A commission in Georgia with the ability to discipline and remove prosecutors only requires Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) approval before taking effect involving the possible removal of Fulton County District Attorney from her position as she carries on her political crusade of prosecuting former President Donald Trump.
The Georgia state House recently voted 97-73, sending legislation to Kemp’s desk to allow the panel to investigate Willis’ prosecution of the former president. The Georgia governor has pledged to sign the bill.
Today, we took the final step to pass legislation authorizing the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission.
In Georgia, we are going to hold rogue District Attorneys accountable to ensure they are prosecuting criminals and upholding the rule of law. pic.twitter.com/seh51lr5A2
— JonBurnsGA (@JonBurnsGA) March 5, 2024
Although Kemp signed legislation in 2023 establishing the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, the council couldn’t begin operations after the state Supreme Court refused to approve rules governing its conduct, according to the Associated Press (AP).
State legislators said their bill would hold radical prosecutors accountable for exceeding their authority.
“Once this bill’s passed, this commission will be able to begin its real work, which is bringing accountability to those rogue prosecuting attorneys” that overstep their authority, state Rep. Joseph Gullett (R) said.
The legislation will likely face challenges in court. If passed, it would require district attorneys and solicitors general, responsible for prosecuting low-profile cases in some counties, to evaluate each case separately instead of refusing to prosecute classes of offenses. Individuals opposed to the measure said it wouldn’t let prosecutors use their discretion.
Several Georgia Democrats decried the bill as “a partisan attempt to control and discipline prosecutors who hand down decisions that Republican politicians do not like.”
State House Democratic Whip Sam Park (D) said the legislation would “undermine” Willis’ prosecution of Trump.
“It will be used to undermine the ongoing criminal prosecution of twice-impeached President Donald Trump,” Park said.
Republicans have said the measure is directly aimed at Willis, given the district attorney’s prosecutorial misconduct.
“It shocks me that there has been such a distortion of this issue by Democrats that has obscured the truth here,” state House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration (R) said.
Democrats have issued a scathing rebuke of the bill, claiming Republicans are trying to override the will of leftist voters by establishing a commission without a body to review rules.
“We are creating an oversight commission with no oversight,” state Rep. Stacey Evans (D) said.
