Jordan asked for information on the use of Willis of federal funding and any conversations his office had with the Justice Department or special counsel Jack Smith, who has brought charges against Trump in both a classified documents case and his actions during the 2020 election. But Willis, in his letter, said Jordan’s “obvious purpose is to obstruct a criminal proceeding in Georgia and advance outrageous partisan misrepresentations.”
“Your attempt to invoke the authority of Congress to interfere and interfere with an active criminal case in Georgia is flagrantly unconstitutional. … There is absolutely no support for Congress seeking to second-guess or in any way oversee a ongoing Georgia criminal investigation and prosecution,” he added in the letter to Jordan.
A spokesman for the Judiciary Committee chairman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Willis’ letter, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO.
The back and forth comes after Willis charged Trump and 18 allies on racketeering charges for trying to subvert President Joe Biden’s victory in the state during the 2020 election. Trump he pleaded not guilty late last month to the chargesthe fourth set he has faced in the last year.
Jordan’s request for information followed a familiar playbook Republicans have taken against Trump’s two other prosecutors, Smith and New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The committee similarly sent a letter to Bragg in the spring, though that investigation fell out of the spotlight as other Trump investigations came to the fore.
House Republicans have few resources to fight Trump’s charges outside of their investigative powers. They could adopt legislation that would allow a former president or vice president to move a case from state to federal courts, or try to channel funds through spending bills, but the Democratic-controlled Senate would almost certainly block those efforts.
Willis, in his letter, provided some details about the federal funds his office receives, one of Jordan’s requests. But the bulk of his letter offered several pointed criticisms of the House GOP’s request, including that it would involve sharing non-public information about an ongoing investigation. And he clearly argued that it was about time he “dealt with some basic realities”.
“The basic premise of your letter is incorrect. The criminal defendant you are concerned about was fully aware of the existence of the criminal investigation being conducted by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in the at which time he announced his candidacy for president. I have no doubt that many Americans are the subject of criminal investigations and prosecutions at one time or another,” Willis wrote.
“Announcing a candidacy for elected office, whether for president of the United States, Congress, or state or local office, is not and cannot be a bar to criminal investigation or prosecution,” he added. “Any idea to the contrary is offensive to our democracy and the fundamental principle that all people are equal before the law.”
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