Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said Wednesday that it was time for the House Judiciary Committee to investigate embattled, Trump-hating Atlanta-based District Attorney Fani Willis.
The Fort Walton Beach Republican said the panel must demand answers from Willis about a whistleblower’s allegations that Willis abused federal grants.
The suddenly scandal-stricken Willis was already under fire for hiring Nathan Wade, her married lover, and paying him more than $650,000 in legal fees as a special prosecutor in the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump — even though Wade had no experience in prosecuting cases like Trump’s.
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One of Trump’s co-defendants made the affair claim in court records last month. He asserted Wade used the money Willis paid him to pay for extravagant gifts and vacations.
On his “Firebrand” podcast, Gaetz spotlighted a whistleblower’s claims about the federal grant funding.
The Washington Free Beacon reported Wednesday that Amanda Timpson, a former Willis staffer, stated in 2021, shortly after Willis took office, that Michael Cuffee, one of Willis’ senior campaign aides, wanted to use a $488,000 federal grant for personal purposes.
The grant was slated for the creation of a facility called the Center of Youth Empowerment and Gang Prevention.
Yet according to a recording of her conversation with Willis, Timpson claimed Cuffee wanted “to do things with grants that were impossible.”
Timpson, who authored the grant in question, said Cuffee reportedly pulled her off projects because she questioned him. She asserted that he told other staff that those in the office would get “swag,” such as expensive laptops and trips, with the grant funding.
At one point in the recording, a near-tearful Timpson tells Willis that Cuffee is “dangerous to your administration.”
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The Free Beacon reported that less than two months after that conversation, Willis “abruptly” fired Timpson and ordered seven armed investigators to escort her out of her office.
On his podcast, Gaetz noted that Willis did not seem concerned about the potential misuse of federal funding. Instead, she redirected the conversation toward an interpersonal conflict between Cuffee and Timpson.
“That’s a tell, because it shows you that the construct for how Fani WIllis views the work of the office is through the lens of personal relationships,” said Gaetz.
The congressman likened that to the Trump case.
Because Willis had a “strong” relationship with Wade, he said, the “financial malpractice and malfeasance was acceptable.”
Timpson agreed with that assessment, telling the Free Beacon, “My case and Nathan Wade’s case are very similar when you break them down point by point: ethical violations, abuse of power, and the misuse of county, state, and federal funds.”
In his comments, Gaetz challenged the House Judiciary Committee to immediately hold hearings on Willis’ possible misuse of federal grants.
“That whistleblower should be allowed to tell her story to the United States Congress. Fani Willis should have to answer for any misuse of federal grants for personal lavish experiences,” said Gaetz.
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Gaetz added that lawmakers need answers on whether any other funding was “commingled” with the grants to allow Willis to hire her boyfriend and fund his extracurricular expenses.
“The House Judiciary Committee would be derelict in not bringing Fani Willis before us for a hearing following the release of this explosive whistleblower transcript and audio, ” Gaetz argued.
“Let’s get to the bottom of it. Let’s get her here to answer questions. My expectation is that you’ll learn a lot more about the corruption going on in the Fulton County DA’s office.”
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