Georgia House members on Monday passed a bill to revive a commission with powers to discipline and remove prosecutors, which Republicans could potentially use to target embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading the prosecution against former President Donald Trump.
Willis has been caught up in scrutiny over allegations she hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade for the case because of their alleged romantic relationship.
The House voted 95-75 along party lines for House Bill 881, sending it to the Senate for further debate. A similar bill that would create a special committee to investigate Willis for her “improper” affair advanced out of a Senate committee last week.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation last year creating the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Qualifications Commission. But after the state Supreme Court refused to approve the rules governing the committee’s conduct, it was unable to begin operating.
GA SENATE LAUNCHES COMMITTEE TO PROBE TRUMP PROSECUTOR FANI WILLIS FOR ‘IMPROPER’ AFFAIR
Justices said they had “grave doubts” about their ability to regulate the duties of district attorneys beyond the practice of law; Monday’s measure removes the requirement for Supreme Court approval.
“This commission will now be able to begin their real work, which is bringing accountability to those rogue prosecuting attorneys who abuse their office,” Rep. Joseph Gullett, a Dallas Republican who sponsored the measure, told The Associated Press.
The outlet reported that Gullett and some other Republicans deny that the measure is directly aimed at Willis, citing instances of prosecutor misconduct, including occasions in the past when Democrats supported the idea of a prosecutor oversight panel.
But Democratic opposition to the commission has hardened, saying Republicans are trying to overwrite the will of Democratic voters.
“The commission will be able to unilaterally proceed and have the ability to interfere and undermine an ongoing…
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