Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis just got some more bad news. Judge Rachel Krause has ruled against a request made by Willis and her office to toss out a lawsuit concerning open records. There was a silver lining for the embattled district attorney, as Krause also granted a motion that exempted her from facing the lawsuit as an individual, though she will still be involved in it in her official capacity as the DA.
The lawsuit stems from the Fulton County election interference investigation involving Ashleigh Merchant, who represents co-defendant Michael Roman in the case against Former President Donald Trump and his associates. Merchant filed the legal action alleging that the district attorney’s office failed to deliver documents on time as required under the Georgia Open Records Act. Further complicating matters, Merchant accused District Attorney Willis of concealing records linked to a media monitoring firm purportedly financed with taxpayer money. In response, Judge Krause set an evidentiary hearing to ascertain the existence and scope of the requested documents according to 11Alive. Additionally, attorneys plan to subpoena individuals who handled the open records requests to Willis’s office, aiming to compile more substantial evidence.
“The judge clearly agreed with the defense that the actions of Willis are a result of her poor judgment,” Merchant said earlier in the year. In March, Judge Scott McAfee allowed Willis to remain on the case but criticized her judgment and mandated that either she or Nathan Wade, the lead prosecutor and Willis’ romantic lover, must step down. The decision came after defense attorneys argued for a conflict of interest, which the judge determined was not proven but had a significant appearance of one.
In early January, the Trump case was thrown into disarray when Merchant disclosed the personal relationship between the prosecutors in a court filing. The revelation prompted a series of hearings where the prosecutors were compelled to testify, facing intense scrutiny regarding their relationship and financial dealings. The case is currently stalled.
The plot continued to thicken. Merchant, who was well aware of the relationship between Wade and Willis and their friendships, used this information to his benefit by calling Terrence Bradley, a former partner of Wade’s and a divorce attorney, to take the stand. Despite reluctance from Bradley once he started delivering testimony, text messages that were exchanged between he and Merchan that talked about his romantic relationship with the district attorney soon became a critical component of the case established to have the prosecutors disqualified from the case against Trump.
Willis came to be the district attorney four years ago, in 2020, after she beat Paul Howard Jr. for the position. Howard had been the district attorney for a whopping six-terms before that. Once she took office, she became fairly well known for taking the RICO statute in the state of Georgia and applying it beyond the typical mob cases and has been utilizing it to charge Trump and 18 other individuals.
“In 2022, a whistleblower allegation surfaced in her office, claiming a wrongful termination related to the mishandling of federal grant money. Willis defended the termination and the use of around $500,000 in grant funds. Willis also initiated the high-profile criminal investigation in 2021 into Trump’s attempts to alter the outcome of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. This expanded to include charges against fake electors and other Republican officials. The trial is on hold until the appeals court reaches a decision. Oral arguments are set to commence on December 5,” the report concluded.