A federal judge has ruled that the Department of Justice (DOJ) must release records related to any communication between former Special Counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis concerning the prosecution of President Donald Trump. The decision is part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, which has been seeking transparency on potential coordination between Smith and Willis.
Judicial Watch originally submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in August 2023, asking for records regarding whether Willis had requested or received federal assistance in her case against Trump and his associates. The DOJ refused to comply, and the group filed a lawsuit in October. The DOJ later argued that revealing the records could interfere with active law enforcement proceedings, even after the prosecutions led by Smith had been dismissed.
On January 28, U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich rejected the DOJ’s justification, ruling that “the cases are closed — not pending or contemplated — and therefore are not proceedings with which disclosure may interfere.” The court ordered the DOJ to either release the records or demonstrate that they are legally exempt from disclosure.
The DOJ must now meet with Judicial Watch by February 21 and update the court on the status of their discussions. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton criticized the DOJ’s handling of the case, stating that it was “a scandal” that a court had to force the agency to acknowledge that its objections to releasing the records were baseless.
Meanwhile, Willis has faced her own legal troubles over government transparency. A separate court ruling recently found that she violated Georgia’s Open Records Act by failing to release records related to her communications with Smith and the House January 6 committee. As a result, a Fulton County judge ordered her office to pay more than $21,500 in legal fees to Judicial Watch.
Judicial Watch has confirmed that Willis has complied with the payment order, but the group is still pressing for full transparency regarding the records held by the DOJ. The court’s ruling forces the agency to provide answers after months of withholding the requested information.
