Fani Willis accuses Jim Jordan of trying to obstruct Trump case: ‘You lack a basic understanding of the law’

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis replied to Ohio Republican Rep Jim Jordan’s letter regarding her probe into former president Donald Trump and 18 others, accusing him of attempting to “interfere” with her office’s prosecution.

The congressman wrote a letter to Ms Willis on 24 August, telling her that her 14 August indictment of 19 defendants, a group that includes Mr Trump, implicates “substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated.”

“The timing of this prosecution reinforces concerns about your motivation,” Mr Jordan wrote, insinuating that the Fulton County indictment is “designed to interfere with the 2024 presidential election.”

He also demanded she provide the House Judiciary Committee, for which Mr Jordan serves as chairman, with her communications with the Justice Department, including with special counsel Jack Smith, who has federally indicted Mr Trump twice times.

He asked for the information to be provided no later than 10am on 7 September.

But the Fulton County DA didn’t take Mr Jordan’s words sitting down. She blasted back — on 7 September — writing her own letter telling him that his letter contained “inaccurate information and misleading statements.”

She called his “attempt to interfere with” her office’s “prosecution of state criminal cases” unconstitutional.

Ms Willis continued, “Its obvious purpose is to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous misrepresentations.

“As I make clear below, there is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter, as you attempt to do.”

“The demands in your letter — and your efforts at intruding upon the State of Georgia’s criminal authority — violate constitutional principles of federalism,” she wrote, highlighting the differences between state and federal jurisdictions. “Congress’s lawful prerogative to interfere with states’ administration of their criminal laws is extremely limited.”

She called his “attempt to invoke congressional authority” to interfere with an active criminal investigation in Georgia “flagrantly at odds with the Constitution.”

“Your letter makes clear that you lack a basic understanding of the law, its practice and the ethical obligations of attorneys generally and prosecutors specifically,” she wrote.

Ms Willis also supplied voluntary responses to parts of Mr Jordan’s letter, despite the law permitting her “to ignore your unjustified and illegal intrusion,” she explained.

She wrote that she found his “notion that different standards of justice should apply to a select group” to be “offensive,” adding that Mr Trump’s presidential candidacy “cannot make him legally immune from criminal prosecution.”

Ms Willis also clarified that his claims that she was using the investigation and prosecution for “political benefit” were “unfounded.”

The Fulton County DA concluded the fiery letter by writing that due to his “personal interest” in her office, Mr Jordan should consider directing the Justice Department “to investigate the racist threats” that have been targeting her and her office due to the probe.

She wrote that she does not allow herself “to be bullied and threatened by Members of Congress, local officials, or others who believe lady justice should not be blind and that America has different laws for different citizens.”

The Independent has reached out to Mr Jordan’s office for comment.