by Steven Richards
Just the News has filed a compliant with the Georgia Attorney General after the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office failed to meet the deadline to respond to an Open Records Act request seeking information on the office’s contact with the Biden administration regarding the Trump election interference case.
Earlier this month, Just the News submitted a request to District Attorney Fani Willis’ office after reporting the special prosecutor she had appointed to handle the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump met with Biden White House officials.
Just the News requested records of any meetings and any communications between Willis or her special prosecutor and White House or Justice Department officials.
The three-day deadline for a response from Willis’ office elapsed last week.
Under Georgia law, if an entity that receives a records request is unable to produce the documents in that time frame, it is required to provide a description and a timeline for production of the documents.
Just the News received only a notice stating the request was being reviewed, which is attached to the complaint below.
“Georgia’s open records law is clear and has not been followed in the case of our request. Publicly available information currently suggests Fani Willis’ team had contact with the Biden White House, something that if true, would raise significant questions of public integrity,” said John Solomon, the CEO and editor in chief of Just the News.
“Securing these records are a matter of significant public interest. We look forward to the attorney general office’s intervention in this matter and also are considering additional legal options for securing this information for the public.”
Just the News has asked Georgia’s state attorney general open an investigation into the apparent violations of state law and order the Fulton County DA’s Office to produce the records, to the extent that they exist.
You can read the complaint filed by Just the News here.
Neither the attorney general’s office nor the Fulton County DA’s office responded to a request for comment.
In court filings from special prosecutor Nathan Wade’s divorce proceedings, invoices he submitted to the DA’s office show that he asked for reimbursement on at least one occasion for a meeting with President Biden’s White House counsel, Just the News previously reported. The entry indicates that Wade traveled to Athens, Georgia, for the May 23, 2022, meeting.
The invoices also show that on November 18, 2022, Wade expensed travel to Washington, D.C., for an “Interview with DC/White House,” just three days after Trump announced he was running for president in the 2024 GOP primary.
Trump is under investigation by Willis and Wade for allegedly engaging in a racketeering operation to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia
The alleged meetings raise questions about the involvement of the Biden White House in the criminal cases against Trump. Just the News previously reported that the Biden White House facilitated the probe by the federal Justice Department into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and denied the former president’s executive privilege claims.
Separately, Willis and Wade have come under scrutiny for an alleged improper romantic relationship. Wade, who was paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees for handling the Trump case by Willis’ office, paid for vacations for him and Willis to San Francisco, Miami, and Aruba. These payments came to light through Wade’s divorce proceedings.
Just the News’ inquiry comes as Georgia lawmakers plan to subpoena Willis in an investigation into conflicts of interest and potential fraud in Willis’ Fulton County office.
Republican state Senator Greg Dolezal submitted a resolution backed by at least 29 of his colleagues to establish a special investigative committee to look into the allegations against Willis.
Georgia courts are also seeking answers on the alleged corruption. On Thursday, the judge presiding over the case against Trump ordered a hearing into the alleged conduct of Fani Willis and scheduled it for Feb. 15, according to the Washington Post.
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Steven Richards joined Just the News in August 2023 after previously working as a Research Analyst for the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) in Tallahassee, Florida.
