Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been ordered to pay nearly $22,000 in legal fees after a Georgia court ruled she “blatantly ignored” an open records request from the conservative group Judicial Watch. The request, submitted in August 2023, sought communications between Willis and special counsel Jack Smith, as well as the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Within a day of receiving the request, the Fulton County District Attorney’s office informed Judicial Watch that it had no “responsive records” related to the inquiry. However, Judicial Watch later discovered a document, which they had uncovered independently, that should have been included in the District Attorney’s records. This prompted the group to file a lawsuit in March 2024, seeking compliance with the request.
Despite the initial lack of response, the District Attorney’s office repeatedly denied having any relevant documents. Willis’ office asserted that any communications with Smith or the House committee were either non-existent or exempt from disclosure. It wasn’t until December 2024 that Willis provided an undated, two page memo she had sent to the House panel an item Judicial Watch had already found on its own.
In his January 3 ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney criticized Willis’ office for disregarding the Open Records Act (ORA). McBurney stated that the District Attorney’s office had not conducted any meaningful search for the requested records and falsely informed the Open Records Custodian that no responsive documents existed. When the documents were finally discovered, Willis’ office attempted to classify them as exempt from disclosure, which McBurney found unacceptable, even if the exemptions were valid. For more updates check our YouTube channel.
“The ORA is not optional,” McBurney stated, emphasizing that the failure to comply had clear legal consequences. He ordered Willis to pay Judicial Watch $21,578 for attorney and legal fees, a penalty for violating public transparency laws. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton condemned Willis for obstructing justice, stating,
“We want the full truth about what she was hiding her office’s political ties to the Pelosi January 6 committee aimed at targeting Trump.”
The group is now requesting that a special master be appointed to oversee a more thorough search for additional responsive records. Willis, who was recently disqualified from continuing her racketeering case against former President Trump, faces further scrutiny amid allegations of improper conduct in her handling of the case.
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