Outgoing Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard dismissed as a “ridiculous assertion" a claim by his successor that prosecutors are being instructed to place certain records into “burn boxes.”
Fani Willis, Howard’s onetime chief deputy, soundly defeated him last month in the Democratic primary runoff. She said she was forwarded a pair of interoffice emails with subject lines stating: “destruction — burn boxes.”
“What are they burning?” she said during an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Willis said she has asked GBI Director Vic Reynolds to open an investigation into her concerns, writing “it is urgent that records be retained so that my staff and I have access to them when my team begins in January.”
Howard told the AJC that destroying official records “would be unheard of and has never happened during my tenure here in Fulton County.”
Willis said she hopes Howard’s explanation is full and complete.
“Considering the existence of an ongoing GBI investigation into the office, as well as the coming transition, the GBI should have the opportunity to inspect any records before they are destroyed,” she said.
Willis faces no Republican opponent on November’s general election ballot and is poised to become the first woman to serve as the county’s DA.
Days before the runoff, Howard agreed to pay a $6,500 state ethics fine for failing to disclose his role as CEO of two non-profits, one of which netted him $195,000 in city grant money. The state ethics commission accused Howard of 14 violations, which he admitted to in a consent agreement.
A GBI investigation continues. In separate legal action, Howard faces lawsuits filed by three past or present female employees alleging harassment or discrimination. Howard has said he’ll be exonerated by the GBI and as for the civil lawsuits, “I have not harassed anyone.”
He said Willis' allegations of record tampering were out of line: “She not only question(ed) my integrity but the integrity of the employees who currently work in the District Attorney’s Office."
Former DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan said the law is unequivocal when it comes to records preservation.
“There is absolutely nothing that can be destroyed,” Morgan said. “Everything, including the most minor citizen complaint, is a public document.”
Howard said certain documents were not destroyed, just collected by the Fulton archives center to protect the release of sensitive information such as Social Security numbers.
The papers in question are boxed at the archives center “in the event that the Fani Willis transition team desires to inspect the contents," he said. “If the Fani Willis transition team would like to review the papers or discuss the issue in question, they can simply contact my office to do so."
Willis captured more than 70 percent of the vote, winning all but a handful of precincts in the Aug. 11 runoff. More than a month later, she said, Howard has yet to reach out.
