The Department of Justice spokesperson announced last week that the DOJ has requested Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to address the “discrepancies” in her office’s reporting of federal funds.
Earlier this year, reports emerged that a former employee of Fulton County disclosed that some federal funds sent to the office were used for improper expenditures. House Republicans are currently investigating this. Meanwhile, Ms. Willis continues to handle cases involving former President Trump and over a dozen others accused of illegally overturning the 2020 Georgia election.
The Department of Justice confirmed in a statement released this week that they found discrepancies in the reports of expenditure by Ms. Willis’s office and are working to receive the correct reports.
“While we review the judgment to respond to this investigation, we noticed some discrepancies in Fulton County’s reports… We are working with them to update their reports accordingly,” the DOJ spokesperson told the Washington Free Beacon.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the Department of Justice and the Department’s Office of Judicial Programs for comments multiple times. Ms. Willis’s office has not responded to requests for comment. Ms. Willis has not publicly responded to the DOJ’s statement.
During an interview on April 11, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) stated that a former employee of Fulton County has been discussing funding issues with his staff and the media.
“The Department of Justice is now investigating this. Fani Willis’s various issues and her frivolous investigations into President Trump and others,” Mr. Jordan said.
Earlier this year, Jordan’s office issued a subpoena to Ms. Willis to obtain documents related to potential misuse of federal funds, which are connected to her cases against President Trump and over a dozen other defendants. The subpoena mentioned that she “must produce the following items that you have, possess, or control since September 1, 2020, and produce them unedited.”
The subpoena further stated, “Your office did not use these federal allocation funds for their intended purposes of helping high-risk youth but tried to use the allocation funds for ‘the purchase of Apple computers… high-end merchandise… [and] travel.'”
It also indicated that the former employee’s employment was “abruptly terminated” after discussing alleged fund misuse and was “escorted out of the office by seven armed investigators.”
However, Ms. Willis denied any improper use of federal funds and informed Mr. Jordan that her office would provide information. She also stated that Mr. Jordan was unfairly targeting her office due to the lawsuit against President Trump, which “will require this government office to divert resources away from our primary purpose of prosecuting crime.”
As the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement, President Trump and the co-defendants’ lawyers appealed the decision made by Judge Scott McAfee last month, which allowed Ms. Willis to continue prosecuting the case amid allegations that she had a relationship with a former special prosecutor. Both confirmed the relationship occurred while Mr. Wade was still married but denied receiving any improper financial benefits.
The judge found insufficient evidence to support conflict of interest claims but asserted that a “smell of impropriety” persisted, calling for either Ms. Willis or Mr. Wade to step down. Hours after the ruling, Mr. Wade left the team, allowing Ms. Willis to continue handling the case.
Early last week, the District Attorney’s Office requested the Georgia Court of Appeals not to consider President Trump’s motion for an appeal, stating that the applicant failed to meet the burden of persuasion.
In a statement on April 8, her office wrote, “There was no finding of error in the trial court’s rejection of disqualification. Multiple days of evidence and testimony failed to reveal any carefully crafted pretrial plan designed to prejudice or ensure convictions against the defendants. The applicant failed to uncover any public statements joining the district attorney’s personal views of guilt against the defendants or advocating for public weighing of the evidence.”
Ms. Willis told CNN last month that despite the ongoing appeal process, she is still diligently prosecuting the former president. “We’re not going to miss a beat or skip a beat because of all the noise or distraction around a case. We’re going to continue doing our job,” she told the media.
In this case, President Trump and the other defendants have all pleaded not guilty. Former President Trump stated that the case is an attempt to destroy his chances of re-election in November.
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