Southeast
Fani Willis’ ex-staffer testifies she was fired after blowing whistle on DA’s spending
A fourth Georgia state Senate investigation committee hearing as part of its probe into alleged misconduct by District Attorney Fani Willis concluded Thursday afternoon.
The Senate Special Committee on Investigations, chaired by Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert, considered sworn testimony from witness Amanda Timpson, who served as Willis’ director of juvenile diversion programs but says she was demoted and eventually fired. Cowsert says her termination was after she became a whistleblower and complained about the misuse of funds.
Timpson testified that she was subject to “overwhelming retaliation” and “pushback” after notifying her direct boss that Willis’ office was knowingly misusing federal grant funds, which is illegal.
Timpson helped to write and apply for a competitive federal grant focused on programming to help at-risk youth and grant prevention. She testified that when Willis took office in 2021, her new supervisor, Michael Cuffee, told her that he planned to use the funds to purchase “computers, travel and swag” as part of the office’s “rebranding” upon Willis’ administration.
NATHAN WADE’S PHONE DATA SHOWS HE MADE MIDNIGHT TRIPS TO FANI WILLIS’ CONDO BEFORE HE WAS HIRED: ATTORNEY
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives to speak after winning the Democratic primary on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 in Buckhead, Georgia. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
When Timpson told her boss that those purchases were not permitted under the grant, he persisted in his plans for the purchases, she said. He also told Timpson that Willis requires all her staff to refer to her as “madame” and that the swag and other purchases were Willis’ “vision,” Timpson testified.
Timpson said that after serving in the previous district attorney’s administration, she was required to interview again with Willis’ administration to keep her job in December 2020. Nathan Wade, who roughly a year later would be hired as a special prosecutor, was on Timpson’s interview panel, along with Willis and her communications official, Jeff DiSantis.
Timpson said she wanted Willis to be aware of the misuse of funds to “protect” her and “protect the integrity of the grants.” She said that after Willis was made aware of Timpson’s warnings, she was demoted to the position of file clerk.
“I thought that I was going to ultimately retire from the DA’s office, and it made a place that I used to be proud of working at hell for me, essentially,” Timpson said.
Timpson testified that after she escalated her claims of retaliation to the Office of Diversity and Civil Rights Compliance, she was eventually terminated and escorted out of the building by seven armed investigators.
Timpson also testified that Willis made “completely slanderous and libelous statements” about her employment history, making it difficult to secure her next job.
“[I]t made my life extremely hard and my family’s life extremely hard. And just, you know, for me, it’s I’m here today to fight for my reputation, to fight for the youth of Fulton County, but also for the truth,” she said.
Amanda Timpson, former Director of Juvenile Diversion and a member of Fani Willis executive leadership team, testified Thursday before the Georgia senate.
Timpson also said Willis’ office was the recipient of a federal Justice Assistant Grant intended to fun the DA’s summer program called the Junior DA Program. Those funds were allocated specifically to help Fulton County youth in middle and high school grades.
But Timpson testified that the first summer program under Willis’ administration included students from other states, relatives of government officials, and one of Willis’ family members.
“It was essentially a summer program for the most privileged youth in and around the country. There were elected officials’ grand kids there, Fani’s niece, or what she represented as her niece from Florida attended. We went and picked up the niece every morning from her office,” Timpson testified.
“This was not a crime prevention program for at-risk youth in Fulton County,” Timpson said, recalling that a child of a Dekalb County judge was also in attendance.
EMBATTLED DA FANI WILLIS WINS GEORGIA PRIMARY ELECTION
Georgia’s GOP-controlled Senate voted in January to form a special committee to investigate Willis amid the revelations of her romantic affair with Wade.
Willis is spearheading the 2020 election interference case against former President Trump. She has been a lighting rod of criticism since the allegations that she had an “improper” affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she hired to help prosecute the case.
She is not expected to testify on Thursday and has previously called the committee “unlawful,” though the committee has subpoena power to compel her testimony.
Previous state Senate committee hearings revealed that oversight of Willis’ $36 million budget was “like the Wild West, very little control,” Cowsert said.
At that hearing earlier this month, Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts and Fulton County Chief Financial Officer Sharon Whittmore testified that Willis has broad discretion over those taxpayer dollars, including whether to hire a special prosecutor and how much they should be paid.
“You don’t know how much of that is spent on professional services, who is hired, how much they’re paid per hour, what their total compensation is. Yet you’re being asked to provide $36.6 million a year that you know encompasses a number of those types of independent contractors that you know you’re funding with no oversight or control, right?” Cowsart asked Whittmore at one point.
Pitts also testified that Willis did not have to get any pre-approval for hiring an independent special counsel to assist with her activities.
Former special prosecutor Nathan Wade arrives before Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks after winning the Democratic primary on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 in Buckhead, Georgia. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Ashleigh Merchant, lawyer for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, testified at the committee’s first hearing that Willis was awarded a $780,000 increase in the DA’s budget on Sept. 15 2021, through the end of that year, with the next year not to exceed $5 million.
The budget increase was just a few months before Wade was hired in November 2021, and roughly eight months before the special grand jury in this case was impaneled in May 2022.
She said that the DA claimed this money was to hire extra people to help with the backlog of homicide cases the office was seeing at that time.
FANI WILLIS SUGGESTS SHE WON’T TESTIFY IN ‘UNLAWFUL’ GEORGIA SENATE INVESTIGATION
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on Feb. 15, 2024 in Atlanta. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images)
Merchant testified that when she made open records requests to confirm that her office hired new employees and not special contractors, her request was denied by the DA’s office.
Willis won her primary election on Tuesday by a sweeping margin over her Democratic challenger.
“Tonight they delivered a strong and a powerful message,” Willis said in her acceptance speech. “They want a district attorney that believes everyone deserves to be safe. And everyone is entitled to some dignity. And it’s a message that’s pissing folks off. But there is no one above the law in this country. Nor is there anyone beneath it.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Willis’ office for comment on Timpson’s testimony.
Fox News’ David Lewkowict and Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
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Southeast
College soccer star, girlfriend dead as illegal immigrant’s record ignites lawmaker fury statewide
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Lawmakers are voicing outrage as family and friends mourn a college soccer player and his girlfriend who were killed in a DUI crash allegedly caused by an illegal immigrant.
The case is reigniting debate over immigration enforcement and whether failures in the system contributed to the deaths of Fletcher Harris, 20, and Skylar Provenza, 19.
Prosecutors say Juan Alvarado Aguilar, 37, was driving under the influence when his vehicle slammed into the couple’s car on Friday, Jan. 16, killing them both and devastating their families and community. As mourners gather to say goodbye to Provenza and Harris, whose funeral was held Thursday, lawmakers are pointing to Aguilar’s immigration status and alleged criminal history as evidence of broader public safety failures they say demand immediate action.
North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Harris said the case highlights what he described as the deadly consequences of sanctuary policies and failures to enforce immigration laws. Harris argued the couple’s deaths were preventable and blamed state and local leadership for allowing the suspect to remain in the country and on the road.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RAN FROM DEADLY WRONG-WAY DUI CRASH THAT KILLED MOTORCYCLIST, RECORDS SHOW
A funeral service for Fletcher Mark Daniel Harris was held at Williamson Chapel in Mooresville, North Carolina, on Thursday, January 22, 2026. Harris, 20, was killed in a car crash on Jan. 16, 2026. (Tim Jackson for Fox News Digital)
“Fletcher Harris and Skylar Provenza—two bright young lives full of promise—were brutally taken in a head-on crash allegedly caused by an illegal alien with a prior DUI who never should have been on our roads,” Harris said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This is the deadly cost of North Carolina’s sanctuary policies and radical Democrat refusal to enforce the law.”
Harris also questioned the lack of public response, suggesting the reaction would be far different in other cases.
“Where’s the outrage? Where are the protests? If this were any other tragedy, the streets would be filled—but when criminal aliens kill Americans, the silence from the Left is deafening.”
CORNYN PUSHES ‘ZERO MERCY’ LAW TO DEPORT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF DEADLY DRUNK DRIVING
A funeral service for Fletcher Mark Daniel Harris was held at Williamson Chapel in Mooresville, North Carolina, on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Tim Jackson for Fox News Digital)
Authorities say the deadly crash occurred just after 11 p.m. on Jan. 16 in Rowan County, North Carolina, when a Chevrolet Silverado driven by Aguilar crossed the center line and slammed head-on into the car carrying Harris and Provenza. They were both pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said officers noted a strong odor of alcohol and that Aguilar appeared unsteady on his feet when he was arrested.
Court records reviewed by Fox News Digital show Aguilar had a prior driving-while-impaired charge from 2020 that was dismissed by a district attorney, a procedural move that has drawn renewed scrutiny following the deadly crash. Prosecutors also told the court that Aguilar had two prior failures to appear, and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer has been placed on him.
GRIEVING FATHER SAYS DAUGHTER’S DEATH BY ILLEGAL ALIEN SHOWS COST OF SANCTUARY POLICIES
Juan Alvarado Aguilar is shown in a booking photo released by authorities. Police said Aguilar, 37, was identified as the driver of a Chevrolet Silverado involved in a DUI crash that killed two people. (Rowan County Sheriff’s Office)
Aguilar now faces two counts of felony death by vehicle, driving while impaired and other charges, and is being held on a bond of more than $5 million.
North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall said the deaths hit close to home and blamed what he described as failures in federal immigration enforcement.
“I think it’s a failure of policy, and it’s a failure under the Biden administration, where essentially he allowed open borders,” Hall said. He argued that Democrats have taken the position that “no one should be deported, even those who are committing serious crimes,” adding that the suspect had previously been charged with DWI before the fatal crash.
ILLINOIS FATHER SAYS PRITZKER SHOWS ‘INDIFFERENCE’ TO HIS DAUGHTER BEING KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT
Hall pushed back against claims that North Carolina is a sanctuary state, pointing to legislative action taken in recent years to require cooperation with federal immigration authorities. He said that prior to 2018, all sheriffs in the state worked with ICE, but that changed after several Democratic sheriffs stopped honoring ICE detainers.
Republican lawmakers responded by passing legislation mandating cooperation with ICE, bills that were initially vetoed by then-Gov. Roy Cooper before lawmakers overrode the vetoes.
“So in this state right now, when somebody is charged with a crime, and they’re here illegally and ICE wants to take custody of that person, the local county sheriff has to do that,” Hall said.
MOTHER OF OFFICER KILLED BY ILLEGAL MIGRANT CRITICIZES MINNESOTA LEADERS’ ‘WARPED VIEW’ OF POLICE
Fletcher Harris and Skylar Provenza are shown in a photo taken before their deaths. The two were killed in a DUI crash, according to authorities. (Instagram/ skylar_provenza)
Hall argued that enforcement later broke down at the federal level, despite state laws remaining in place, saying ICE under the Biden administration often failed to take custody of illegal immigrants charged with crimes.
He said stronger coordination between state and federal authorities is critical to preventing similar tragedies, crediting renewed enforcement efforts under the Trump administration and emphasizing the need for continued cooperation.
Reflecting on the victims, Hall said lawmakers are focused on preventing future losses.
“Know that we’re fighting very hard to make sure this never happens to anyone again,” he said.
Harris was a standout student-athlete at Catawba College, where he played soccer and made the dean’s list. Provenza had just graduated in Esthetics from Dermacademy and was set to start her career at Datre Hair Co., according to her obituary.
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In a Facebook post, Provenza’s mother urged the public to reject hatred and honor the couple’s lives with love.
“Remember them. Remember love. Remember justice, and the Lord’s plan will prevail,” she wrote. “Hate will never bring them back. While my heart is broken, I pray for this world that we live in. Evil never wins, but love always will.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the North Carolina Democratic Party for comment.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
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Southeast
Florida attorney general demands nursing board revoke license of nurse who wished injury on Karoline Leavitt
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Florida attorney general James Uthmeier is calling for the Florida Board of Nursing to revoke the license of a woman after she said she hoped White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suffers a severe injury in childbirth.
“Women shouldn’t have to worry about a politically driven nurse who wishes them pain and suffering being in the delivery room during childbirth,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“It’s evil,” he added. “The Florida Board of Nursing must take action to keep this person away from patients permanently.”
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is expecting her second child this year. (Andrew Harnik)
In a video posted on TikTok, Lexie Lawler, a former labor and delivery nurse at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital, said, “As a labor and delivery nurse, it gives me great joy to wish Karoline Leavitt a fourth degree tear.”
She continued with explicit language, saying she hoped Leavitt would suffer a permanent injury during childbirth.
“I hope you f——- rip from bow to stern and never s— normally again, you c—,” she said.
In December, Leavitt announced that she and her husband Nick are expecting a baby girl due in May, who will join their first son, Niko, born in July 2024.
Lawler was subsequently fired from Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital.
The hospital told Fox News Digital that her comments “do not reflect our values or the standards we expect of healthcare professionals,” but Lawler has since defended her remarks in another video, and appeared to reference an unrelated shooting in Minnesota while responding to criticism over her comments.
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“Women shouldn’t have to worry about a politically-driven nurse who wishes them pain and suffering being in the delivery room during childbirth,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital in a statement. (DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
“So they just murdered a man in Minnesota, they murdered a man in Minnesota, and you mother——- are coming after me because I used bad language? F— you. I’m on the right side of this. F— you.”
A “GoFundMe” has been set up for Lawler which has raised nearly $5,000 with a goal of $14,000.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Florida Board of Nursing and Lawler for comment.
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A GoFundMe has been set up for Lawler which has raised over $4,000 with a goal of $14,000. (Photo illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
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Southeast
Grandson charged with murdering retired grandparents found dead in their South Carolina home
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Authorities in upstate South Carolina have arrested the 19-year-old grandson of a retired couple found slain in their home earlier this month, charging him with two counts of murder in a case that has shaken a small rural community.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said Levi Kevin Jones was taken into custody late Friday and charged in connection with the deaths of Larry Moore, 76, and Sandra Moore, 75, who were discovered inside their residence on Cromer Moore Road near Westminster on Jan. 15.
Jones is also charged with two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to arrest warrants obtained by Fox News Digital. He remains in custody pending a bond hearing.
The couple was found after a family member requested a welfare check when repeated attempts to reach them were unsuccessful. Investigators and the county coroner later determined the deaths were homicides.
RETIRED SOUTH CAROLINA COUPLE FOUND DEAD IN HOMICIDE AT HOME
Larry and Sandra Moore are pictured during a church gathering at Calvary Church. The couple was later remembered by the congregation following their deaths. (Calvary Church Facebook)
According to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office, Larry Moore died from multiple stabbing injuries, while Sandra Moore died from manual strangulation. Autopsies were conducted the following day.
Arrest warrants allege Jones stabbed his grandfather multiple times in the torso and neck and strangled his grandmother, cutting off her airway and blood flow. Authorities said a knife was used during the attack.
Authorities have not provided a motive for the attack.
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The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said the couple’s grandson, Levi Kevin Jones, is charged with two counts of murder in the case, as well as two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. (Oconee County Sheriff’s Office)
The Moores were longtime residents of the area and well known in the community as the former owners of Moore & Moore Fish Camp, a local restaurant that operated for decades before the couple retired.
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They were also active members of Calvary Church, where friends described them as regular attendees.
“They were always there,” Stacy Brooks, who attended church, told Fox News Digital. “You expected to see them every time you went. They were faithful people.”
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The Oconee County Coroner’s Office, which assisted in the investigation into the deaths of Larry and Sandra Moore, is shown in an exterior view. (Oconee County Coroner’s Office)
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Brooks said the killings have been difficult for residents of the small upstate South Carolina town to process.
“This is a close community, and something like this just doesn’t happen often,” she said.
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The sheriff’s office previously said the killings appeared to be an isolated incident and that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
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