Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been mandated to compensate more than $54,000 in legal fees for breaching Georgia’s Open Records Act, as stated in court documents.
The conflict began when District Attorney Fani Willis’ office failed to provide records requested by defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Michael Roman — a former aide to Donald Trump during his presidential campaign and time in the White House. Roman was indicted alongside Trump in the Georgia election interference case launched by Willis in 2023, according to Newsweek.
The ruling issued on Friday marks another setback for Willis in her prosecution of Trump and the other defendants. As Newsweek noted, Willis was removed from her role in the case in December. Trump and 18 co-defendants stand accused of conspiring to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in Georgia — allegations Trump has denied, claiming Willis is carrying out a politically motivated attack.
The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that Willis’ disqualification was justified due to concerns over her previous relationship with Nathan Wade, the former special prosecutor in the case, who stepped down in October.
In January, Fani Willis appealed her disqualification to the Georgia Supreme Court, arguing that the decision was unfounded and based solely on the appearance of impropriety—without evidence of a direct conflict of interest or prosecutorial misconduct.
However, in a court order issued Friday, the judge criticized the District Attorney’s office for displaying an “openly hostile” stance toward defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant’s records requests. The judge noted that the requests were handled differently than others, indicating a “lack of good faith.”
As a result, Willis has been ordered to produce all requested documents and pay $54,264 to Merchant within 30 days—an amount covering nearly 80 hours of work on the case, according to Newsweek.
Merchant previously accused Willis’ office of withholding key documents related to the hiring of former special prosecutor Nathan Wade and sought transparency regarding the use of public funds. Separately, in early March, the Georgia Senate unanimously passed a bill that could allow Trump and his co-defendants to seek reimbursement for legal expenses if a district attorney is disqualified due to misconduct and the case is subsequently dismissed, Newsweek reported.
In another development, Judge Rachel Krause of Fulton County denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit concerning open records directed at Willis and her office. However, she granted a motion shielding Willis from being personally named in the suit, allowing her to continue serving in her official capacity as district attorney.
The lawsuit stems from the broader investigation into election interference in Fulton County. Merchant, a plaintiff in the case, alleges that Willis concealed records linked to a media monitoring firm allegedly funded with taxpayer money.
