Another Georgia GOP leader shows he's not afraid of 'antagonizing Trump'

Republican officials in Georgia have been threatening to punish or remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over the election racketeering charges she brought against former President Donald Trump and 18 of his allies, including lawyers and local Republican operatives. But according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein, state House Speaker Jon Burns has thrown cold water on the idea of impeaching her or defunding her office.

"As Hurricane Idalia bears down on our great state today ... we continue to have a few members of the General Assembly making misleading or false claims about the General Assembly's lawful powers regarding an ongoing criminal case before our Judiciary," said Burns in a statement. "A select few are calling to defund a duly-elected district attorney of this state and her office in an attempt to interfere with the criminal justice system. Regardless of your views of this case, removing this funding would also have the unintended consequence of causing a delay or complete lack of prosecution of other serious offenses like murder, rape, armed robbery, gang prosecution, battery etc."

Furthermore, Burns added, "Targeting one specific DA in this manner certainly flaunts the idea of separation of powers, if not outright violates it."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

This comes as even Republicans who support ousting or investigating Willis are divided and arguing with each other over how to do it.

State Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch has called for an investigation into Willis, but is pushing back on far-right lawmaker Colton Moore's demand to call a special session to impeach her, saying the votes aren't there for it. Moore has fired back, calling Republicans critical of his plan "buzzard cowards."

Burns is not the first prominent conservative Georgia Republican to declare Trump's allies are going too far in bending state law to get their way, noted MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin; Gov. Brian Kemp, Secretary of State, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, and the late former House Speaker David Ralston all defied the former president and his allies' demands to overturn the 2020 election results.

"First, it was Raffensperger, Kemp, Geoff Duncan, and the late David Ralston," Rubin wrote Wednesday. "Now add Jon Burns to the list of otherwise very conservative GA GOP leaders who don’t mind antagonizing Trump."