A second Georgia Republican state senator is pushing for action against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis following her recent indictments against nearly two dozen people connected to the administration of former President Donald Trump.
State Sen. Clint Dixon said on Aug. 22 that he wants a newly established Prosecutorial Oversight Committee, which can begin taking complaints in October, to investigate and take action against Willis.
In a Facebook post, Dixon said he is frustrated by the indictments that were handed down last week, stating that “this is clearly all about Fani Willis and her unabashed goal to become some sort of leftist celebrity.”
Willis filed a 98-page indictment listing 41 criminal counts against Trump and 18 of his associates, after a grand jury approved charges related to efforts that prosecutors allege aimed to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Last week, another state senator called for a special legislative session to investigate Willis, a Democrat. However, the effort would meet stiff resistance and would be likely to fail, Dixon says, because of the need for support among Democrat lawmakers who are her allies.
“There is no legal action that the Legislature can take to stop Fani Willis’ bad behavior. The Legislature does not have control over her office or funding,” Dixon explained. “And even if the legislature was empowered to act, calling a Special Session requires a 3/5s majority of the legislature, meaning Democrats would have to go on the record in opposition of their aspiring super star.”
Dixon says that this scenario is one reason the legislature earlier this year passed Senate Bill 92, a law creating an eight-member commission (a five-member investigative panel and a three-member hearing panel) that has the ability to probe, discipline, remove, or force the early retirement of prosecutors in the state.
The legislation passed on a mostly party line vote and Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill in early May.
“My No. 1 priority is public safety across our state,” Kemp said in a statement touting the new law. “As hardworking law enforcement officers routinely put their lives on the line to investigate, confront, and arrest criminal offenders, I won’t stand idly by as they’re met with resistance from rogue or incompetent prosecutors who refuse to uphold the law. The creation of the PACQ will help hold prosecutors driven by out-of-touch politics than commitment to their responsibilities accountable and make our communities safer.”
Dixon added, “Once the Prosecutorial Oversight Committee is appointed in October, we can call on them to investigate and take action against Fani Willis and her efforts that weaponize the justice system against political opponents. This is our best measure, and I will be ready to call for that investigation.”
