A lawyer for one of Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the Fulton County, Georgia case, recently spoke out about a friendship with District Attorney Fani Willis.
On Tuesday, Ashleigh Merchant, the lawyer for former President Trump’s co-defendant Michael Roman appeared on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution podcast, “Breakdown: The Trump Indictment,” to speak about the ongoing case and efforts to have Willis disqualified.
Merchant previously led the charge in attempting to have Willis disqualified from Trump’s case, where he and 18 others were accused of election interference in the 2020 election. Merchant alleged that Willis had a relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor hired by the Fulton County District Attorney’s office during the investigation into Trump and others.
While appearing on the podcast, Merchant revealed that she had a friendship with both Willis and Wade saying, “When I first walked in to negotiate the bond back in September, I hugged both of them.”
“It was not a fake hug,” Merchant said. “I was friends with both of them.”
Merchant went on to explain that she was shocked by the decision of Willis to hire Wade on the case saying, “Ms. Willis has some great lawyers on this case, she’s got great lawyers that work for her, she has the ability to hire great lawyers, there’s a lot of really good prosecutors in this state, why do you need to bring someone in from the outside to manage this case.”
Brynn Anderson-Pool/Getty Images
Earlier this month, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued a ruling in the case involving Willis and attempts to have her disqualified from Trump’s election interference case for a relationship she had with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor hired by her office. McAfee’s ruling allowed the case against Trump and others to continue if Willis removed Wade from the case, or if her office dismissed themselves from it.
McAfee’s ruling stated that there was no “actual conflict” as a result of the relationship between the two.
“Without sufficient evidence that the District Attorney acquired a personal stake in the prosecution, or that her financial arrangements had any impact on the case, the Defendants’ claims of an actual conflict must be denied,” the ruling said. “This finding is by no means an indication that the Court condones this tremendous lapse in judgment or the unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing.”
Steve Sadow, the lead defense counsel for Trump in the Fulton County case, issued a statement obtained by Newsweek following the ruling, which said that while they respect the court’s decision, they believe that “the Court did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade.”
“We will use all legal options available as we continue to fight to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place,” the statement added.
Newsweek reached out to Merchant via email and via her website for further comment.
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