ATLANTA — A Fulton County judge is disqualifying District Attorney Fani Willis and her office from questioning state Sen. Burt Jones as part of their investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and his allies broke the law as they sought to overturn Georgia’s 2020 elections.
In a surprise decision, Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney on Monday granted a motion from Jones, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, to replace Willis and the entire Fulton DA’s office in the examination of his specific role in the case.
“Based on the arguments and evidence presented, and a review of relevant legal authorities, the Court GRANTS Senator Jones’s motion to disqualify the District Attorney and her office — as to Senator Jones only,” McBurney wrote.
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia will now select a replacement DA’s office that can question Jones, according to the attorney general’s office.
Jones filed the disqualification motion earlier this month, the same day it became public that he was among the targets of the investigation.
Jones’ attorneys have highlighted a fundraiser Willis held in June for Charlie Bailey, the senator’s Democratic opponent for lieutenant governor.
During a hearing on Thursday, McBurney called the political optics of the fundraiser “horrific” and worried they could undermine public confidence in the investigation.
Jones was one of 16 Republicans who served as “alternate” electors for Trump in December 2020. All 16 were recently sent letters alerting them that they could be indicted, the DA’s office confirmed in a filing last week.
McBurney on Monday denied a similar attempt from 11 of the other GOP electors to disqualify Willis and the Fulton DA’s office from their portions of the investigation. He also required them to honor subpoenas requiring their testimony this week before a special grand jury examining the case.
A spokesman for Willis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stephen Lawson, a spokesman for Jones, called McBurney’s decision a “huge win.”
Indeed, several legal experts consulted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week predicted that the state senator wouldn’t prevail.
———
