Ms. Willis, who charged Mr. Trump in connection with his efforts to cling to power after the 2020 election, came under scrutiny over her relationship with a lawyer she hired to lead the case.
Lawyers for Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, and the Georgia legislature clashed in court on Tuesday as Republican lawmakers seek to force Ms. Willis to testify and turn over records as part of their review of her prosecution of President-elect Donald J. Trump and his allies for 2020 election interference.
Since the U.S. Justice Department dropped its two cases against Mr. Trump after his election in November, Ms. Willis has the last active prosecution of the president-elect. While Mr. Trump was convicted earlier this year of 34 felonies in a Manhattan case related to falsifying business records, the judge recently put off the sentencing and prosecutors have signaled a willingness to freeze the case for four years while Mr. Trump holds office.
Ms. Willis charged Mr. Trump and 18 of his allies in August of last year as part of a racketeering case related to his efforts to cling to power despite his 2020 election loss. The case was upended after revelations in January that Ms. Willis had a romantic relationship with the private lawyer she hired to run the case. Mr. Trump and other defendants are seeking to disqualify Ms. Willis and her entire office.
Mr. Trump is not expected to be tried on the Georgia charges while he is in office. While the Justice Department has a policy against federal prosecutions of sitting presidents, the issue has not been tested at the state level. Most legal experts believe he will ultimately be shielded from prosecution, perhaps even by the United States Supreme Court, leaving his 14 co-defendants to face trial. (Four others have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate.)
Mr. Trump could still face trial after he leaves the presidency.
Republican lawmakers in the State Senate have seized on the revelations about Ms. Willis’s relationship and are seeking to force her to testify about it as part of their own review, even though she has already testified about it in court.
Ms. Willis is fighting to avoid that. During a hearing Tuesday, she was represented by one of Georgia’s most formidable, if affable, lawyers, former Gov. Roy Barnes.
