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Fani Willis, District Attorney of Fulton County speaks to the Associated Press, Oct. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP) Fani Willis, District Attorney of Fulton County speaks to the Associated Press, Oct. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP)

Fani Willis, District Attorney of Fulton County speaks to the Associated Press, Oct. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP)

Sofia Ahmed
By Sofia Ahmed January 24, 2025

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis didn’t confess to colluding with the Jan. 6 committee

If Your Time is short

  • After a Georgia judge ordered Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to release any communication records she had with the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Willis disclosed a Dec. 17, 2021, letter she had sent to the committee’s chair asking for relevant records.

  • The letter does not show that Willis made an agreement with the Jan. 6 committee to commit an illegal act, as social media users claimed.

A Georgia appeals court in December disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting an election interference case against President Donald Trump because of a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she had hired. Now, some social media users are misleadingly saying Willis admitted she was guilty of a separate charge.

"Breaking: Fani Willis has just confessed to collusion with J6 committee," a Jan. 22 Instagram post said, referring to the House select committee to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The post included a screenshot of Trump’s 2024 Truth Social post that read, "Fani falls apart."

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

But Willis has not said she was guilty of colluding with the Jan. 6 committee.

The video from Trump’s Truth social account showed Willis testifying during a Feb. 15, 2024, court hearing that would determine whether she should remain on Georgia's election interference case against Trump.

Her role in the prosecution came under scrutiny because of her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor Willis had hired and who had withdrawn from the election interference case. In the full nearly 14-minute video posted on Trump’s account, Willis didn’t admit to colluding with the Jan. 6 committee.

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The claim appears to originate from Judicial Watch, a conservative group that sued Willis for not disclosing correspondence she may have had with the Jan. 6 committee or then-U.S. special counsel Jack Smith. Smith led federal investigations into Trump’s handling of classified documents and attempts to hold onto power after the 2020 elections. Smith resigned from the Justice Department in January before Trump’s second presidential inauguration.

Judicial Watch released a video Dec. 11 titled, "Fani Willis confesses!" In the video, Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch’s president, said Willis confessed to having communication records with the Jan. 6 committee, which he said "confirms she was in collusion" with it.

Collusion is a secret agreement between parties to commit an illegal act against a third party.

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A Georgia judge said Dec. 2 that Willis violated the law by refusing to respond to Judicial Watch’s request for documents between her and Smith or the Jan. 6 committee. And the judge ordered her to release any relevant documents she may have.

In response to the judge’s orders, Willis disclosed a Dec. 17, 2021, letter she wrote to the Jan. 6 committee chair asking for committee records that could be relevant to Georgia’s election interference case. Judicial Watch had cited that letter in a previous complaint.

The letter’s disclosure did not show Willis "confessed" to colluding with the Jan. 6 committee. A Fulton County spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment about the claim.

We rate the claim that "Willis has just confessed to collusion" with the Jan. 6 committee False.?

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

Our Sources

Instagram post (archived), Jan. 22, 2025

YouTube, "I’m not on trial,’ Fani Willis says in hearing, Feb. 15, 2024

The Hill, Fani Willis ordered to turn over communications in Trump case to conservative group, Dec. 4, 2024

Facebook post (archived), Dec. 11, 2025

Cornell Law School, collusion, January 2022

Judicial Watch, Order granting attorney’s fees and costs, Jan. 3, 2025

Judicial Watch, Complaint, March 5, 2024

PolitiFact, Fact-checking a Facebook post on arrests of DACA applicants for murder, rape, DUI, Jan. 14, 2020

PolitiFact, Judicial Watch says ISIS operating a camp in Mexico – near El Paso, April 17, 2015

PolitiFact, Judicial Watch says Department of Justice unit organized protests against George Zimmerman, July 12, 2013

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis didn’t confess to colluding with the Jan. 6 committee

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