The Georgia Senate, controlled by the GOP, recently voted to establish a new committee to probe Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis following serious allegations of a purported affair with a special prosecutor she appointed, as well as accusations of potential misuse of public funds in a case involving former President Donald Trump.

“A resolution senators passed 30-19 along party lines will create a special committee with subpoena power to probe the allegations against Willis, who obtained an indictment last August accusing Trump and 18 others of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia that saw Democrat Joe Biden carry the Peach State” over Trump, the Macon-based Telegraph newspaper reported in online editions.

Earlier this month, accusations against Willis surfaced in a motion presented to the Fulton County Superior Court on behalf of Michael Roman, one of the defendants in the case. Willis has not directly addressed the allegations yet but is expected to provide a response to the court by the February 2 deadline.

On Friday, Senate Republicans declared that investigating Willis’ alleged improper relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade falls under the jurisdiction of Georgia lawmakers. They justified it by pointing out that Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees from public taxpayer funds to pursue the case since January 2022.

“I am deeply troubled by the poor judgment of our D.A., Fani Willis,” state Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, told his colleagues on the Senate floor before Friday’s vote, the outlet reported. “I believe this scheme … was a fraud against the court and a fraud against the taxpayer.”

“This resolution is about an officer of the state of Georgia … and how they are using state funds,” Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, the measure’s chief sponsor, said. “This falls squarely within what we should be talking about and what we should be addressing.”

The committee will consist of nine members, three of whom must be Democrats.