Fani Willis investigation: Attorney Ashleigh Merchant subpoenaed by senate committee – FOX 5 Atlanta
Attorney Ashleigh Merchant speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Witness and attorney Terrence Bradley testified as Judge McAfee cons
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – As a judge decides the fate of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the 2020 election interference case, the Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations will commence hearings as part of its investigation. Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney representing a co-defendant in the case, initiated claims that Willis was involved in an improper relationship with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade.
RELATED: Fulton County DA Willis hearing: Who is attorney Ashleigh Merchant?
She recently confirmed with CNN that she has been subpoenaed to appear before a Senate committee tomorrow, and the hearing will be livestreamed. The Georgia Legislative Committee, formed in January, is investigating the Fulton County district attorney after co-defendant Michael Roman filed a motion to disqualify Willis and her office from the case.
Timeline: Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Nathan Wade controversy
During the first committee meeting, Sen. Bill Cowsert stated that the committee had already heard from "whistleblowers" alleging misuse of federal and state funds. Willis may be called to testify. "It's not a given. I will certainly give her the opportunity, and if I were her, I would want to be heard," Cowsert said last month.
On Jan. 8, Merchant filed a motion on the behalf of Roman seeking to disqualify the DA’s office from the case due to an alleged "improper" romantic relationship between Willis and Wade. The court filing stated that because Wade paid for trips they took together, Willis benefited financially from the arrangement.
Willis, an elected Democrat, hired Wade in November 2021 to assist with her investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Since a Fulton County grand jury returned an indictment against former President Donald Trump and 18 others in August 2023, Wade has led the team of lawyers assembled by Willis to prosecute the case. Wade has been paid more than $650,000 for his work on the election interference case.
During a speech over Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend at a historic Black church in Atlanta, Willis defended hiring Wade, whom some suggested did not have the needed experience for the case, and suggested racism was behind the attacks on her judgment and Wade's qualifications.
Timeline of Fulton County DA Fani Willis – Nathan Wade relationship
On Jan. 25, Trump joined Roman's motion to remove Willis and Wade from the case, focusing on Willis' speech at the church on Jan. 14. Although Willis and Wade initially kept silent about the status of their relationship, Willis confirmed a romantic relationship with Wade in a 176-page court-ordered response on Feb. 2.
A two-day hearing on Roman's motion took place on Feb. 15 and 16. During the hearing, both Willis and Wade denied their relationship began before Wade was hired as a special prosecutor. They insisted that they shared the costs associated with their relationship, with Willis giving Wade cash whenever he paid for tickets or other expenses.
Willis and Wade have also denied benefiting financially from the prosecution of the 2020 election interference case. Fulton County's attorney, Adam Abbate, pointed out that if Willis were trying to cash in, she would not have asked the judge to schedule a trial as soon as possible. Additionally, she would have indicted all 39 people the special grand jury indicted and appointed Wade to larger cases in the office.
The star witness for Roman and Merchant, former Wade friend and attorney Terrence Bradley, turned out to be anything but a smoking gun on the witness stand. During the initial two-day hearing, he claimed attorney-client privilege. During a follow-up hearing, he either could not recall certain things or claimed he was simply speculating.
The only evidence at this time that Bradley may have known more than he admitted in court about the relationship is a series of text messages exchanged with Merchant during the preparation of the motion filed on behalf of Michael Roman. In those text message, Bradley appears to confirm when the relationship began and approved the motion before it was filed.
The attorneys for former President Donald Trump sought to introduce cellphone data that would prove Willis and Wade were in a relationship before 2022 and that Wade visited Willis' home in Hapeville approximately 35 times. However, Willis' team responded, stating that the records are mistaken, and Wade was often in the area for other reasons.
Judge Scott McAfee, presiding over the 2020 election interference case and its associated hearings, said on March 1 that he would likely rule within two weeks on Roman's motion.
The Senate committee is not the only one investigating Willis and Wade. The Fulton County Board of Ethics is scheduled to hear two ethics complaints against Willis on March 7.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has also filed ethics complaints against both Willis and Wade, and the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary is also investigating both Willis and Wade.
Even if Willis is not disqualified from the case, it seems unlikely the case against Trump and the remaining co-defendants will go forward in August because of the amount of time that has been spent the last two months on the relationship between Willis and Wade.
Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in April on whether the former president is immune from criminal prosecution. Trump has also filed a similar claim in Fulton County, and Judge McAfee will likely wait until the Supreme Court issues their ruling before making his decision.
There are also other motions under consideration that would need to be settled before a trial could begin.
If Willis is disqualified, it would mean her entire team is disqualified. In that case, the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia would need to find another district attorney in the state to take on the case.
The Georgia case is just one of four criminal prosecutions that Trump is facing.
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