Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been ordered by a judge to pay over $54,000 in attorneys’ fees and to turn over documents after her office allegedly violated Georgia’s Open Records Act.
Attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Michael Roman, a former campaign staff member for President Donald Trump who was indicted in August 2023 after being accused of attempting to interfere with 2020 election results in Georgia, sued Willis’ office in January 2024. Merchant accused the district attorney’s office of repeatedly failing to produce
the requested public records. According to court documents, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause cited the DA’s office “acted without substantial justification…in failing to comply with the ORA” as the reason Willis has been ordered to pay attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses. The judge stated violations from Willis’ office “were intentional, not done in good faith, and were substantially groundless and vexatious.”Merchant requested Willis’ office to turn over public records such as promotional or rebranding material, a list of attorneys hired by Willis, and a copy of the employee non-disclosure or confidential agreement.
The attorney took to X and wrote in a March 14 post, “Proud that we have judges willing to hold people in power accountable when they ignore the law!”
According to the Associated Press, a representative for Willis stated that her office plans to appeal the order. Merchant said, “We definitely didn’t want to file suit. They were just ignoring it and telling us that documents didn’t exist that we knew existed and resisting at every move, so we really didn’t have a choice.”
As previously mentioned by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Merchant brought Willis’ affair with her lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade, to light in January 2024 when she attempted to have the Fulton County DA removed from the case, which accused 18 individuals of an illegal attempt to overturn Trump’s 2020 election results in Georgia. For Willis to remain on the case, Wade, with whom she admitted to having a relationship, had to drop out of the case due to a conflict of interest. In December 2024, BE noted that Willis was disqualified as a prosecutor
on the Trump interference case.Judge Krause’s March 14 ruling requires Willis to turn over documents and payment within 30 days of the order. Total fees include the hourly rate of $300 for work performed by each attorney.
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