Photo credit: TNS

Photo credit: TNS

The Fulton district attorney’s office referred the matter to the district attorney’s office, which represented Willis in the lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch. District Attorney Soo Jo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In August 2023, the DA’s office secured a racketeering indictment against President-elect Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, although four of them have since entered guilty pleas. The case is now on hold while the Georgia Court of Appeals considers whether the district attorney should be disqualified because Willis had a romantic relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

The same month the indictment against Fulton was filed, Judicial Watch filed an Open Records Act request with the Attorney General’s Office seeking records sent to the Office of Special Counsel and the House Committee. Judicial Watch filed suit last March when prosecutors said they didn’t have it.

In a six-page order, McBurney found that the district attorney’s office violated the Open Records Act because the district attorney’s office failed to meet the filing deadline to respond to the complaint.

Additionally, McBurney noted that the office is in default and must turn over to Judicial Watch within five business days all records that are not legally exempt from disclosure under the act. The law prevents records from being disclosed if they are part of an ongoing investigation.

McBurney has also scheduled a hearing for Dec. 20 to decide how much Fulton County Judicial Watch must pay in legal fees.