Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may have to pay attorney’s fees to a conservative activist group after a hearing later this month.
Willis was sued by Judicial Watch in March. The group alleged that Willis failed to comply with an open records request for documents and communications sent to or received from Special Counsel Jack Smith and the U.S. House January 6 Committee.
Superior Court of Fulton County Judge Robert C.I. McBurney ruled on Tuesday that Willis is in default for failing to comply with court deadlines.
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Judicial Watch is known for filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits. The conservative group says it “promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law,” according to its website.
A hearing on Judicial Watch’s request for attorney’s fees and costs is scheduled for December 20.
Willis was served on March 11, and Judicial Watch filed the return of service on March 13. Willis was then required to answer within 30 days. McBurney said Willis had legal action she could have taken to challenge the deadline, but she “did none of that.”
“She never moved to open default on any basis (not even during the period when she could have opened default as a matter of right), she never paid costs, and she never offered up a meritorious defense,” McBurney wrote in Tuesday’s ruling.
McBurney ruled that Willis had violated the Open Records Act (ORA) by failing to turn over the records or informing Judicial Watch of her decision to withhold some or all of the records.
Willis was ordered by the court to conduct a “diligent search” of her records to determine if she has the requested records within five days of the ruling. She is then ordered to turn over all records to Judicial Watch that are not “legally exempted.”
Judicial Watch asked the court to declare that Willis violated the ORA, order the district attorney’s office to search for and hand over all records, award attorney’s fees and costs and provide any other relief the court “deems proper.”
McBurney ruled that no other relief is necessary “at this time.”
“Fani Willis is something else. We’ve been doing this work for 30 years, and this is the first time in our experience a government official has been found in default for not showing up in court to answer an open records lawsuit,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “Judicial Watch looks forward to getting any documents from the Fani Willis operation about collusion with the Biden administration and Nancy Pelosi’s Congress on her unprecedented and compromised ‘get-Trump’ prosecution.”
Newsweek has contacted Willis’ office via email Tuesday afternoon for comment.
Willis was first elected as the district attorney of Fulton County in 2020. In 2023, she indicted then-former president Donald Trump and 18 others on multiple charges, including racketeering.
The investigation focused on alleged efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Last month, the Georgia Court of Appeals canceled the December 5 hearing for the appeal from President-elect Trump and co-defendants to disqualify Willis from the case.
The argument was canceled “until further order of this court.” It is unclear why the hearing was postponed.
The appeals court was expected to hear arguments from Trump and his allies as part of its decision to review Judge Scott McAfee’s ruling earlier this year, which allowed Willis to continue prosecuting the case.
