The Georgia state Freedom Caucus Chair sent a letter to Governor Brian Kemp seeking the removal of Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis over her ineligibility to hold public office.
Freedom Caucus Chair Charlice Byrd said the Fulton County DA has allegedly owed $250 in fees to the State Ethics Commission since as far back as 2018. Representative Byrd noted Willis assumed office in November 2020 having taken oath affirming she did not owe money to the state.
“It has come to my attention that there exists documentary evidence that the District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia was elected to her office in November of 2020,” Byrd wrote. “As part of that election process it was required that she subscribe to certain statutory oaths on separate occasions. Unfortunately, one of those oaths stated that she was not the holder of any monies owed the State of Georgia.”
“In fact, she was the holder of $250.00 in late fees due and payable to the State Ethics Commission (formerly Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission) from as far back as 2018,” Byrd added.
Georgia Freedom Caucus Chair @charlice_byrd has called on Governor Brian Kemp to remove Fani Willis from office after revelations she unlawfully took office. https://t.co/hndWDPBRHS
— Georgia Freedom Caucus (@FreedomCaucusGA) September 8, 2023
Byrd’s letter cited Georgia’s state Constitution: “As you should be aware, Ga. Const. Art. II, § II, Para. III provides that no person who is the holder of public funds is eligible to hold any office of honor or trust in this state. See also, OCGA § 45-2-1 (2).”
The Georgia state representative concluded her letter by calling for the removal of DA Willis citing her ineligibility to hold public office.
“For the foregoing reasons I am insisting that you perform your public duty prescribed in the Georgia Constitution, Article I, §I, Paragraph II to remove the said District Attorney, Fani Willis, and appoint her replacement as required by law,” she wrote.
Representative Byrd also sent a similar letter to Georgia state Attorney General Christopher Carr detailing Willis’ alleged money owed to the state and ineligibility for public office.
“Her failure over these years to remit said funds in a timely manner has raised a presumption of violations of several Georgia Criminal Statutes,” Byrd’s letter to AG Carr cites four Georgia state criminal statutes. “I am requesting that you initiate an immediate inquiry into the provable facts and evidence hereof, and upon obtaining such, that you commence an immediate prosecution of this matter.”
She added: “Herein, take due notice and govern yourself accordingly.”
Last month, State Senator Moore sent a letter to Kemp seeking the review of DA Willis regarding her indictment of former President Donald Trump. Fellow State Senator Clint Dixon joined Moore’s calls for Willis’ investigation.
In late-August, Kemp denied requests for a special session for an investigation into Willis, referring to the efforts as “unconstitutional.”
“There have been calls by one individual in the general assembly … for a special session to ignore current Georgia law, directly interfere with the proceedings of a separate but equal branch of government,” Kemp said of Moore. “We are now seeing what happens when prosecutors move forward with highly charged indictments and trials in the middle of an election.”
Kemp says the act would sew “distrust” and provide “easy pickings” for critics of DA Willis.
“Up to this point, I have not seen any evidence that DA Willis’s actions or lack thereof warrant action by the prosecuting attorney oversight commission,” he concluded. “As long as I’m governor, we are going to follow the law and the Constitution — regardless of who it helps politically.”
