Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been mandated to pay over $54,000 in attorney fees for breaching Georgia’s Open Records Act, as stated in court documents.
The conflict originated from Willis’ office not supplying records requested by defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Michael Roman, a former aide to President Donald Trump. Roman was indicted alongside Trump in the ongoing Georgia election interference case initiated by Willis in 2023, as reported by Newsweek.
The ruling issued on Friday marks another challenge for Fani Willis in her prosecution of Trump and the other defendants, the publication further noted.
In December, Willis was removed from the prosecution of the case involving Trump and 18 co-defendants, who are alleged to have conspired to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in Georgia. Trump has denied the allegations and accused Willis of engaging in a politically motivated assault. The Georgia Court of Appeals determined that her disqualification was warranted due to the “appearance of impropriety” linked to her prior relationship with Nathan Wade, a former special prosecutor on the case, who resigned in October.
In January, Willis appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court, contending that the court’s decision to disqualify her was erroneous, as it was based solely on an appearance of impropriety without evidence of an actual conflict of interest or forensic misconduct.
In the court order issued on Friday, the judge noted that the DA’s office had been “openly hostile” to Merchant’s document requests, indicating that they were “managed differently than other requests.” This behavior suggested a “lack of good faith.” Willis is now required to provide all requested records within 30 days and to pay $54,264 to Merchant, which accounts for nearly 80 hours of work on the case, according to the court order, as reported by Newsweek.
Merchant had previously alleged that Willis’ office was withholding essential documents related to Nathan Wade’s employment.The unanimously approved legislation allows counties to pay for attorneys’ fees and other legal expenses in situations where a district attorney is disqualified due to misconduct, as long as the case is dismissed, according to Newsweek.
In response to the court ruling on Friday, attorney Merchant expressed on X: “I am proud that we have judges willing to hold those in power accountable when they disregard the law!!!”
In her appeal from January, Willis stated: “No Georgia court has ever disqualified a district attorney solely for the appearance of impropriety without an actual conflict of interest being present.”
In December, the appeals court removed Willis from the case involving Trump.
While the court did not dismiss Trump’s indictment entirely, the ruling indicated that Willis and the assistant district attorneys in her office now lack the “authority to proceed,” as reported by Fox News.
This development adds to a series of legal challenges for Willis. In September, a Georgia judge ruled against her in a case related to an open records lawsuit. Fulton County Judge Rachel Krause denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit concerning open records directed at Willis and her office, but she did approve a motion that protects Willis from being personally named in the lawsuit, allowing her to continue her role as district attorney.
The lawsuit originated from the Fulton County investigation into election interference and involved Merchant, who claimed that Willis was withholding records related to a media monitoring firm allegedly financed with taxpayer funds.
