House Republicans are investigating collusion between the since-disbanded partisan Select Committee on Jan. 6 and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose persecution of former President Donald Trump in Georgia culminated in a grand jury indictment.
On Tuesday, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, who is leading the Republican investigation into the Jan. 6 Committee’s conduct, sent letters to Willis and the former Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. In August, Willis charged Trump with 13 counts related to the former president’s efforts to protest aspects of the 2020 election. The Georgia district attorney also charged 18 Trump allies, several of whom have taken plea deals.
In Jordan’s letter to Willis, he wrote, “Although we were aware that your office had coordinated its politically motivated prosecutions with the Office of Special Counsel Jack Smith, we recently learned that your office also coordinated its investigative actions with the partisan Select Committee.”
Jordan referenced a letter from the Fulton County prosecutor to Thompson in December 2021 in which she requested “records that may be relevant to our criminal investigation.” According to lawmakers, Willis sought recordings, transcripts, and records of travel, among other things, and even offered to meet with investigators on the Jan. 6 Committee early last year.
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“Although it is not clear what records, if any, you obtained from your coordination with the partisan January 6 Select Committee,” Jordan added, “this new information raises additional questions relevant to the Committee’s oversight of your politically motivated prosecution of a former President of the United States and several former senior officials.”
Given the Jan. 6 Committee’s track record of manipulating evidence, the Republican told Willis that her potential reliance on the committee’s records “only reinforces concerns about your commitment to due process and whether you have fulfilled your obligations to properly disclose this material.”
Jordan gave the Georgia prosecutor until Dec. 19 to turn over all communications and documents between the J6 Committee and the Fulton County DA’s office, and any other communications the DA’s office possesses “referring or relating to records … obtained” by the Jan. 6 Committee.
In a Tuesday letter to Thompson, Loudermilk raised concerns over the Jan. 6 Committee’s failure to preserve important records. “Clearly,” he wrote, “Ms. Willis agrees that video recordings of witness interviews and depositions are important records.”
Loudermilk gave the Jan. 6 Committee chairman until Dec. 11 to hand over all records related to the partisan panel’s coordination with Willis.
“The coordination between Fulton County, GA District Attorney Fani Willis, and Pelosi’s January 6 Select Committee, should be concerning to everyone,” Loudermilk said in a statement. “This new information raises questions about Willis’ and Thompson’s commitment to due process, and whether House Rules were violated when the Select Committee failed to properly disclose this material. We have serious concerns about this behavior and we are seeking the truth.”
