After a Georgia judge found his lawyers “openly hostile” in Trump election interference cases, district attorney Fani Willis's office must fill in legal costs of more than $54,000.
Criminal defense attorney Ashley Merchant, on behalf of Trump's co-defendant Mike Roman, blew whis about Willis's relationship with her lead prosecutor in the case – has ruled against Willis's office in Fulton County.
The merchant alleged in the lawsuit that the office had stonewalled its request for records.
Fulton County Judge Rachel Krauss testified in his decision on Friday that people in Willis's office who handled the merchant's records were “openly hostile” to the defense attorney, and that they handled the unusual demands, including not calling for her request, and not making her a habit.
The judge said this was a violation of the state's public records laws. FOX 5 was first reported.
The office, which was unable to provide documents to the merchant at the time she requested, said, “It was not done in good faith, it was not intentional. [was] The judge wrote.
The seller searched for a list of lawyers Willis had hired. We sought a non-disclosure agreement that her employees had to sign, as well as promotional or rebranding materials from her office.
Krause said all of these documents must be handed over to merchants within a month of the verdict and handed over to merchants, along with legal costs that would be expensive for merchants to fight for information.
“I'm proud that there are judges who are willing to take responsibility for power when they ignore the law!!!” Merchant Posted on X about Friday's decision.
The merchant filed a paper on Rome's behalf last year, making its appearance in the national spotlight when Willis, 53, was sued for a criminal case against Trump on grounds of misconduct and was charged with a criminal case against President Trump after DA was discovered to have a romantic relationship with case prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Willis has appointed Wade to lead prosecutors and numerous co-defendants against Trump in an allegedly attempting to overturn Peach State's 2020 presidential election results.
The scandal of the incident derailed the criminal case when Willis and Wade were forced to testify in public court about their romance.
Wade was forced to resign in March 2024, and Willis was charged from the case by the Court of Appeals in December. Her entire office has since been barred from further involvement in Trump's prosecutors.
The 78 case Willis brought against Trump is the last remaining criminal case against him after two federal judiciaries have been withdrawn by the Federal Justice Department since his reelection and he was given a writer's slap in the New York Hash Money case.
The ruling in the Merchant Records case is not the first case against Willis's office. This was ordered in January to pay a legal fee of nearly $22,000 to conservative WatchDog Group Judicial Watch after “fully ignoring” the organization's request for public records.
Willis's office did not return a mail request for comment on Monday.
