{"id":76255,"date":"2024-09-13T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T09:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/d16448349aa51a93fe8f60326c68942c"},"modified":"2024-09-13T09:00:13","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T09:00:13","slug":"fani-willis-likely-to-defy-georgia-state-senate-subpoena-ahead-of-hearing-friday-chairman-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/fani-willis-likely-to-defy-georgia-state-senate-subpoena-ahead-of-hearing-friday-chairman-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Fani Willis likely to defy Georgia state Senate subpoena ahead of hearing Friday, chairman says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"article-gating gated-overlay\" readability=\"24.690978886756\">\n<div class=\"article-gating-wrapper\" readability=\"28.376199616123\">\n<p>Join Fox News for access to this content<\/p>\n<p>Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account &#8211; free of charge.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gating-legal tablet-desktop\" readability=\"21.43949044586\">By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News&#8217; <span class=\"waslinkname\">Terms of Use<\/span> and <span class=\"waslinkname\">Privacy Policy<\/span>, which includes our <span class=\"waslinkname\">Notice of Financial Incentive<\/span>. <\/div>\n<p><span>Please enter a valid email address.<\/span><\/p>\n<footer class=\"article-gating-footer\"><span class=\"waslinkname\">Having trouble? Click here.<\/span><\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"speakable\">District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to defy a <span class=\"waslinkname\">Georgia state senate<\/span> subpoena for her testimony ahead of a hearing Friday, Fox News Digital has learned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">The Senate Special Committee on Investigations, chaired by Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert, subpoenaed Willis to compel her testimony related to the committee&#8217;s investigation into allegations she misused taxpayer funds.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with Fox News Digital, Cowsert said after Willis refused to testify voluntarily, the committee issued a subpoena, adding her legal counsel had indicated to the committee she would not be complying with the subpoena.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We think it&#8217;s unlikely that she will appear but disappointing that she considers herself <span class=\"waslinkname\">above the law<\/span>,&#8221; Cowert said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"waslinkname\"><strong>FANI WILLIS FACES NOTHING BUT SETBACKS IN CASE AGAINST TRUMP, THE LATEST PENDING WITH SUPREME COURT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/343\/192\/FW1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/686\/384\/FW1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/672\/378\/FW1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1344\/756\/FW1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/931\/523\/FW1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1862\/1046\/FW1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/720\/405\/FW1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1440\/810\/FW1.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/fani-willis-likely-to-defy-georgia-state-senate-subpoena-ahead-of-hearing-friday-chairman-says.jpg\" alt=\"Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\" readability=\"8\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><span>Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives to speak after winning the Democratic primary May 21, 2024, in Buckhead, Ga.&nbsp;<\/span> <span>(AP Photo\/Brynn Anderson)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If Willis does not appear at Friday&#8217;s hearing, the state Senate will seek to compel her attendance through a judicial order that will work its way through the court system the next few weeks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We do have the authority to investigate and to issue subpoenas to compel testimony and the production of documents, and if tested in court, that will be validated,&#8221; Cowsert said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;She&#8217;ll be required to attend, and she&#8217;ll be required to produce certain requested documents. It may require a court order for her to obey them, but that&#8217;s where we&#8217;re headed.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"waslinkname\"><strong>FORMER SENATOR LAUNCHES 6-FIGURE AD BLITZ AGAINST FANI WILLIS AHEAD OF GEORGIA ELECTION<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/343\/192\/GettyImages-2043989194.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/686\/384\/GettyImages-2043989194.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/672\/378\/GettyImages-2043989194.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1344\/756\/GettyImages-2043989194.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/931\/523\/GettyImages-2043989194.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1862\/1046\/GettyImages-2043989194.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/720\/405\/GettyImages-2043989194.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1440\/810\/GettyImages-2043989194.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/fani-willis-likely-to-defy-georgia-state-senate-subpoena-ahead-of-hearing-friday-chairman-says-1.jpg\" alt=\"Fani Willis in court\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\" readability=\"8\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><span>Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse March 1, 2024, in Atlanta.&nbsp;<\/span> <span>(Alex Slitz-Pool\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Friday&#8217;s hearing will feature a presentation from David Cook, the former Georgia secretary of the Senate, on the investigative powers of legislative bodies and the ability to subpoena.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Legislative counsel Stuart Morelli will also testify on the committee&#8217;s legal authority to conduct investigations and to subpoena individuals to testify or to produce documents.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Republican-led committee was established in January by a resolution that passed by a 30-19 vote.<\/p>\n<p>Willis, who is spearheading the sweeping prosection case against former President Trump, has come under scrutiny after she was accused in February of having an &#8220;improper&#8221; affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to help prosecute the case.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"waslinkname\"><strong>FANI WILLIS\u2019 EX-STAFFER TESTIFIES SHE WAS FIRED AFTER BLOWING WHISTLE ON DA\u2019S SPENDING<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/343\/192\/FW2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/686\/384\/FW2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/672\/378\/FW2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1344\/756\/FW2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/931\/523\/FW2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1862\/1046\/FW2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/720\/405\/FW2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1440\/810\/FW2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.timesamerica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/fani-willis-likely-to-defy-georgia-state-senate-subpoena-ahead-of-hearing-friday-chairman-says-2.jpg\" alt=\"Fani Willis celebrates\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\" readability=\"8\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><span>Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis celebrates after winning the Democratic primary May 21, 2024, in Buckhead, Ga.&nbsp;<\/span> <span>(AP Photo\/Brynn Anderson)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A decision by <span class=\"waslinkname\">Fulton County Superior Court<\/span> Judge Scott McAfee not to disqualify her from the case is now on appeal, and that hearing is slated for December.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Georgia Senate committee has already held several hearings, including one featuring the testimony of a whistleblower who said she was fired after she raised concerns about Willis&#8217; office&#8217;s alleged misuse of funds.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Willis said in May she believes the committee has no authority to subpoena her and told a news reporter she &#8220;will not appear to anything that is unlawful.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"waslinkname\"><strong><u>CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I have not broken the law in any way,&#8221; Willis told reporters at a press conference in May. &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry folks get p&#8212;ed off that everyone gets treated equally.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But Cowsert said the committee members are &#8220;all extremely confident that we&#8217;re acting within the constitutional and legislative authority of the state Senate.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A representative for Willis did not respond to Fox News Digital&#8217;s request for comment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The hearing begins Friday at 10 a.m. ET.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Join Fox News for access to this content Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account &#8211; free of charge. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News&#8217; Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. 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