Fani Willis declines to share Jack Smith, Jan. 6 records, in a blow to conservative watchdogs
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office declined this week to turn over any new communications between District Attorney Fani Willis and outgoing Trump Special Counsel Jack Smith, asserting in a new court filing that the documents either do not exist or are exempt from disclosure under Georgia law.
The update was shared Tuesday by Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group that sued Willis in March after her office denied having any records of communication between Willis and Smith or between Willis and the House January 6th Committee.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case in March 2024. (Alex Slitz/USA Today)
Both Smith and the House Select Committee had been investigating alleged efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election—putting their investigations directly in the crosshairs of Judicial Watch and other conservative activists.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered Willis last Monday to produce any records of communication with either Smith or the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 within five business days, siding with Judicial Watch in determining that Willis had indeed violated the state’s open records act by failing to respond to the lawsuit.
(Willis, for her part, claimed she was not properly served by the group.)
The Fulton County Open Records Department appears to disagree. In a new court filing this week, they said that their staff conducted a “diligent search” but had not uncovered any records of documents or communications between Willis and Smith, the special counsel tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to oversee two investigations into the alleged actions of former president Donald Trump.
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Department of Justice, on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
Further, staff for the Open Records Department asserted, any records or documents between Willis and the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 are still “legally exempt” or “exempted from disclosure” to Judicial Watch under the Georgia Open Records Law, which itself protects against the release of documents or records that arose from an investigation, subsequent indictment, or prosecution in the ongoing case against Trump and his allies.
The filing comes as Willis’s actions have come under scrutiny by Republican lawmakers and conservative nonprofit groups.
Members of the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee have said Willis asked the House Select Committee on January 6th to share information with her office, prompting additional scrutiny into those communications.
TRUMP BOOKED AT FULTON COUNTY JAIL AFTER CHARGES STEMMING FROM 2020 ELECTION PROBE
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, strikes the gavel to start a hearing on Capitol Hill. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in Fulton County last year to all charges stemming from a sweeping racketeering indictment brought by the D.A.’s office, which accused them of attempting to overturn the results of the presidential election.
The charges against Trump in Georgia had been on hold after his attorneys filed an appeal to have Willis disqualified from the case, citing alleged conflicts of interest.
Importantly, the charges against Trump in the state have not yet been officially dropped, despite his status as president-elect.
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The case’s status comes as Smith has wound down all federal court proceedings against Trump following his victory in the 2024 election and longstanding Justice Department policy that prevents U.S. prosecutors from bringing federal criminal charges against a sitting president.
Fox News Digital’s Haley Chi-Sing contributed to this report.
