Georgia
Georgia Senate panel ready to subpoena Fulton DA in probe of her conduct in Trump racketeering case • Georgia Recorder
The chairman of a Georgia Senate committee says he will subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis if she refuses to appear before the panel that is investigating accusations of misconduct against the prosecutor pursuing felony charges against former President Donald Trump and his allies.
On Friday, Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts, Chief Financial Officer Sharon Whitmore, and County Attorney Soo Jo testified at a four-hour committee hearing at the Georgia State Capitol about the degree of autonomy constitutional officers like district attorneys have, as well as recent changes county officials have made to close ethical and financial reporting loopholes for those elected officials.
The county officials said on Friday that they updated a county code in April to close loopholes that allowed Willis to avoid getting county approval before hiring Nathan Wade in November 2021 as special prosecutor in the 2020 presidential election interference case.
Willis has dealt with a hit to her public image since January after it was revealed that she had a romantic relationship with Wade while he led a case that in August resulted in felony racketeering charges against Trump and 18 co-defendants, who are accused of trying to illegally overturn the 2020 election.
Athens Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert, chairman of the special investigation panel, said on Friday he hopes Willis will appear voluntarily before a state Senate panel that is investigating allegations that Willis committed prosecutorial and financial misconduct.
Willis cannot be sanctioned by the Senate committee, but it can subpoena her to turn over evidence and to testify under oath. Former Gov. Roy Barnes, who declined Willis’ offer to serve as special prosecutor in 2021 in the case against Trump,, attended Friday’s hearing with plans to serve as legal counsel for Willis if she is subpoenaed.
“She’s a key part of the investigation that her viewpoints are valued by us,” Cowsert said. “We need to hear what she has to say and her explanation of what she thinks are the appropriate rules ought to be going forward so we don’t have this kind of scandal give Georgia a black eye.”
The first public accusations that Willis and Wade were romantically linked became public in January in a motion filed by an attorney for Trump co-defendant, Michael Roman, who argued that Wade and Willis’s undisclosed relationship was used to improperly financially benefit by prosecuting the sweeping election interference case.
In April, the Fulton County Commission updated its ethics and anti-nepotism policies to cover elected officials like the district attorney. Under the new rules, all constitutional officers must report any gifts valued at $100 on their financial disclosures. Willis would have been prohibited from having a personal relationship with someone she supervises under the expanded anti-nepotism policy.
Cowsert asked Fulton County Attorney Soo Jo if she agreed with his interpretation of the state law, which would seem to imply that Willis would need permission from the County Commission in order to hire an independent contractor such as Wade.
According to Jo, previous court rulings have interpreted the law as allowing district attorneys to appoint and determine compensation for special assistant district attorneys without the county board’s consent.
According to Jo, disputes over finances and control usually turn into a tug-of-war between constitutional offices and local elected officials, who set the budget but must also cover shortfalls and legal ramifications.
“I do believe there are some practical and legal challenges for all counties and elected officials who are in and in between state where you have independence, but you depend on the county for finances,” Jo said.
Cowsert on Friday recommended state legislators consider implementing a statewide policy that addresses tensions between county commissioners and constitutional officers over how much discretion and autonomy they should have.
“We need to have a state law that provides ethical guidelines for prosecutors, for sheriff’s, for clerks of court, for tax commissioners,” Cowsert said. “They are not county officers, but they need to have accepted norms of conduct and ethical guidelines. It’s our job in the state government to come up with that from the state level.”
Pitts said that the Fulton commission should be able to have more control since the board sets the multimillion dollar budgets.
Pitts said that he agrees with prosecutors having the right to determine which cases their office will prosecute, including sweeping racketeering cases like the one Willis is pressing against Trump and his co-defendants. However, he said, he believes that the county officials who set the budget should have similar financial control over elected officials like the sheriff, district attorney. tax commissioner, probate court judge and superior court clerks as they have with other local departments.
Pitts said that he and other county commissioners were unaware of Willis hiring Wade until it was reported by local media.
“We give millions of dollars and I think as an elected official with a fiduciary responsibility that I should have the right to know how the money is being spent,” Pitts said following Friday’s committee hearing.
Willis told a crowd at a community outreach event in Atlanta on Friday that she finds it interesting that the Republican majority Senate is attacking her credibility at a time when more Black people like herself are being elected as district attorneys in Georgia.
This year, Willis is seeking a second term as district attorney. Her biggest challenge will be in the May 21 Democratic Party primary when she faces Christian Wise Smith, a Democrat who’s served as Atlanta city solicitor and as a Fulton County prosecutor. The winner of the Democratic primary will have a significant advantage in the November 5 general election in a match up against Courtney Kramer, a self-described MAGA attorney who has worked in the Trump White House. Kramer faces an uphill battle in heavily Democratic Fulton.
Willis said prosecutors and law enforcement have been working closely as part of an increased emphasis on locking up violent criminals and outreach programs that led to a significant drop in Atlanta’s crime rate this year.
“They can look all they want,” Willis said in a video footage taken by several Atlanta news outlets on Friday. “The DA’s office has done everything according to the books. We are following the law.”
“I can prosecute high profile cases and I can prosecute every day cases when they need to be prosecuted,” Willis later said.
The scandal surrounding Wade and Willis relationship garnered national headlines as hundreds of thousands of people watched live streams of Wade and Willis testifying at a February hearing on motions from Trump and co-defendants seeking to disqualify Willis from the election interference case on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct.
Willis has denied any allegations of professional misconduct and misappropriation of government money. Both Wade and Willis testified during a February Superior Court hearing that they did not become romantically involved until several months after Wade was hired as a special prosecutor in November 2022 and that they stopped dating in the following summer.
But critics of Willis not disclosing having a personal relationship have accused the two of taking advantage of Wade being paid about $750,000 by Fulton by splurging on vacations that included a Caribbean cruise and touring wineries in California. To cover her share of vacation expenses, Willis testified that she paid Wade several thousand dollars in cash in order to cover her share of vacation expenses.
Four of the co-defendants pleaded guilty to various charges in the case, while Trump and the remaining 14 defendants have pleaded not guilty.
A Georgia Court of Appeals is expected to render a ruling by May 13 whether to grant a motion byTrump and several of his co-defendants asking the court to review Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s decision to allow Willis to remain on the case following Wade’s resignation. In the March 3 ruling, McAfee wrote that Willis actions showed a tremendous lapse in judgment, however the defense was unable to prove there was conflict of interest that warranted dismissing the case.
Sen. Harold Jones, an Augusta Democrat, said that Friday’s lengthy committee meeting was a waste of time, arguing Fulton’s government website and a few follow up questions could have answered a most of the senator’s questions.
“There’s nothing that you learned as far as the state senate committee is concerned except maybe now we’re about to start having constitutional officers just change the way they do their budget, a process that has been in effect for over 30 years,” Jones said. “I want all constitutional officers to realize that apparently the Georgia State Senate is about to change the law because of one event to happen in Fulton County,” Jones said.
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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — High pressure is keeping North Georgia in a dry pattern through Tuesday, but a cold front approaching from the northwest will bring a chance of showers and thunderstorms back to the region by Wednesday and Thursday.
Your Next Two Days: Enjoy the Sunshine
Today will feature mostly sunny skies with highs climbing into the upper 70s in north Georgia. Light southwest winds will keep conditions comfortable for outdoor activities. Overnight lows will dip into the 50s.
Tuesday will see increasing clouds as the next weather system approaches from the northwest, but the day will remain dry. Highs will reach the upper 70s to middle 80s, with lows Tuesday night in the upper 50s to low 60s.
Midweek Changes: Showers and Storms Return
The pattern shifts dramatically Wednesday and Thursday as a cold front moves through the region. Models show good agreement that instability will build during the day Wednesday, with temperatures climbing into the low to mid 80s and dewpoints rising into the low 60s.
Shower and thunderstorm chances will increase Wednesday and Thursday, with rain and storms in northwest Georgia by 8 p.m. Wednesday evening.
The rain will overspread all of north Georgia after midnight and continue through your entire Thursday morning commute.
Thursday is a First Alert Weather Day for rain and storms in the morning.
The rain is expected to move out around lunch on Thursday.
The Weekend Outlook
Cooler air will follow the frontal passage on Thursday, with highs dropping into the 70s Friday and Saturday. Overnight lows will dip into the 40s and low 50s.
Our next best chance of rain after Thursday will be on Mother’s Day.
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ADEL, Ga. — Reigning Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta made the quickest run of 2026 in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday at South Georgia Motorsports Park, powering to his first No. 1 qualifier of the season at the NHRA Southern Nationals.
J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the fifth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Kalitta, the current points leader, went 3.657-seconds at 342.37 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster in front of a capacity crowd, picking up his 67th career top spot in NHRA’s debut at the facility. The veteran is after back-to-back wins after getting the victory last weekend in Charlotte as he continues to roll early in the season.
After Saturday’s spectacular run, he’ll get a bye run to open eliminations on Sunday and Kalitta was thrilled with how the team performed in front of a crowd that waited out a lengthy rain delay.
“This is for the fans, they definitely held in there,” Kalitta said of the sellout crowd. “It’s been a long day, but it was just one of those deals, with a big storm coming through. I’m just glad that we ran and will have good weather for tomorrow.
“That thing left and it started to square the tire, and then it just kind of cleared up and just ran. I could tell it was running strong and running hard. Alan (Johnson, crew chief), he’s the master, I can tell you that.”
A day after his record-breaking run of 345.00 mph on Friday, Shawn Langdon followed it up with the second-fastest run in NHRA history on Saturday, going 344.91 and is qualified second with a 3.683. Billy Torrence took the third spot after going 3.710 at 338.00.
In Funny Car, J.R. Todd stayed atop the field and earned his second No. 1 qualifier in the past three races thanks to Friday’s stellar run of 3.887 at 339.28 in his 12,000-horsepower DHL Toyota GR Supra.
Todd earned the 16th top spot of his career and said the team made an aggressive attempt during Saturday’s lone qualifying session. He didn’t make it down the track on that run, but the past champion still takes plenty of confidence into raceday, where he’ll open eliminations against Daniel Wilkerson.
Todd has done just about everything but win a race during what has been a strong 2026 season, something he hopes to change on Sunday in NHRA’s debut at SGMP.
“On that last run, Dickie [Venables, crew chief] and Todd Smith said, ‘We’re going to throw down’. We had nothing to lose because we were on the pole. I was a little unsure that 3.88 from yesterday would hold up, but once we saw Matt Hagen run in front of us and saw what they did, we felt good,” Todd said. “It was trying to run, but it just got loose. We were definitely trying to put a 340 [mph] on the board. That would be cool, but either way, I’ll take a win over 340 any day. We put ourselves in a good position.
“These fans are dedicated. The fans were so appreciative and thanked us for being there. I was like, ‘No, thank you for having us here’. That’s how the fans are here.”
Chad Green jumped to second in the final session with a 3.894 at 323.89 and Jordan Vandergriff took third with Friday’s 3.924 at 325.14.
Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson picked up his fourth straight No. 1 qualifier, as nobody came close to topping his run of 6.498 at 210.60 from Friday in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.
Anderson made the best run in Saturday’s qualifying session, giving the six-time champ his 144th career No. 1 qualifier. He’ll open eliminations against Troy Coughlin Jr., looking to win for the second time this season and possibly jump into the points lead with a big day.
“It’s been a marathon day, but to get that extra run, we’re very appreciative. The air was good yesterday and better again today, and it should be even better tomorrow,” Anderson said. “We’re just struggling to match our cars up with the starting line and there’s no excuse for that. We’ll figure it out by tomorrow.
“We’ll make the right adjustments. They’ll be fine tomorrow. The crew chiefs are going to have to make a lot of decisions that they may not want to make. Drivers have to be ready for anything, not just cut a good light, but it just could be a pedal-fest out there. You never know. So you’ve got to find a way to get the finish line first.”
Eric Latino took second thanks to Friday’s 6.508 at 209.75 and Aaron Stanfield qualified third with a run of 6.525 at 210.60.
Matt Smith’s 6.669 at 203.03 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell held up from Friday, as the six-time world champion continues to be the only rider in Pro Stock Motorcycle to reach the 6.60s this season. He earned his second straight No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 61st in his career.
Smith made a strong run to close out Saturday during the lone qualifying session, going 6.728 at 199.29 and takes plenty of momentum into Sunday, where he’ll attempt to pick up his first victory of the season.
“I am looking forward to race day tomorrow,” Smith said. “I like my chances in the first round (with a bye). You know, this is the South, and I’ve run so many races down here in Georgia and there’s a lot of motorcycle racing fans down here, and they stuck around to watch us today. We put on a good show. This is a great facility, a fast facility and hopefully there’ll be a good fanbase turnout tomorrow.”
Charlotte winner Gaige Herrera qualified second with a run of 6.705 at 202.30 and reigning world champ Richard Gadson took third after going 6.730 at 201.37.
Six Georgia high school students were reportedly hospitalized – including two with serious injuries – after a high-speed rollover crash on a winding local road notorious for fatal wrecks.
The single-car crash unfolded Thursday morning when a teen boy driving a 2021 Honda Accord went off Vaughn Road in Newman, about 40 miles southwest of Atlanta, while tearing around a curve, according to the Georgia State Patrol, multiple outlets reported.
The car then smashed into a utility pole before slamming into a large tree.
“All of a sudden I heard a bang and then my electricity went out and so I was like, ‘God, something happened,’” a local resident told Atlanta News First of the late-morning crash.
“I could hear all the kids in the car and they were trying to get themselves out and I just knew something was bad.”
The Northgate High School students were rushed to various hospitals, with two teenage girls airlifted to nearby medical centers in serious condition.
Footage from local reports showed tire tracks stretching along the roadside near the crash site, with the front of the black sedan completely obliterated and wrecked beyond recognition.
“A lot of people, I watch them come around the curve, it looks like they’re coming around on two wheels,” said Debbie Canup, who has lived on the problematic 25 mph road for 30 years and spent much of that time pushing for stop signs and speed bumps, the outlet reported.
“We get what I call eye-candy, which is a sign that says no thru traffic, a sign that says speed limit strictly enforced, but it’s not.”
The school district sent a letter to parents about the crash, offering thoughts and prayers to the victims’ families and providing counseling service to students in need, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
However, concerned parents questioned why the students weren’t in school when the accident occurred.
“At that time of day, they should have been at school,” Northgate parent Tarrell Pledger told Atlanta News.
“So I’m just curious as to the details and how it affects the other kids as far as how they fear or feel moving forward because it’s real.”
The grim scene, marked by multiple memorials, has a chilling history of deadly wrecks.
One teen died and three others were injured in a 2016 crash, with another teen also killed in a single-vehicle wreck in 2023, according to the Newnan Times-Herald.
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