Fani Willis Challenging Open Records Request Raises Questions

A challenge by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to dismiss an open records lawsuit about her office has attracted the scrutiny of one of Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case.

Willis is leading the case against the former president, who is accused in an indictment of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee for 2024 has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

In February, Willis' office was hit by a complaint from Just the News. The news website said the District Attorney's office had failed to comply with the law by not providing requested records of any meetings and communications between Willis or Nathan Wade with White House or Justice Department officials.

Newsweek contacted Willis by LinkedIn to comment on this story.

The request came while Willis was under scrutiny over her relationship with Wade, a special prosecutor she had hired in the case. Former Trump staffer Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the case, said Wade had two meetings with White House employees in 2022. Roman called for Willis to be removed from the case because of the relationship, but, after a hearing, Judge Scott McAfee ruled she could remain if Wade resigned. That decision is being appealed.

In the latest development on the open records complaint, Willis' office said in court papers that it is "an entity not capable of being sued" and has immunities under Georgia law that make it "exempt from disclosure under the Open Records Act."

"Plaintiff's Complaint against the Fulton County District Attorney's Office should be dismissed as a matter of law because the Fulton County District Attorney's Office is not an entity that can be sued," the Fulton County District Attorney's office said in its April filing.

Newsweek contacted the Fulton County District Attorney's office by email to comment on this story.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Harrison Floyd, one of Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia case, questioned Willis' motivations.

"Why are you challenging an open records request and triggering a lawsuit seeking White House communications If you didn't do anything wrong? You have alot to hide for a innocent person." [sic]

Meanwhile, America First Legal (AFL), the legal foundation representing Just the News filed an amicus brief in response to Willis' office, arguing that the Georgia Open Records Act applies to the D.A.'s office as well.

Willis is also facing new scrutiny after the Department of Justice this week reportedly said they have found "inconsistencies" in how her office has spent federal grant money, according to a report in The Washington Free Beacon.