by Judicial Watch News Staff at Judicial Watch
Judicial Watch announced today that District Attorney Fani Willis refused to release any non-public documents in response to a court order finding her in default for failing to respond to a Judicial Watch lawsuit seeking records of communications Willis had with Special Counsel Jack Smith and the House January 6 Committee. Late yesterday evening, Willis’ Open Records Department denied any records about Jack Smith existed and cited a series of legal exemptions to justify the withholding of communications with January 6 Committee. The Willis office did release one, already public, letter to January 6 Committee Chairman Benny Thompson.
The March 2024 lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County, GA, after Willis and the county denied having any records responsive to an August 2023 Georgia Open Records Act request for communications with the Special Counsel’s office and/or the January 6 Committee (Judicial Watch Inc. v. Fani Willis et al. (No. 24-CV-002805)).
In its lawsuit Judicial Watch stated that Willis’ “representation about not having records responsive to the request is likely false.” Judicial Watch referred to a December 5, 2023, letter from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan to Willis that cites a December 2021 letter from Willis to then-House January 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS). In that letter Willis requested assistance from the committee and offered to travel to DC.
In May 2024, Judicial Watch asked the court to declare a default judgment, noting that Willis was served with the lawsuit in March 2024 and had “not filed an answer,” which “was due 30 days after service.”
The court’s default judgment states:…
Continue Reading