Newly released documents detail executive privilege waiver, DOJ communications and outreach to congressional investigators.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A newly disclosed collection of internal communications reported by Just the News and America First Legal sheds light on coordination between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s office, the Biden White House, the U.S. Justice Department and members of the House Jan. 6 Select Committee during the prosecution of President Donald Trump over Georgia’s 2020 election dispute.
The roughly 8,000 pages of documents were released following extended litigation under Georgia’s Open Records Law. According to statements from America First Legal, the materials were produced without redactions after Willis’s office dropped prior claims of legal privilege.
Among the records is a September 2022 letter from Biden White House Special Counsel Richard Sauber to Willis deputy F. Donald Wakeford. The letter informed Fulton County prosecutors that President Joe Biden would not assert executive privilege to block former Trump White House officials from testifying before a Georgia grand jury. The document can be viewed here: 2022.09.13 – Biden WH to Wakeford.pdf.
Sauber wrote that “these events threatened not only the safety of Congress and others present at the Capitol, but also the principles of democracy enshrined in our history and our Constitution,” adding that “an assertion of executive privilege is not in the public interest with respect to efforts to thwart the orderly transition of power under our Constitution.”
The waiver applied to discussions surrounding Jan. 6, Justice Department election investigations, and any efforts to “alter valid 2020 election results or obstruct the transfer of power,” according to the letter.
Executive privilege has long been recognized as the president’s implied authority to withhold certain internal communications, including in landmark cases such as Marbury v. Madison. The constitutional foundation for that authority is summarized by Congress at this link: Constitutional essay on executive privilege.
The newly released documents also detail communications between Fulton County prosecutors and federal officials through formal “Touhy Requests,” which are described as formal requests to federal agencies for testimony: Touhy request explanation.
In a March 14, 2022 email from Wakeford to Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Beranek, prosecutors sought guidance on additional requests. That correspondence is available here: 2022.03.14 – Wakeford to Beranek.pdf.
A May 11, 2022 letter from DOJ General Counsel Jay Macklin informed Fulton County prosecutors that certain former Trump Justice Department officials—including Jeffrey Rosen, Richard Donoghue and Steven Engel—had already provided testimony before Congress and attached transcripts as a courtesy. The letter is available here: 2022.05.11 – DOJ to Wakeford.pdf.
The records further show outreach by Willis’s office to members of the Jan. 6 Select Committee, including Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson. One email to Thompson’s office stated: “Our office is currently engaged in an ongoing investigation related to possible criminal disruptions that occurred during the administration of the 2020 general elections in Georgia.” That correspondence can be viewed here: BennieThompsonJ6EmailFaniWillisOffice.pdf.
Additional emails between Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Michael Hill and Select Committee Chief Investigative Counsel Tim Heaphy indicate that the committee offered oral summaries and in-camera document access to assist the state investigation. Those communications are available here: 2022.04 – Emails between Heaphy & Hill.pdf.
In August 2023, Willis announced she had indicted Trump and allies under Georgia’s racketeering statute. The full indictment is available here: GeorgiaIndictment.pdf. Eighteen additional defendants, including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows, were charged.
Willis stated at the time, “Trump and the other defendants charged in this indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome
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