(The Center Square) – The Supreme Court of Georgia has received the direct appeal involving Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ attempt to squash a Senate committee subpoena.
The Senate Special Committee on Investigations subpoenaed Wills to testify about her office’s prosecution of President Donald Trump and others. Willis fought the subpoena, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Skukura L. Ingram denied Willis’ effort to quash it.
The Senate committee last met in March and decided to ask Willis’ attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, for some dates when Willis could appear.
“Let’s be nice guys again first,” said Chairman Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, said at the meeting. “Let’s reach out to her counsel and suggest either a Thursday or Friday beginning the last week of April, the first two weeks of May. And if they agree to a date, then we will issue a subpoena. And I believe they will honor their word.”
Willis has still not appeared before the committee.
The committee also instructed Josh Belinfante, an attorney representing the committee, to request that Willis be responsible for any of the attorney’s fees charged to the committee after May 10.
“Make her comply if she won’t, make her pay for your fees, make her do what the judge has already told her she’s got to do,” Cowsert said.
Willis was disqualified from the Trump case because of her personal relationship with the lead prosecutor. She is also appealing that decision.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill last month that would allow defendants to receive “reasonable court costs” if the prosecutor was disqualified from the case. Democrats said the bill was filed at the behest of Trump because of the Georgia case but Republicans denied it.
“There is absolutely nothing in this bill that focuses on a single county nor does it have a sunset for a single issue,” said Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, who presented the bill in the Senate.
