Fani Willis blasts Senate panel in contentious hearing

Willis blasted Dolezal for what she described as second-guessing her decision to hire three independent attorneys to help prosecute the case. That included a decision to hire Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor with whom she developed a romantic relationship that ultimately caused the case to unravel.

“The people of Fulton County have selected me to make these choices, and I make them,” Willis told the panel. “And my city and county are safer because I make them.’”

After the hearing, Dolezal said it was Willis who conducted a witch hunt against Trump and other defendants in the election case.

“I think about my friends who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars defending themselves against these politically motivated charges,” Dolezal said.

Wednesday’s exchange was the latest dramatic moment in a yearslong saga that has had plenty. After years of investigating Trump’s attempt to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia, Willis indicted the former president and 18 others in 2023 for their roles in what Willis alleged was a sweeping criminal conspiracy.

She quickly obtained four guilty pleas. But the case hit a snag when defense attorneys accused Willis of having a conflict of interest because of her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Wade.

Those allegations led to a dramatic courtroom confrontation where defense attorneys quizzed Willis about the relationship and she accused them of lying about it.

A Fulton County judge later declined to disqualify Willis, and Wade resigned from the case. But an appeals court overturned that decision, and last September the Georgia Supreme Court upheld that decision. Last month, another prosecutor dismissed the remaining charges.

The Senate committee has been seeking Willis’ testimony for more than a year. On Wednesday, committee members finally got their shot.

Dolezal filled in for Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Investigations. Dolezal said Cowsert was unable to attend after undergoing a medical procedure.

Over nearly four hours of questioning, Dolezal quizzed Willis about the cost of the election case, the sources of her funding, her decision to hire Wade and other matters.

Willis repeatedly blasted his questions as politically motivated — he and two other members of the committee are running for lieutenant governor. She defended her record as district attorney. And sometimes she insulted Dolezal.

When he asked her if she’d discussed the election investigation with Wade before she took office in January 2020, she pointed out that Trump’s telephone request for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the votes he needed to beat Biden occurred after she was sworn in. It was that phone call that sparked the investigation, so she couldn’t have discussed it beforehand, she said.

“It’s a dumbass question,” Willis said.

Willis also repeatedly suggested the committee’s investigation was racially motivated — she’s a Black woman, and the Republicans on the panel are white.

“I indicted (Trump and the others). I’d indict them again,” she said. “I know you’re offended that a Black district attorney had the audacity to indict rich white men.”

Dolezal kept his cool. But at times Willis seemed to take command of the hearing.

Afterward, Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, one of two Democrats on the committee, also criticized the hearing as a distraction from important issues such as rising health care costs.

“Basically, this was a waste of time,” Jones said.

Republicans on the committee disagreed. Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, another lieutenant governor candidate, criticized Willis for her combative testimony.

“Clearly, Ms. Willis came in with the intent not to answer any questions,” Gooch said. “I believe she owes it to the taxpayers and to the citizens of Fulton County to answer the questions that have been asked by the committee.”

What’s next is unclear. The hearing was not a trial, and the committee cannot sanction Willis or remove her from office. Willis was placed under oath, a power the General Assembly granted committees in a bill passed earlier this year.

The committee is charged with considering legislation that would regulate district attorneys’ conduct, as well as the use of special grand juries and special prosecutors.

Despite Willis’ combative tone, Dolezal said her testimony will help senators with that task.

“I think that she probably spent 80% of her time not answering the questions,” he said. “But to the extent that we did get answers to those questions, we’ll take those and do our committee work and move forward from here.”