Judge Orders Release of Willis-Smith Communications

 Judicial Watch, a Washington-based watchdog group, had requested these records but was initially told that no such documents existed. Skeptical of this response, the organization filed a lawsuit and ultimately secured a default judgment, which revealed that Willis did, in fact, possess relevant records. 

McBurney’s order highlighted the inconsistencies in Willis’s statements. “Defendant claimed to have no responsive records,” he wrote, referring to Willis’s initial denial. However, after multiple searches and a court order, Willis revised her position, admitting that records existed but arguing they could not be released.

The judge has now mandated the release of 212 pages of documents and directed Willis to explain how these records were eventually discovered—apparently after a fifth search—and why they were initially withheld. Following his review, McBurney will determine what portion of the documents should be provided to Judicial Watch.

In a prior ruling, McBurney also ordered Willis to cover Judicial Watch’s legal fees after she had attempted to claim that the few records she acknowledged were exempt from disclosure. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton expressed frustration over the repeated legal hurdles, stating, “Fani Willis can’t be trusted. Every time we go back to court, there are new excuses and new documents that she said never existed.”

This ruling follows another recent victory for Judicial Watch, in which a federal judge ordered the disclosure of communications between Smith and Willis regarding their investigations into former President Donald Trump and others connected to the 2020 election. The organization has been seeking records of any federal funds or assistance provided to Willis’s office for the investigation, along with any additional communications between the two prosecutors.