Ashley Merchant never stops running. That frightens and troubles Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis.
A “rogue” criminal defense attorney from Georgia, 46, who says he runs marathons in his spare time, will be the centerpiece of a hearing in Atlanta on Thursday, where former President Donald Trump and 18 other This could completely change the large-scale election interference and extortion case against the defendant.
In August, a Fulton County grand jury returned a 41-count indictment accusing President Trump and 18 co-defendants of plotting to reverse the former president’s loss in the 2020 Georgia election. Willis has been leading the investigation.
Mr. Merchant then filed a bombshell motion on January 8 on behalf of his client, Republican political operative Mike Lohman, 52, in which he said he was “unfaithful” to Nathan Wade, the special counsel appointed by Mr. Willis. He claimed to have had a “proper” and “secret” relationship and demanded that: Willis’ charges against Roman will be dropped.
just a merchant become president Attorneys with the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers argued that Willis should be disbarred from the case because “the district attorney chose to appoint her lover, but that lover was always a married man.” .
Merchant said Wade, an attorney with the Marietta, Ga.-based Wade & Campbell law firm, will pay Willis a portion of the roughly $654,000 in legal fees he was paid by the Fulton County Prosecutor’s Office for his work on the Trump case. He claimed that he used it for luxury purposes. Vacations to “Napa Valley, California, Florida, and the Caribbean.”
Willis, 44, has now acknowledged her “relationship” with Wade, who is a personal injury attorney with little experience in high-profile felony trials, but her office is calling it a racketeering case. It was dismissed as “gossip” that should not be derailed.
On Thursday, Willis and Wade will face a high-stakes hearing on whether their relationship constitutes a conflict of interest, but Merchant said it will protect her client and, by implication, Trump. They claim that the lawsuit against them should be concluded.
Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the Trump case, said Monday that Willis could be forced to testify about when her relationship with Wade began.
The move has brought national attention to Merchant and could bring an end to the case against Trump, which some legal observers see as the strongest criminal charge among him and his 14 remaining co-defendants. There is sex. The four pleaded guilty to various charges.
Ms. Merchant said her work is not partisan. She just goes the extra mile for her clients. That’s when she sniffed out her divorce papers filed by Wade’s then-estranged wife, Joycelyn. And she discovered information that led her to believe that Willis and Wade had benefited financially from Wade’s appointment as special counsel in 2016. Case.
“I consider myself an active defense attorney, not a reactive defense attorney,” Merchant told the Post.
“While many lawyers only react and defend, I take a more proactive approach and strive to investigate all aspects of a case.
“A lot of lawyers just let the government do the investigation and try to poke holes in it, but I take a completely different approach. I try to use facts and truth to protect my clients. And , I will never take action just to turn the case around.
“I will only take action if it has been carefully investigated and there is a legal basis to support it. If the government is going to send someone to prison, defense attorneys must advise their client on all aspects of the case. I think we have an obligation to thoroughly investigate.”
Regarding his preparation, he said, “I ran this morning and it felt really good!” Merchant told the Post on Tuesday. “I’m actually thinking about lengthy cross-examination and argument.”
Her friends said her carefully honed skills will be on display during the two-day hearing scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
“Ashley is a hell of a lawyer and a real pit bull,” Dwight Thomas, 72, one of Atlanta’s most prominent and respected criminal defense attorneys, told the Post.
“I’ve known her for many years and she’s aggressive and enthusiastic and will leave no stone unturned. She thrives on this kind of hard work and pressure and doesn’t mind ruffled feathers.
“There’s a lot going on in this hearing, but she’ll be well prepared, I can guarantee you.”
Vernon Jordan, a longtime Georgia lawmaker and Democratic state lawmaker turned Trump supporter, said Merchant is “the biggest secret in this case.”
“She will be the person to end this (Trump) case,” Jordan told the Post. “She has an explosive, great legal and political mind. She’s the person that everyone else (the other co-defendants) base their legal strategy on, Ashley, and so on. People in the world do that too.”
To make matters worse for Mr. Willis, Georgia Republican lawmakers announced Friday that multiple employees of the prosecutor’s office are eager to testify against their boss in a special Senate fact finding.
She is also under investigation by the Georgia Commission on Prosecutor Qualifications, which has pushed Republican Rep. Jim Jordan to turn over documents related to allegations that Willis fired a whistleblower from the office and misappropriated federal funds. summoned her.
Merchant works with her husband, John Merchant III. A company that looks small at first glance in an office park in Marietta, about two miles from Wade’s office. The two met at the University of Florida School of Law and have two daughters.
Before this year, Merchant was best known for her Successfully defended a man accused of murder Tara Grinstead was a former beauty queen turned history teacher in 2005.
It was a particularly tough incident. Ryan Alexander Dukes confessed to killing Grinstead and burning her body, but recanted his claims when he took the witness stand, saying he was afraid to say the name of his friend Beau Dukes. said.
Duke was sentenced to 10 years in prison for concealing the death, but was acquitted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and robbery.
Her friend and fellow criminal defense attorney in Georgia, Megan Grout, is part of an informal group of female criminal defense attorneys called BAWLS (Badass Women LawyerS) and says, “I could talk about Ashley all day long.” Told. She’s going to have a hell of a ride in court Thursday. ”
“She’s totally fearless and totally dedicated,” Grout said. “All you need to know is that my daughter is in law school and says Ashley is her role model. And her mother is a criminal defense attorney!”
