Federal grand jury subpoenas travel records of Fulton County DA Fani Willis in Trump case probe

Federal investigators have issued a grand jury subpoena seeking the travel records of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the Atlanta prosecutor who led the Georgia election-interference case against former President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. The New York Times reported Friday that the subpoena targets Willis’ travel in the fall of 2024, around the time of the presidential election. The probe is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, headed by Theodore S. Hertzberg, and the scope of the investigation and whether Willis herself is a target remain unclear.

Willis, who has remained a central figure in the Georgia Trump case since its inception, was removed from the sprawling racketeering and conspiracy case last December by the state’s Court of Appeals, which cited the appearance of impropriety tied to her romantic involvement with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she appointed to lead the case. Last week, the Georgia Supreme Court denied Willis’ bid to return to the case. The romance between Willis and Wade emerged in January 2024 when questions over the prosecutors’ relationship were first aired amid motions to dismiss the charges. Bank records and court filings show Wade paid for lavish trips with Willis during the Trump investigation, including cruises and trips to Napa Valley, Miami and Aruba. Wade was paid roughly $654,000 in legal fees from the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for his work on the Trump case in those years.

Federal investigators have not publicly described the possible links between the travel records and the Trump case or whether Willis is a target of the inquiry. The subpoena’s appearance comes one day after former FBI Director James Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of making false statements and obstruction related to testimony before Congress in September 2020. A spokesman for Willis told the New York Times that the office had no knowledge of any investigation into Willis herself. The Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment on the matter. The development comes as federal investigators continue to monitor the Georgia case and the relationships among those involved, though officials have not publicly detailed the scope or targets beyond the travel window described.