Fani Willis Receives Boost in Fight Against Donald Trump

The Georgia Supreme Court has refused to approve a recently set-up commission authority to remove state prosecutors, dashing the plans of Republicans who were poised to use it against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

The ruling on Wednesday regarded the role of the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PAQC), which was created under Senate Bill 92 and signed into law by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp in May. The court expressed grave doubts about whether the PAQC has the constitutional power to take any action regarding the duties of district attorneys beyond the practice of law.

Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP presidential primary, has frequently attacked Willis during her sprawling RICO case. The former president has accused her investigation into the alleged plot to illegally overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia of being a politically motivated witch hunt that aims to stop him winning the 2024 presidential election. Newsweek has emailed Willis' office for comment.

Kemp said the PAQC was created to remove local prosecutors who were unable to fulfill their "constitutional and statutory duties" or are "driven by out-of-touch politics." In August, Georgia state Senator Clint Dixon said they would be calling on PAQC to investigate Willis over her alleged partisan targeting of Trump in her 2020 election interference case. The former president has pleaded not guilty to 13 felony charges.

Another Republican state Senator, Colton Moore, called for an emergency session of the state legislature to review the actions of Willis and possibly remove the DA who was elected to the role in November 2020, which was later denied by Kemp.

With Georgia's Supreme Court ruling against approving rules that would allow the PAQC to remove state prosecutors, the commission cannot begin its work. The court said that it is unclear whether the PAQC had the power to review such rules, and did not make a decision either way.

"We have grave doubts that we have the constitutional power to take any action on the draft standards and rules," the court wrote in its ruling.

"But deciding the question of whether we actually have that power would require deciding difficult constitutional questions of first impression outside of the adversarial process.

"If district attorneys exercise judicial power, our regulation of the exercise of that power may well be within our inherent power as the head of the Judicial Branch," the ruling added. "But if district attorneys exercise only executive power, our regulation of the exercise of that power would likely be beyond the scope of our judicial power."

Republican State Rep. Houston Gaines said the PAQC could begin its work in disciplining and possibly removing rogue prosecutors as soon as January 2024, once Georgia lawmakers remove the requirement for the court to approve the rule.

"This commission has been years in the making—and now it has its appointees and rules and regulations ready to go," Gaines told the Associated Press. "As soon as the legislature can address this final issue from the court, rogue prosecutors will be held accountable."

Four Georgia district attorneys filed a lawsuit in an attempt to strike down the law to remove local prosecutors, saying that it violates U.S. and state constitutions.

In a statement, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston, one of those suing to overturn the commission, praised the ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court as shining a "bright light on the fundamental failings" of Senate Bill 92.

"We are pleased the justices have taken action to stop this unconstitutional attack on the state's prosecutors," Boston said. "While we celebrate this as a victory, we remain steadfast in our commitment to fight any future attempts to undermine the will of Georgia voters and the independence of the prosecutors who they choose to represent them."