Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her case against President-elect Donald Trump continue to trip wires in the courts with delays and losses. The latest is a fight with the organization Judicial Watch, which won a major records fight to gain access to any communications with Special Counsel Jack Smith and the House January 6th Committee. While it is not clear what records exist, it is the type of demand that most offices fight vigorously to protect their confidentiality and privileges of deliberation. Willis, however, lost by default after failing to make a substantive argument against the claim.
The Judicial Watch lawsuit was based on the Open Records Act (ORA), and Willis had defenses to make, but she failed to make them. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to hand over records within five business days. McBurney found that Willis violated Georgia’s Open Records Act by failing to respond to Judicial Watch’s lawsuit.
He wrote that Willis did not make any “meritorious defense” and that “Plaintiff is thus entitled to judgment by default as if every item and paragraph of the complaint were supported by proper and sufficient evidence.”
The case against Trump is on appeal after the court decided not to disqualify Willis from prosecuting the case.
Willis will also now have to pay Judicial Watch’s attorney’s fees. The hearing on the fees will appropriately come just before Christmas for Judicial Watch on Dec. 20, 2024. That will add to the towering costs for the people of Atlanta in funding this high-profile adventure.
Of course, she can insist “it is not my fault, it’s the default.”
Here is the order: Judicial Watch v. Willis
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Wake up! DEI did not start a few years ago. A public official that not only fails to respond to record requests to her office, she fails to respond with arguments to a court hearing the matter? And this public official is a lawyer that serves in a public position meant for a lawyer? Disgrace!
DEI has been going on for decades in academia and thus reflected in the products of those institutions. And you are now seeing the result: Incompetent professionals that are nothing more than stooges for the powers that be. They waste the public’s resources and threaten the well-being of every citizen with their incompetence. Worse, they degrade the very accomplishments of those that rightfully and competently acquired their accomplishments through merit.
Dear Mr. Turley, poor Ms. Willis bit off more than she can chew. My thought is that she is guilty of RICO law herself by coordinating with the White House and with the folks involved with the classified documents case. Her lover, Nathan Wade took more than one trip to the White House. I agree with “hullbobby’s” thoughts 100 percent!!
* I’m just not sure who was the swindler and who the shill. Wade sees a stooge and takes the opportunity? Fani plays wade as a stooge for kickbacks? RICO. taxpayer money just like the Bidens.
* Trump will be able to help those in Georgia still fighting the Willis charges. Commutation is in order. That’s good.
Here’s hoping the stupid sow ultimately gets to spend a few years wearing orange jamas in a fortified concrete condo with bars on the windows.
Uh huh… that photo of “Fonnie” (Fanny?) is hilarious.
Judicial Watch’s FOIA requests uncovered Hillary’s use of a personal email server to conduct State Dept business, the deletion of 30,000 emails without notifying the National Archives, and 52 violations of the Espionage Act, for which she was never prosecuted, per Strzok and Comey.
Poor Fani, She was riding the Political-Merry-Go-Round and reached for the Brass Ring and missed it.
Here is a fun analysis of the Canadian network’s coverage of election night:
@Floyd: a few miles away from here in Montana, up in British Columbia those Canadians regularly refer to the CBC as “The Communist Bolshevik Corporation”. The slightly further away Albertans that head here for recreation after working their dirty, nasty oil patch jobs as rig pigs say pretty much the same thing.
The Trudeau-controlled CBC might be hated even more in Canada than CNN and MSNBC are hated a few miles south here in America.
Does that video make any mention of how many tens of millions of taxpayer dollars that Trudeau selectively gifted to networks that provided the right version of political news to Canadians about their government? I will share that with our Canadian neighbors who have second homes here by us here in Whitefish.
Trudeau to give CBC even MORE taxpayer money
$1.2 billion isn’t enough for Canada’s state broadcaster, so the Liberals are giving them more of your money.
https://www.toronto99.com/2022/11/06/trudeau-to-give-cbc-even-more-money/
As if the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) wasn’t funded well enough, Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government plan on giving them an extra $42 million.
Canadian taxpayers already contribute $1.2 billion to the CBC each year while their programming is openly leftist and supportive of the Liberal Party while always critical of the opposing conservatives.
Was Fani exhibiting symptoms of the “angry black woman” when she refused to answer the motion??? There is such a thing.
“In the aftermath of slavery and the resulting social, economic, and political effects, Black women have become the victims of negative stereotyping in mainstream American culture. Such stereotypes include the myth of the angry Black woman that characterizes these women as aggressive, ill tempered, illogical, overbearing, hostile, and ignorant without provocation. Symptoms presented by Black women during mental health treatment may reinforce this myth. ”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24188294/#:~:text=Such%20stereotypes%20include%20the%20myth,treatment%20may%20reinforce%20this%20myth.
Fani Willis is not qualified to hold such a position but the voters?? of Fulton County elect her and a number of so-called Judges and etc.?? Perhaps Fani was in private conference with her advisor? Nathan Wade and was not able to make it to the court? Perhaps a Shredder Truck has shown up at Fulton County offices? Perhaps Judicial Watch should also look into Financial Records? Also lets not forget Fani and Nathan’s trips to DC/White house and VP Harris office according to documented records? This whole case against Pres. Trump and associates smells of Lawfare by the DEMS/Biden Team. Lets see what is turned over, most likely empty folders? and lost electronice records?.
Fani would likely be happier, 1 Trillion reasons worth, if she moved to Vietnam, given her history of Sex, Lies and Fulton County
zerohedge
@zerohedge
VIETNAM TREASURY SELLS 1 TRILLION DONG
https://x.com/zerohedge/status/1864182376261144641
/s
🤡
Imagine that. Fani, “had defenses to make, but she failed to make them.” “Willis did not make any “meritorious defense” and that “Plaintiff is thus entitled to judgment by default as if every item and paragraph of the complaint were supported by proper and sufficient evidence.”
Seems to be a lot of failures on the part of Democrats and their lawfare.
Professor Turley writes, “The case against Trump is on appeal after the court decided not to disqualify Willis from prosecuting the case.”
Not disqualified?!? Apparently, the only qualifications needed in Fulton County are recklessness and ineptitude.
The entire panoply of prog/left cases of lawfare against Trump seem to be following the same path as “Jarndyce and Jarndyce” from Dickens’ “Bleak House”. A bottomless Pitt that eventually consumed everything but the profits made by the lawyers. I do hope the democrat party meets the same end – consumed by their own blind obsessions.
Jarndyce sounds suspiciously like jaundice. A nice way of associating lawfare with disease. An all too apt description of the current state of our country.
I have no sympathy for the voters of Fulton County. They re-elected this lady so they can bear the costs of employing her. Much of Atlanta is in Fulton County but major parts of Fulton County are not in Atlanta. Wonder what other costs the county will bear in light of her actions. Maybe there will be some striking of line items for Fulton County that might have come from the Federal Government but I suspect the House of Representatives may be disinclined to fund that County. Serves them right. Await the copies of the communications.
(Just for notice I grew up in Fulton County, Ga. But I left in 1974 never to return to the city or county. Except to visit family)
@GEB: I have no sympathy for the voters of Fulton County. They re-elected this lady so they can bear the costs of employing her.
Any sympathy for the American citizens of this country. After all, we DID elect Obama twice and then for an encore rejected Trump to give us Obama’s Third Term?
We elected them, so we rightly can bear the costs of employing them in the White House because do to electing them we deserve the costs?
everyone knows that some random Democrat Judge will say this lawfare is fine. Name me ONE TIME A Lawfare judge was punished…with JAIL?
* Yep, there’s a real octopus of RICO reaching throughout the fed branches, states, locals, media, education, medicine, private industry that it reaches into science fiction levels. The hydra…
I heard Biden was going to pardon every democrat for every crime past, present and future.
Since Democrats don’t have to follow laws.
Guyventner-Then Democrats might start falling out of windows and the Republicans can say that the Russians did it. Since Defenestration followed by death is uncommonly common in Putin’s Russia.
But … it will be the taxpayers who pay the attorney’s fees of Judicial Watch! If, by some chance, it were she who must pay, she will say she doesn’t keep that much cash on hand – just enough to pay for vacations, dates with her current romantic interest, etc.
it is TIME to start jailing lawless judges, DAs, AGs…as they are trying to Destroy the USA
BTW it is illegal to FUND candidates with the express desire to destroy communities.
If we don’t sart jailing these people the USA is going to fail!
Voting Democrat at this point…means you Hate America
A local DA working with the WHITE HOUSE to JAIL a former president…is Conspiracy BTW!
BTW it is illegal to FUND candidates with the express desire to destroy communities.
No, it is not. Stop making stuff up.
“We The People” are, in the end, totally responsible for ALL the scum residing within our governments. And “We The People” are the ultimate cure.
Maybe we should begin pronouncing her name as –
She is a Democrat so it won’t end up mattering. Willis will claim there are no emails or records of discussions with Jack Smith or the House Committee, she will destroy whatever records there are and she will skate as all Democrats end up skating. Did Hilary destroy records? Was Holder charged with contempt? Did Garland or Mayorkas end up paying any price? Did Comey? Did Strozk or Paige? Even Kevin Clinesmith didn’t go to prison. No, only Roger Stone, Peter Navarro, Paul Mannaford and Steve Bannon went to jail.
Yep. Hillary will probably lend her the ball-peen hammer.
🔨🧒
Make up your mind: Williams or Willis. You have the former three times, the latter five times. Perhaps the AI writing bot/intern needs a reboot?
Maybe it is auto-correct.
Still needs to be edited/corrected because it is confusing/wrong.
Would also help to have one sentence reminding those of us who don’t follow this closely what why Willis and Jack Smith are linked here.
Do tell…
I love this site, I look forward to every column, I enjoy agreeing (and disagreeing) with fellow readers of the site and I think Professor Turley is a true gem, but this particular column is a mess and needs serious tightening up.
I do wonder what the Professor would say to one of his aspirant student lawyers who muddled the names of key players in practice legal documents?
On a separate angle, I would gently observe that whilst not knowing quite how the fragrant lady chooses to pronounce her Christian name, in my country “Fanny” is a vulgarism for the vagina. Which is why “Fanny” as a shortening of the female name “Frances” has completely faded from usage in society. Just saying!
Oliver R. — In the U.S., ‘fanny’ refers to the glutis maximus as in “I spanked her on the fanny.”
Gluteus Maximus, i.e., buttocks
Good for you, Davy! Good for you!
I am well aware of what it means in American idiom. I am highlighting what it means in the King’s English. At least one cannot blame the moronic Noah Webster for this divergence 🙂
@David @’Olliver’ @Anonymous
It is fascinating watching you talk to yourself. Truly.
James, you are wrong.
James is delusional, his only way of rationalising his delusions is to project his delusions onto others…
Ms Willis is an exemplar of what many of us foreign friends of the USA find most corrupt: the election of justice officials, be it judges or prosecutors. It is funny how the Supreme Court attracts so much Democrat bile, but of course, whatever the views of the SCOTUS justices, left or right wing, they have been appointed by the President and then have gone through a challenging confirmation process. So not untouched by politics, but usually not corrupted by politics. Not elected on a platform of, “I am going to get so and so,” versus “I am going to uphold the law without fear or favour.” This election of justice officials really is the worst aspect of your constitution.
Ms Willis is an exemplar of what many of us foreign friends of the USA find most corrupt: the election of justice officials… This election of justice officials really is the worst aspect of your constitution.
Yes, purely political appointments of judges for life by politicians in power as is done in the UK, unlike state judges who get electoral review is just SO much better! Like those completely unbiased justices appointed to the Ninth Circus. Like those completely unbiased and apolitical justices appointed to SCOTUS by Obama and Biden!
Let’s hear a rousing UK cheer for the American models of UK superior court appointed judges for life, unthreatened by electoral review: the two DEI Hires on SCOTUS today arguing that refusing to allow minor children to choose sexual mutilation is just like banning interracial marriage. And that mutilating sex surgery on minor children is really no different than taking over the counter aspirin.
Meanwhile, a second supportive rousing UK cheer for Fanni Willis’s little fvck partner, the unelected prosecutor who she paid millions of dollars – the boy toy with no worries of electoral recall.
And how about that other model of the USA doing it the UK way: Special Counsel Jack Smith, brought back by political appointment to serve Biden a second time, to have his second go at taking out the most dangerous Republican nominee to a Democrat president being reelected.
With “friends” like Oliver Reeder and their beliefs on what’s right for the USA… who needs enemies? We can create our own problems without additional help from “friends” like that.