Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading a criminal investigation into efforts after the last presidential election to undercut Joe Biden’s win in Georgia, is now seeking testimony from Michael Flynn and Newt Gingrich alongside others with various connections to Trump.
The process for obtaining testimony from Flynn and Gingrich involves approval from a local judge overseeing the work of a special grand jury working on Willis’s investigation followed by approval and an order from a judge working near wherever a targeted witness resides. Per the Associated Press, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, the local judge, apparently already provided his backing for the push for testimony from Flynn and Gingrich. Willis pinned the timing for this testimony she’s seeking at after the upcoming elections, in the lead-up to which she has said she will be halting public investigative work, thereby evading even the appearance of political motivations related to the midterms.
The connections Flynn and Gingrich hold to the issues Willis is investigating make their relevance substantively clear. For Gingrich, a former member of Congress, he was evidently involved with plans to push for members of the public to promote the prospect of undoing the presidential election results to state officials. A petition Willis filed in pursuit of his testimony also tied Gingrich to the scheme assembling fake electors in Georgia. As for Flynn, Willis is evidently concerned about issues including his promotion of the idea of getting the military involved in rerunning the presidential race, or at least portions of it. He was also involved in an infamous meeting in December 2020 at the White House where Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani were also present and where those participating discussed possibilities like seizing election machines and making Powell a special counsel.
Seizing election machines, if put into motion, could’ve directly affected Georgia, which was among the most highly disputed states after Biden won there. Willis is also seeking testimony from Eric Herschmann, who formerly worked in the Trump White House and provided relatively forthcoming testimony to the House panel investigating the Capitol riot. She cited revelations from the panel, which is planning another public hearing for the near future, in making her case for Gingrich’s testimony.
