The bad news keeps piling up for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis after her failed prosecution of President Donald Trump.
Georgia’s state Senate has just unanimously approved legislation that could enable Trump and his co-defendants to recover all legal expenses stemming from the Fulton County election interference case that was derailed by Willis and another prosecutors misconduct.
Senate Bill 244, passed Thursday with strong bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats, would allow compensation from counties for attorneys’ fees and other legal costs in criminal cases where a district attorney has been disqualified.
The bill applies to cases that are dismissed or to the cost of arguing for a district attorney’s disqualification.
The legislation comes after Willis was removed from prosecuting Trump’s election interference case by a state appeals court. The court ruled that Willis’ sexual relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she hired with taxpayer money to lead the case, created an obvious disqualifying conflict of interest.
Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted in Fulton County in August 2023 on charges related to their alleged attempts to challenge Georgia’s 2020 election results.
Democratic Party proponents of the bill have emphasized that its benefits extend beyond Trump’s high-profile case. Georgia Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, an Augusta Democrat, supported the legislation by highlighting its broader applications.
“If you have that young person, possession of marijuana, whatever it may be, and the prosecutor has done something wrong and that case is dismissed because the prosecutor did something wrong, they’re entitled to have their attorney’s fees back,” Jones said. “That’s actually something that we probably would have pushed many years ago.”
The Senate also passed a companion bill Thursday that would grant subpoena powers to State and House committees, enhancing the legislature’s oversight capabilities. Both bills follow last year’s establishment of a special Senate committee tasked with investigating “various forms of misconduct” by Willis, including her inappropriate relationship with Wade.
That committee attempted to subpoena Willis for a hearing, but she refused to appear. A judge later ruled the committee had the authority to issue such a subpoena, though the investigation has produced no significant outcomes to date.
The legislative focus appears to be shifting, with Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and other Republicans now expressing interest in investigating Democratic leader Stacey Abrams, who refused to concede her race for governor after she was defeated by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp twice.
Republican lawmakers want to examine recent ethics findings that Abrams’ voter participation group, New Georgia Project, improperly coordinated with her 2018 gubernatorial campaign. They also plan to investigate new claims by new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin that Abrams inappropriately benefited from $2 billion allocated by the Biden administration to organizations focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Abrams has denied receiving any of these funds.
The bills now move to the Georgia House of Representatives for consideration.