Georgia prosecutor in Trump case accuses Republican lawmaker of interference - newspaper

Trump, the first former U.S. president ever to face charges, is the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination to face President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the 2024 U.S. election.

 Former U.S. President Donald Trump is shown in a police booking mugshot released by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, after a Grand Jury brought back indictments against him and 18 of his allies in their attempt to overturn the state's 2020 election results in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., August 24, 2 (photo credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office/Handout)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is shown in a police booking mugshot released by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, after a Grand Jury brought back indictments against him and 18 of his allies in their attempt to overturn the state's 2020 election results in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., August 24, 2
(photo credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office/Handout)

The Georgia prosecutor in U.S. President Donald Trump's case has accused a Republican congressman of interfering in a state criminal matter, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Thursday.

Fani Willis, the district attorney in Georgia's Fulton County, made the allegation in a letter to Representative Jim Jordan, a staunch Trump ally who heads the U.S. House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee, the newspaper reported.

"(There) is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter,"

Fani Willis, district Attorney

Trump was indicted in Georgia last month on charges including conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Jordan announced a probe in an Aug. 24 letter to Willis in which he questioned her motivation in bringing the case, requested documents on her office's use of federal funds and asked whether she coordinated with the Justice Department.

In her letter, which the newspaper published on its website, Willis said allegations that the prosecution is politically motivated were "unfounded" and that U.S. constitutional law permits her to ignore his requests.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Republican congressmen Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio (credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Republican congressmen Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio (credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)

"(There) is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter," Willis wrote.

Representatives for Jordan and Willis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump's charges

Trump, 77, has been criminally charged in four cases this year, two of which were brought by U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith. He denies wrongdoing and calls the cases politically motivated.

Trump, the first former U.S. president ever to face charges, is the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination to face President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the 2024 U.S. election.