented before Judge Robert McBurney of the Fulton County Superior Court. The magistrate has ruled against Willis in the past, notably when he ruled that she could not bring a criminal case against Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, one of 16 Trump supporters who filed false documents claiming to be the state’s presidential electors.
According to McBurney, the prosecutor had a conflict of interest because she had spearheaded a fundraiser for Jones’ Democratic rival in the lieutenant governor’s race. The New York Times reported that “Willis wrote a letter to law enforcement officials in April that a decision on any charges against Trump or others would be made between July 11 and Sept. 1.”
