Georgia attorney Ashley Merchant defended herself after a Fulton County judge ruled in a disbarment proceeding against District Attorney Fani Willis.
Judge Scott McAfee said in Friday’s order that Willis must either withdraw himself and his team from the 2020 election interference case or remove Wade as special counsel. The decision comes after Merchant, representing his client Michael Roman, said he and Willis had been working together with Wade for “unjustified charges” before hiring Willis to prosecute former President Trump and 18 co-defendants in 2021. This was done after they first claimed that they had had an affair.
“While we believe the court should have completely disqualified Mr. Willis from his office, this opinion states that everything the defense has said is true and accurate and that our client should have been given a fair trial.” The judge clearly agreed with this decision.”Ms. Willis’ actions were the result of poor judgment on her part, and it was her responsibility to resolve the conflict.” “The future of this case is at risk if we don’t act quickly,” Merchant said in a statement.
“While we do not agree that the court suggested that treatment is sufficient for the egregious conduct by the district attorney, we look forward to the district attorney’s response to the court’s request. We stand by our clients. I will continue to fight,” she said. Added.
Judge Rules: Fani Willis must recuse herself from Trump case or fire Special Counsel Nathan Wade
Attorney Ashley Merchant speaks during a hearing in the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump case at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Bryn Anderson Poole/Getty Images)
Mr. Merchant first claimed in court filings that Mr. Willis had a conflict of interest in hiring his then-girlfriend, Mr. Wade, to prosecute election interference cases. She argued that Mr. Willis received financial benefits in the form of vacations with Mr. Wade, and that Mr. Wade’s firm was compensated by taxpayers for working on Mr. Trump’s case.
Documents filed by Merchant in court show that Willis and Wade took several trips together and that Wade’s law firm has billed taxpayers $650,000 since Wade was hired at a rate of $250 an hour. has become clear.
Both Mr. Wade and Mr. Willis denied being romantically involved before their employment. During a two-day evidentiary hearing in February, the two each testified that they split the cost of their joint trip. Mr Willis told the court that he had repaid Mr Wade some of his travel expenses in cash.
During a two-day evidentiary hearing in February, Merchant called witnesses who testified that the two began an affair in 2019 after meeting at a conference.
Trump lawyer responds to Fulton County Judge Fani Willis’ decision: ‘Prosecutor misconduct’
Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade (left) and Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis meet defense attorney Ashley Willis in the election interference case against former President Trump, his client Michael Roman, and 17 other defendants. Mr. Merchant testified at an evidentiary hearing in February after Mr. Willis sought to be disqualified. (Getty Images)
Robin Yearty, a former “good friend” of Mr Willis and an employee of the DA’s office, said that before November 2021, Mr Willis and Mr Wade had “hugged”, “kissed” and expressed “affection”. He said he had no doubt that the two were involved. Their “romantic” relationship began in 2019 and lasted until 2022, when they last spoke to Willis.
Willis rejected Yearty’s testimony and said he no longer considered Yearty a friend.
The defense’s star witness was Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner and divorce attorney. Merchant slammed Bradley on the stand last month about what he knew and when he learned of their romance.
When Bradley was asked to take the oath, he said he couldn’t remember. Some details and timeline About a conversation he had with his former client Wade about his romantic relationship with Willis.
Georgia judge rejects key witness testimony against Fani Willis due to ‘inconsistencies’: court order
Judge Scott McAfee at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on February 15th. (Alyssa Pointer, Getty Images)
Merchant at one point referenced text messages between himself and Bradley in which he asked Bradley if he thought the relationship began before Willis hired Wade in 2021, but that Bradley In response to this exchange, I answered, “Absolutely.”
But McAfee said Friday that he “couldn’t place any stock” on Bradley’s testimony.
McAfee said in his order that Bradley’s “inconsistency, demeanor, and overall unresponsive responses provide far too weak a basis for conclusions.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Under Georgia law, prior inconsistent statements can be considered substantive evidence, but Mr. Bradley’s impeachment via text message indicates that Mr. Bradley did not discuss Mr. Wade’s personal circumstances,” McAfee said. “There was no established basis for claiming to have such extensive knowledge.”
The judge ruled that although neither side had conclusively proven when the relationship began, there were “indications of wrongdoing” that required either Willis or Wade to be removed from the Trump case.
Fox News Digital’s Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.
