Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has called for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to be arrested following her failure to adhere to a subpoena.
Willis is leading the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump, and is concurrently being investigated by a Republican-led Georgia Assembly State Senate committee.
The Georgia Senate’s Special Committee on Investigations has stated that it is investigating Willis on “allegations of misconduct…relating to potential conflicts of interest and misuse of public funds, to enact new or amend existing laws and/or change state appropriations to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system.”
Tom Williams/Associated Press
The State Senate committee filed a subpoena for Willis to appear in front of them on Friday for “sworn testimony.” However, Willis did not attend, citing the fact that she did not trust the legality of the subpoena itself.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani previously told Newsweek that the Georgia courts will ultimately decide the legality questions around the subpoena, “but these sorts of legislative subpoenas are generally void because of the separation of powers.”
Instead of attending the hearing, Willis was at a re-election fundraiser in Washington on Friday, resulting in ire from Greene.
Former Governor Roy Barnes, who is currently Willis’ attorney, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that Willis “will not appear until there has been a judicial determination of the validity of the subpoena.”
Taylor Greene posted twice to her X (formerly Twitter) account, criticizing Willis’ decision not to attend the hearing, and calling for her to be arrested.
Her first post read: “Fani Willis thinks she is above the law, defying a subpoena from the Georgia State Senate today. Her defiance is absolutely unacceptable. There are very serious questions regarding various potential forms of misconduct.
“This investigation is all the more urgent considering her political persecution of the leading candidate for President. Fani Willis is NOT above the law.”
Fani Willis thinks she is above the law, defying a subpoena from the Georgia State Senate today.
Her defiance is absolutely unacceptable. There are very serious questions regarding various potential forms of misconduct.
This investigation is all the more urgent considering her…
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) September 13, 2024
Her second post read: “Fani Willis should be arrested for ignoring her subpoena.”
According to the 2023 Georgia Code, passed by the Georgia General Assembly, failure to comply with a subpoena can result in punishment for contempt of court, and the person who failed to comply can be faced with a fine of no more than $300, or imprisonment for no more than 20 days, or both.
If Willis did fail to comply with a legal subpoena, then Taylor Greene’s calls for her to be arrested could be heeded by the Georgia General Assembly.
This is not the first time that Willis has become the story in the Georgia election interference case. In March, Nathan Wade, the former Fulton County special prosecutor involved in prosecuting the election interference case, had to step down from the case after it came to light that he and DA Willis had once been romantically involved.
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Taylor Greene and Willis’ teams were contacted for comment outside of work hours.
