A Georgia state court has ordered Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to conduct a new, more thorough search for records related to her criminal case against President Donald Trump, citing inadequate efforts in her office’s previous attempts to comply with open records laws.
The ruling, issued by a Fulton County Superior Court judge, comes after months of legal action by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, which is seeking evidence of potential coordination between Willis, the now-defunct January 6 Committee, and Special Counsel Jack Smith’s federal team.
The judge’s order is yet another blow to the embattled district attorney, whose once high-profile prosecution of Trump has been plagued by allegations of misconduct, conflicts of interest, and most recently, disqualification from the case.
Court: Willis’ Office Failed to Properly Search Key Devices
In the new ruling, the judge pointed to significant omissions in the affidavit submitted by Willis, noting that her office had failed to detail or conduct adequate searches of devices belonging to former special prosecutor Nathan Wade and chief investigator Michael Hill.
Both Wade and Hill played central roles in the Trump probe. However, the court found that Willis’ search did not clearly include these officials’ emails, phones, or other communications—raising questions about whether critical records were deliberately or negligently overlooked.
Willis now has 14 days to submit a revised report outlining comprehensive search methods for Wade’s and Hill’s records.
Background: Judicial Watch and the Search for Transparency
The order stems from Judicial Watch’s lawsuit under Georgia’s open records law, seeking communications between Willis’ office and the U.S. House January 6 Select Committee as well as Special Counsel Jack Smith and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton told Fox News Digital the group believes there was improper coordination between federal authorities and Willis’ office to politically target Trump and his allies.
“This lawsuit is about any collusion and collaboration with Congress and the Justice Department,” Fitton said. “We haven’t seen the documents yet, but their very existence proves they were talking—and that destroys the idea that this was an independent prosecution.”
Fitton emphasized that even the appearance of collaboration with partisan congressional actors like Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff damages the credibility of Willis’ case.
Willis Ordered to Pay Legal Fees in January
This isn’t the first time Willis has faced consequences over her handling of the case. In January 2025, a court ordered her office to pay $22,000 in legal fees to Judicial Watch after finding she had failed to properly respond to the group’s initial open records requests.
Later, in March, the court compelled her to produce 212 pages of documents her office had previously claimed did not exist—documents her team only uncovered after multiple failed searches.
Legal and Political Fallout Intensifies
Willis charged Trump and 18 others with racketeering and other election-related crimes in August 2023, alleging an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. The sprawling case captured national headlines—but has since collapsed under the weight of internal controversy.
The Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Willis from the case earlier this year, citing a conflict of interest stemming from her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the very prosecutor she hired to lead the Trump investigation.
That ruling sidelined the case indefinitely, with multiple charges dropped and other co-defendants entering plea deals.
What’s Next for the Trump Georgia Case?
With Willis disqualified, the Trump case in Georgia is effectively on hold—and this latest judicial order signals ongoing concerns about transparency, impartiality, and potential misconduct in the DA’s office.
Observers say the outcome of the records dispute could impact broader debates over state-federal cooperation in politically sensitive investigations, as well as how far local prosecutors can go in targeting national political figures.
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