Maine Writer: Fulton County and Fani Willis holding Jim Jordan accountable for Civics 101

Opinion from Bess Levin published in Vanity Fair:

Fani Willis All but Calls Jim Jordan a Moron in Scathing Letter About Prosecuting Trump. In fact, the Fulton County district attorney more or less told the House Judiciary chair Jordan to take a remedial civics class.*

In a withering letter, the subtext of which was basically “You’re a f--king idiot and I can’t believe I have to take the time out of my day to deal with you,” Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis blasted House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan (aka #GYMJimJordan) and his demand that she turn over all documents related to her case against Donald Trump and the 18 other people she indicted last month. If this letter doesn’t cause Jordan such embarrassment or shame that he leaves town immediately never to return, nothing will!

More or less suggesting that the Republican Congressman ought to take a remedial civics course, Willis dubbed his request for the Trump records “offensive to any notion of separation of powers that recognizes the distinct roles of the executive and legislative functions of government,” writing: “Your attempt to invoke congressional authority to intrude upon and interfere with an active criminal case in Georgia is flagrantly at odds with the Constitution ... There is absolutely no support for Congress purporting to second guess or somehow supervise an ongoing Georgia criminal investigation and prosecution. That violation of Georgia’s sovereignty is offensive and will not stand.” Apparently operating from the assumption that the House Judiciary chair knows less about how the US government works than a third grader, she added: “As the Supreme Court has explained, ‘the Executive Branch has exclusive authority and absolute discretion to decide whether to prosecute a case.’ Congress, in contrast, is barred by precedent from using investigations for ‘law enforcement purposes.’ You have thus violated the basic constitutional rule that ‘the power to investigate must not be confused with any of the powers of law enforcement; those powers are assigned under our Constitution to the Executive and the Judiciary’.” And Ms. Willis did not stop there❗ 😊😉😃

That his letter “shows a total ignorance of Georgia’s racketeering statute and the basics of criminal conspiracy law”

That “it is time” for him to “deal with some basic realities,” like the reality that “a Special Purpose Grand Jury made up of everyday citizens investigated for 10 months and made recommendations to me” and “a grand jury of completely different Fulton County citizens found probable cause against the defendants named in the indictment for RICO violations and various other felonies”

That “another reality” he “must face” is that “those who wish to avoid felony charges in Fulton County, Georgia ... should not commit felonies in Fulton County, Georgia”

That if wants to make himself useful, he should “consider directing the USDOJ to investigate the racist threats that have come to my staff and me because of this investigation” and that she will not “be bullied and threatened by Members of Congress, local elected officials, or others who believe lady justice should not be blind and that America has different laws for different citizens In undoubtedly the most devastating section of the thoroughly devastating letter, Willis effectively suggested that Jordan should go out and buy a copy of Criminal Law for Dummies, writing this:

Allow me the opportunity to provide a brief tutorial on criminal conspiracy law, Chairman Jordan. As I explained to the public when announcing the indictment, the overt and predicate acts are included because the grand jury found probable cause that those acts were committed to advance the objectives of a criminal conspiracy to overturn the result of Georgia’s 2020 Presidential Election.

For a more thorough understanding of Georgia’s RICO statute, its application and similar laws in other states, I encourage you to read “RICO State-by-State.” As a non-member of the bar, you can purchase a copy for two hundred forty-nine dollars [$249].

Jordan does not yet appear to have responded to the tip.