Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

Fulton County Prosecutors Coordinated With Jan. 6 Committee Before Indicting Trump

No featured image available

House Jan. 6 select committee staff met with Fulton County prosecutors and allowed them to review certain evidence relating to Georgia while they were conducting their probe into president Donald Trump, according to Politico.

A recent motion by a Trump co-defendant seeking to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis and dismiss the case includes billing statements from special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who Willis appointed and was allegedly involved with romantically, that reference meetings with the committee. These meetings provided prosecutors important information as they prepared to interview witnesses central to the case, according to Politico.

Wade appears to have met four times with the committee, based on billing statements included in the motion submitted by co-defendant Michael Roman. Wade billed $6,000 for 24 hours between April 18 and 21, 2022, under the description, “Team meeting: Conf w/ Jan 6: Research legal issues to prep interv.”

For this meeting, top prosecutors on Willis’ team traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with committee staff, former committee officials reportedly told Politico.

Another billing for eight hours at $2,000 on May 31, 2022, states it was for “Team meeting: Conf w/ Jan 6; SPGJ witness prep.”

Former Jan. 6 committee chairman Democratic Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson told Politico he was not aware of how extensive the staff’s contacts with prosecutors were and did not know about the in-person meeting, though he previously voiced some level of awareness.

“As the January 6th Committee’s final report transparently stated, the Committee shared information — all of which is now public — with prosecutors conducting concurrent, independent investigations,” a former committee aide told Politico.

Former federal prosecutor Sol Wisenberg told Politico the level of cooperation was “highly unusual.”

“They’re using what’s supposed to be a congressional investigation in aid of a prosecution,” he said.

Willis has refused to disclose potential contacts with the committee — as well as the White House — when asked by House Republicans.

“You cannot — and will not — be provided access to any non-public information about this,” she told House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan in a letter dated Dec. 19 and obtained by Politico.