Fani Willis calls Jim Jordan a 'clown'

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis went after House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) Monday, as the lawmaker continues to investigate her over misconduct allegations as she prosecutes former President Trump's Georgia election interference case.

“Jim Jordan has, time after time after time, attacked my office with no legitimate purpose,” Willis said in an interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. “Anyone who knows Jim Jordan's history knows that he only has the purpose of trying to interfere in a criminal investigation.”

Earlier this year, Jordan threatened to hold Willis in contempt of Congress if she did not cooperate with an investigation into her use of federal funds. She ultimately cooperated in the probe, which she labeled Monday as “illegitimate,” calling the Ohio Republican's actions “disgusting.”

“He has now turned his tricks to he's going to look at grant programs which I invite him to do, and we have complied with his subpoenas, but yet he continues his attacks to try to interfere in a criminal investigation,” she said. “All while his jurisdiction has one of the worst crime rates, has poverty issues.”

Willis — who stands for reelection Tuesday in the Georgia Democratic primary — also denounced a similar state-level investigation against her.

“I bring that up at the federal level because now at the state level, they've decided to follow this clown’s lead, and they want to now try to interfere in an investigation,” she said. “And it's not legitimate either."

"And so, it shall fail, and it's not going to go anywhere. But they are trying to attack me at every level," she added.

The Georgia criminal case against Trump has been derailed by hearings into Willis’ conduct, specifically a romantic relationship between her and a former case prosecutor. Nathan Wade stepped down from the case in March, after Judge Scott McAfee ruled that one of them had to recuse themselves.

A trial date is still unknown for the case, though Willis targeted an August 2024 start, which now seems unlikely.