Fani Willis’ subpoena dispute heading to Ga. Supreme Court
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Supreme Court of Georgia will hear an appeal from Fulton County DA Fani Willis over whether she can be subpoenaed to testify before a GOP-led state Senate committee.
According to the high court’s docket, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes and three other attorneys will argue in the case sometime in October 2025.
Cowsert, a Republican state senator from Athens, chairs the state Senate Special Committee on Investigations. The group has been examining Willis’ office and her personal relationship with Nathan Wade, a top prosecutor in the district attorney’s historic indictment of Donald Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Return of Fort Gordon name takes effect immediately
About a year and a half after it became Fort Eisenhower, the local Army post will become Fort Gordon again.
In August 2021, Willis handed up a historic series of indictments against Trump, accusing him and 17 GOP allies — including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani — of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
That election saw Joe Biden defeat Trump in Georgia by less than 17,000 votes. On his way to the White House, Biden became the first Democrat since Bill Clinton to carry Georgia or any other deep Southern state.
MORE FROM NEWS 12
Trump 2.0: Latest on the istration
- Trump says he will ‘liberate’ Los Angeles in speech to mark Army anniversary
- Trump says National Guard will stay in L.A. ‘until there’s no danger’
- Hegseth faces sharp questions from Congress on deploying troops to L.A.
- Pentagon says deploying troops to L.A. is costing $134 million
- Trump vows to ‘HIT’ any protester who spits on police
But a since-acknowledged romantic relationship between Willis and Wade threw the case into an entirely new political and judicial spectrum. Now that Trump has become the 47th president, Willis and her prosecution face even more uncertainty.
The Cowsert-led committee sent subpoenas to Willis in August 2024 seeking to compel her to testify during its September meeting and to produce scores of documents. The committee was formed to examine allegations of “various forms of misconduct” by Willis, an elected Democrat, during her prosecution of Trump.
Barnes is arguing that the Senate committee does not have the power to subpoena Willis. He also maintains the subpoenas were overly broad and not related to a legitimate legislative need, saying the committee is seeking confidential and privileged information, as well as private and personal information.
Willis and Wade have acknowledged the relationship but have said it began after he was hired and ended before the indictment against Trump was filed.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
