A federal court has ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over documents that could reveal whether former Special Counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis coordinated in the prosecution of President Donald Trump. The ruling, issued on January 28, comes after months of resistance from the DOJ.
Judicial Watch, a government transparency group, first requested the documents in August 2023 through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The group sought records related to any request or receipt of federal assistance by Willis in prosecuting Trump and his associates. The DOJ refused to comply, leading Judicial Watch to file a lawsuit in October.
The DOJ maintained its refusal to confirm or deny the existence of such records, arguing that releasing them could interfere with law enforcement proceedings. However, U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich determined that the cases against Trump had been “closed — not pending or contemplated” and that the DOJ’s justification for withholding the documents no longer applied. The judge ordered the agency to release the requested information or establish a valid exemption.
As part of the ruling, the DOJ must meet with Judicial Watch by February 21 and provide the court with an update on their discussions. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton criticized the DOJ’s refusal to comply earlier, calling it “a scandal” that a judge had to force the agency to acknowledge reality.
This decision follows another legal battle involving Willis. A Georgia court recently found that she violated the state’s Open Records Act and ordered her office to pay over $21,500 in attorney’s fees and litigation costs. The case, also brought by Judicial Watch, accused her office of improperly withholding records related to her communications with Smith and the House January 6 committee.
Judicial Watch confirmed that Willis’s office has since issued the court-ordered payment. The focus now shifts to ensuring that the DOJ follows through with the ruling and discloses any records detailing its involvement with Willis’s prosecution efforts.
