Georgia Judge Demands District Attorney Fani Willis Show Her Work On Trump-Linked Records

This latest directive grows out of Judicial Watch’s open-records lawsuit after Willis’ office repeatedly said no such records existed, only to later acknowledge they did once court pressure mounted. In January, Judge McBurney found Willis violated the Open Records Act and awarded Judicial Watch $21,578 in fees and costs after concluding her office “flatly ignored” the initial request and conducted no real search until ordered by the court. (Judicial Watch says payment arrived late.) Order Granting Attorney Fees and Costs

Procedurally, the road here matters. The court first entered a default in December 2024 for failure to comply; in March 2025 it compelled Willis to produce the withheld records for in-camera inspection and to explain her search; the August order followed the court’s review, flagging the missing protocols for Hill and Willis and the unclear status of Wade’s devices. The judge’s fix is surgical: document the search terms and data sources, search Wade if needed, Bates-stamp everything, and bring any new responsive records back to chambers for another look. Translation: the court is supervising the search, step-by-step. Scribd