A former employee of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office has detailed allegations of misconduct in the Georgia law office during a state Republican-led Senate Special Committee on Investigations hearing on Thursday.
Willis’ office is prosecuting former President Donald Trump’s state election interference case. Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and 18 co-defendants were indicted in August 2023 for allegedly conspiring to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in Georgia. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has claimed the case is politically motivated.
Amanda Timpson, former director of Fulton County’s juvenile diversion program, alleged that she was fired after trying to stop her colleagues from misusing federal grant money. Timpson assisted in writing grant applications for the district attorney’s office, which included a $488,594 grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded in 2020 for the creation of a youth empowerment and gang prevention center. OJJDP is an office of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
Willis has denied any wrongdoing and said that Timpson was fired because of poor job performance, according to the Georgia Recorder.
The whistleblower detailed an alleged meeting between her and her then-supervisor Michael Cuffee, a Willis aide.
“In this meeting, this was the first time on what [Cuffee] wanted to spend the grant on. He said he wanted to spend it on computers, travel and swag,” Timpson told the Georgia senators. “As I persisted that it is not what we could do that’s when I realized my treatment changed.”
The ex-employee also spoke of an alleged conversation between her and Willis.
“[Willis] said something like, ‘What’s going on?’ And when I went to speak, she cut me off and she said, ‘Effective immediately you’re going to be removed and demoted,” Timpson said.
Timpson said she brought her concerns to Human Resources, but was ultimately fired. The whistleblower has a pending lawsuit in state court against Willis for wrongful termination, according to the Georgia Recorder.
Newsweek reached out to Willis’ office and the DOJ’s Office of Communications via email for comment.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seen at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1 in Atlanta. A former employee of Willis’ office has detailed allegations of misconduct in the Georgia law office during… Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seen at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1 in Atlanta. A former employee of Willis’ office has detailed allegations of misconduct in the Georgia law office during a state Republican-led Senate Special Committee on Investigations hearing on Thursday.
Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images
Willis has yet to accept an invitation to testify in front of the state’s Senate Special Committee on Investigations. Republican state Senator Bill Cowsert, chair of the committee, says that Willis will be subpoenaed if deemed necessary.
However, Willis told reporters earlier this month that she doesn’t think the committee has the authority to subpoena her and she would not choose to go either.
“I will not appear to anything that is unlawful, and I have not broken the law,” she said.
Meanwhile, two U.S. Republican Senators, Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin are also looking into the alleged misuse of the nearly $500,000 in federal funds, The Washington Free Beacon reported Wednesday.
Despite the recent controversy surrounding Willis, she won the Democratic primary on Tuesday against attorney Christian Wise Smith, getting her one step closer in her reelection bid.
“I have been under constant attack. They have called me everything but a child of God,” Willis said during her victory speech.
Earlier this year, Willis was thrown into the national spotlight when she was accused of having a personal relationship with a prosecutor in her office, Nathan Wade. While Willis and Wade admitted to the relationship, they maintained that neither one of them financially benefited from it. Wade later resigned from Willis’ office.
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