Fani Willis Subpoenaed by House Over Whistleblower’s Claim (1)

Fani Willis, the embattled Fulton County district attorney prosecuting Donald Trump, was subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee for documents relating to allegations that her office misused a $488,000 federal grant.

The subpoena on Friday follows a report this week by the Washington Free Beacon citing claims that Willis fired a whistleblower who tried to stop an aide from misusing a grant targeted at youth empowerment and gang prevention.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan wrote to Willis as House Republicans are examining whether she used federal funds to investigate Trump. She’s also facing intense scrutiny over claims she had an affair with the lead prosecutor in the election interference case against the former president. Trump has been charged under Georgia racketeering law for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The committee is seeking the information because it may try to establish “clear guidelines outlining the permissible uses of federal grant funds,” according to the letter by Jordan, an Ohio Republican.

In a statement, Willis said the whistleblower’s “false allegations are included in baseless litigation filed by a holdover employee from the previous administration who was terminated for cause.” The courts “found no merit” in the claims and “expect the same result in any pending litigation,” she said.

“Any examination of the records of our grant programs will find that they are highly effective and conducted in cooperation with the Department of Justice and in compliance” with department requirements, Willis said.

Willis is scheduled to respond in a court filing Friday to a motion by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, who accused the DA and lead prosecutor Nathan Wade of having a secret romance. Roman says they took vacations together while he earned more than $650,000 in taxpayer money from the case since 2021.

Roman asked a judge to dismiss the criminal case charging Trump and more than a dozen others with a racketeering scheme to reverse President Joe Biden’s election victory in 2020, or at least remove Willis, Wade and the district attorney’s office.

(Updates with response by Willis.)

--With assistance from Billy House.

To contact the reporter on this story:
David Voreacos in New York at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Elizabeth Wasserman, Steve Stroth

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