The Fulton County District Attorney's Office this week declined to turn over any new communications between District Attorney Fannie Willis and outgoing Trump special counsel Jack Smith, confirming in a letter. New lawsuit 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 any contact records existed. Between Willis and Smith or Ben Willis and the House January 6 Committee.
Fulton County Prosecutor Fannie Willis looks on during a hearing on a Georgia election interference case in March 2024. (Alex Slitz/USA Today)
Both Smith and the House Select Committee were as well Investigate the alleged efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, putting their investigations squarely in the crosshairs of Judicial Watch and other conservative activists.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney Willis ordered last Monday To produce any records of communications with Smith or the House select committee on Jan. 6 within five business days, and stand by judicial review in determining that Willis did indeed violate the state's open records law by not responding to the lawsuit.
(Willis, for her part, claimed she was not properly served by the group.)
The Fulton County Open Records Department apparently disagrees. In a New lawsuit They said this week that their staff conducted a “diligent search” but did not uncover any records of documents or communications between Willis and Smith, the special counsel. He was 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, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP/Jacqueline Martin)
Furthermore, Open Records Division staff confirmed that any records or documents between Willis and the House Select Committee on January 6 remain “legally exempt” or “exempt from disclosure” to judicial oversight. Under the Georgia Open Records Act, Which in itself protects against disclosure of documents or records arising from the investigation, subsequent indictment or prosecution of the ongoing case Against Trump And his allies.
The filing comes as Willis' actions have come under scrutiny from Republican lawmakers and conservative nonprofit groups.
Members of the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee said Willis asked the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 to share information with her office, leading to further scrutiny of those communications.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, bangs the gavel to begin 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 wide-ranging racketeering indictment filed by the district attorney's office, which accused them of trying to overturn the results of the presidential election.
Charges against Trump in Georgia were put on hold after his lawyers filed an appeal to exclude Willis from the case, citing an alleged conflict of interest.
More 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 status of the case comes as Smith has ended all federal court proceedings against Trump following his 2024 election victory and a long-standing Justice Department policy barring US prosecutors from… Federal criminal charges filed Against the current president.
Fox News Digital's Haley Chi Singh contributed to this report.
