(The Center Square) – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ challenge of a Georgia Senate committee subpoena is on the Supreme Court of Georgia’s docket for Tuesday.
The Senate Special Committee on Investigations subpoenaed Willis to testify about her prosecution of President Donald Trump and others in an election interference case.
Willis sued to quash the subpoena. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Skukura L. Ingram ruled in favor of the Senate committee and Willis appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia.
The committee issued the subpoena after the General Assembly adjourned in 2024, so the committee no longer had the authority to take action, Willis’ attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, said in his brief.
“Under the Senate’s own rules, most committees ‘may not take official action after the adjournment sine die of a session and prior to the convening of the next session unless authorized by statute or by the Senate,'” Barnes said. “The Senate has authorized certain committees to take ‘official action’ after adjournment sine die. But when it has done so, it has done so explicitly.”
Barnes said the case was now moot. Committee Chairman Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, said through attorney Josh Belinfante, that Willis’ delays have not made the case moot at this point. The committee will issue a new subpoena for Willis if the Supreme Court rules in her favor and the process would “repeat again and again.”
Willis previously agreed to appear before the committee at its November meeting, Cowsert said. Willis had a scheduling conflict unrelated to the Senate committee, Evan Bergwall, director of the Senate Communications Office, previously told TCS.
The Senate Special Committee on Investigations will meet again on Dec. 17 or Dec. 18, Cowsert said at the November meeting. He did not say if the committee would hear from Willis.
The election interference case against Trump and the other defendants was dismissed last week after a motion was filed by Peter Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia. Willis was disqualified from prosecuting the case by the courts because of her romantic relationship with the lead prosecutor.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square
