{"id":2236758,"date":"2024-05-03T17:28:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T21:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/special-georgia-senate-committee-probes-fani-willis-for-misuse-of-funds\/"},"modified":"2024-05-03T17:30:19","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T21:30:19","slug":"special-georgia-senate-committee-probes-fani-willis-for-misuse-of-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/special-georgia-senate-committee-probes-fani-willis-for-misuse-of-funds\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Senate committee investigates Fani Willis for fund misuse"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fspecial-georgia-senate-committee-probes-fani-willis-for-misuse-of-funds%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2236758&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Georgia \u2064Senate committee investigated Fulton \u200bCounty District Attorney \u2064Fani Willis for \u200dalleged misuse of taxpayer funds. The \u200bhearing, the third of the year, included \u2062testimony from county officials Robb Pitts \u2064and Sharon Whitmore. The \u200bfocus was on funding\u200d issues,\u200d especially concerning Willis&#8217;s prosecution \u200cof former President Donald Trump. Willis faced scrutiny for her payment of hefty fees to a special prosecutor and a conflict of interest\u200c in the case.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/georgia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Georgia\">Georgia<\/a> Senate committee investigating Fulton County District Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fani-willis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Georgia\">Fani Willis<\/a> held a hearing on Friday during which lawmakers scrutinized Willis\u2019s use of taxpayer dollars.<\/p>\n<p>The hearing marked the third of the year for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouris-republican-governor-says-gop-lawmakers-tried-to-embarrass-him-in-disgusting-scheme\/\" title=\"Missouri\u2019s Republican Governor Says GOP Lawmakers Tried To \u2018Embarrass\u2019 Him In \u2018Disgusting Scheme\u2019\">special committee<\/a>, and it featured witnesses Robb Pitts and Sharon Whitmore, two Fulton County officials who spoke about Willis\u2019s history of requesting county funds.<\/p>\n<p>The hearing was a largely mellow event that dragged on for more than four hours, but it signaled state lawmakers were determined to understand the minutiae behind the process of funding the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-commuting-his-sentence-ca-gov-newsom-reverses-parole-for-convicted-double-murderer\/\" title=\"After Commuting His Sentence, CA Gov. Newsom Reverses Parole For Convicted Double Murderer\">district attorney\u2019<\/a>s office while Willis is leading a prosecution against former President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is really messing up my business,\u201d Willis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=jYSsLQuDp_M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> a local outlet while the hearing was taking place. \u201cThey can look all they want. The DA\u2019s office has done everything according to the books.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Willis came under scrutiny for her use of funds after revelations surfaced last year that she had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2570770\/fani-willis-bankrolls-private-attorney-for-trump-prosecution-certainly-unorthodox\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>paid<\/a> Nathan Wade, one of the special prosecutors leading the Trump case, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fani-willis-faces-more-trouble-ahead-in-georgia-election-case\/\" title=\"Fani Willis encounters additional challenges in Georgia election lawsuit\">hefty hourly rate<\/a> that amounted to more than $650,000 in less than two years.<\/p>\n<p>Compounding matters, one of Trump\u2019s co-defendants uncovered in January that Willis had been in a relationship with Wade, which transformed the case into a drama-filled examination of whether the relationship had caused a conflict of interest for Willis that warranted her disqualification from it. A judge determined that Willis could resolve the conflict of interest question by firing Wade, and Wade resigned immediately thereafter. Trump and his co-defendants are appealing the decision.<\/p>\n<p>While Willis\u2019s scandal with Wade has overshadowed much of her other work, the district attorney has also faced questions, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2961226\/fani-willis-doj-inconsistencies-federal-fund-reporting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>including<\/a> from Congress, about a whistleblower claim about her use of a $488,000 federal grant. The whistleblower, Amanda Timpson, accused Willis in January of firing her after Timpson raised concerns in 2021 that a Willis aide planned to use a portion of the grant for frivolous expenses, according to a <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em> report.<\/p>\n<p>Willis\u2019s office has said the claim is inaccurate and that Timpson is a disgruntled employee who was fired \u201cfor cause.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During Friday\u2019s hearing, state Sen. Bill Cowsert, a Republican of Athens, asked tedious questions about how the committee could gather documentation about Wade\u2019s compensation, what work he did, and when.<\/p>\n<p>Cowsert also asked about numerous \u201cenhancement requests,\u201d that is, additional funding requests, that Willis has made during her tenure.<\/p>\n<p>Asked about an enhancement request for roughly a million dollars made in 2023 for general trial expenses, Whitmore testified that Willis asked for a \u201clump sum, not specific with line item details.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cowsert replied that he was \u201cjust wanting us to get a feeling for exactly how much oversight there is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt sounds like it\u2019s very loose as far as employment practices and expenditures for independent contractors,\u201d Cowsert observed.<\/p>\n<p>The special committee was approved in January to investigate misconduct allegations against Willis regarding \u201cpotential conflicts of interest and misuse of public funds, to enact new or amend existing laws and\/or change state appropriations to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system,\u201d according to a Senate website.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Georgia Senate committee probing Fulton County DA Fani Willis for fund usage convened a hearing. This marked the third session of the year for the special committee. Witnesses, including officials Robb Pitts and Sharon Whitmore, discussed Willis&#8217;s financial practices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2236759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24066788301082-1024x591.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2236758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24066788301082-1024x591.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2236758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2236759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2236758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2236758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2236758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}