Who Is Ashleigh Merchant? The Defense Lawyer in the Fani Willis Hearing – The New York Times
Trump’s Legal Troubles
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Ms. Merchant, who brought the allegations against Fani Willis and Nathan Wade to light last month, has said their relationship poses a conflict of interest.
Ashleigh Merchant is a lawyer representing Michael Roman, a former campaign official for former President Donald J. Trump and a co-defendant facing criminal charges in the Georgia election interference case.
Ms. Merchant, who was recently elected president of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, owns a private practice with her husband. She was previously a public defender in Fulton County for several years.
In early January, Ms. Merchant filed court documents accusing Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, of engaging in a “clandestine” relationship with Nathan J. Wade, the special prosecutor she hired in 2021 to help with the case against Mr. Trump and his allies.
transcript
“You and Mr. Wade met in October 2019 at a conference?” “That is correct, and I think in one of your motions you tried to implicate I slept with him at that conference, which I find to be extremely offensive.” “Your office objected to us getting Delta records for flights that you may have taken when Mr. Wade.” “Well, no, no, no, look. I object to you getting records. You’ve been intrusive into people’s personal lives. You’re confused. You think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. It’s interesting that we’re here about this money. Mr. Wade is used to women that, as he told me one time, the only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich. We would have brutal arguments about the fact that I am your equal. I don’t need anything from a man. A man is not a plan. A man is a companion. And so there was tension always in our relationship, which is why I would give him his money back. I don’t need anybody to foot my bills. The only man who’s ever foot my bills completely is my daddy.” “Mr. Wade visit you at the place you laid your head.” “When?” “Has he ever visited you at the place you laid your head?” “So let’s be clear, because you’ve lied and this – Let me tell you which one you lied in. Right here. I think you lied right here. No, no, no, no. This is the truth. And it is a lie. It is a lie.” “Ms. Willis.” “Mr. Sadow, thank you. We’re going to take five minutes. Be back in five.”
Ms. Merchant has argued that the relationship between Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis should disqualify them, as well as Ms. Willis’s entire office, from prosecuting the case, citing a conflict of interest. She claimed that Ms. Willis was profiting financially from the prosecution, accusing her of taking vacations with Mr. Wade with money he had made working for her.
Ms. Willis admitted to a relationship with Mr. Wade in February but argued that it was not a reason to disqualify her or her office from the case. She and Mr. Wade have also said they split costs for private travel.
In the court filings, Ms. Merchant said that Mr. Wade was unqualified for the role. But in 2016, she praised Mr. Wade’s “robust legal background” on Facebook, when she was supporting him in one of his failed bids to be elected as a Superior Court judge. In another post, a photo showed her posing in a Wade campaign T-shirt.
Asked about the posts, Ms. Merchant said recently that Mr. Wade “was the most qualified candidate in that race.”
Before the Thursday hearing, Ms. Merchant sent subpoenas demanding that Mr. Wade, Ms. Willis and several witnesses testify regarding the relationship between the prosecutors. It is unclear whether the judge will allow her to put them on the stand.
Richard Fausset and Danny Hakim contributed reporting.
Anna Betts reports on national events, including politics, education, and natural or man-made disasters, among other things. More about Anna Betts
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