Be Nice To Have an Attorney General Like This

While Merrick Garland moves at the pace of a pre-climate change glacier, Trump’s real threat is from…a prosecutor in the Fulton County District Attorney office.

Now Willis is considering using the racketeering statute in another sprawling, politically treacherous investigation. The question this time is whether a former president, Donald Trump, conspired with his allies to break the law and attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Willis, Fulton County’s district attorney, finds herself at the center of an inquiry with the potential to make history and influence the course of the next presidential vote.

A special grand jury convened as part of the investigation has completed its work and submitted a report that could include recommendations for charges, a judge announced Monday. The judge scheduled a Jan. 24 hearing to determine whether to release the report publicly. Willis could file charges in the case in the coming weeks.

Willis launched her investigation after reports that Trump called the Georgia secretary of state on Jan. 2, 2021, and pressed him to “find” additional votes to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state. It has since expanded to examine other alleged attempts by Trump allies to interfere with the democratic process in Georgia. The inquiry is separate from Justice Department investigations — now overseen by a special counsel — into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and classified documents that Trump stored at Mar-a-Lago, his home and private club in Florida.

Willis’s aggressive and high-profile pursuit of the case — which has included forcing top-tier Trump insiders to testify before a grand jury, and potentially subpoenaing the former president himself — has prompted criticism that she has exceeded her mandate as a local prosecutor. The numerous other inquiries into Trump are being pursued by federal or state-level authorities who have often worked more quietly than the Fulton district attorney.

But those who know her well are not surprised: Willis’s strategy, they say, reflects the nature of a prosecutor who is unafraid to investigate sensitive or seemingly untouchable targets.

“She is a pit bull,” said Vince Velazquez, who served for 17 years as a homicide detective in Atlanta, working frequently with Willis. “If I committed a crime, I would not want to be prosecuted by Fani Willis.”

Observers say that the threat to Trump is real and immediate and that the Fulton investigation could make him the first sitting or former president to be indicted on criminal charges. Willis has said she is considering subpoenaing Trump and has notified at least 18 others that they are “targets” and could face indictment.

“The allegations are very serious,” Willis told The Washington Post. “If indicted and convicted, people are facing prison sentences.”

Oh, but what could a prosecutor in Atlanta really do?

In addition to the electors, Willis has sought testimony from the state’s most prominent GOP officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Attorney General Christopher M. Carr and numerous state lawmakers.

She has successfully forced Rudy Giuliani, one of the most outspoken advocates of the former president’s false claims about a rigged 2020 vote, to appear before the grand jury. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) testified after unsuccessfully fighting a subpoena all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn appeared before the panel in December after losing his own court fight.

Willis also won a legal battle to secure testimony from former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who was ordered to appear before the grand jury in December — though it’s unclear whether he did because the proceedings are secret. (A spokesman for Meadows declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Willis.)

But hey, I’m sure that Merrick Garland’s do-nothing moderation will convince Republicans to do the right thing this time……