Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis met with Vice President Kamala Harris months before indicting former President Donald Trump in his election interference case, according to a lawyer who shared White House records during a Georgia Senate hearing. Attorney Ashley Merchant, who represents Trump's co-accused Michael Roman, revealed that Willis had the meeting with Harris on February 28, 2023, in the company of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, a Democrat.
The revelation has raised questions about the nature of the discussion and whether the Biden administration had encouraged the indictment of Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to all 13 election interference charges against him in Georgia and maintains that the case is politically motivated.
Merchant, who was testifying before the Georgia Senate's special committee on investigations about alleged ethical violations by Willis, said, "My understanding is that it's highly regulated who can access the White House ... so you have to apply ahead of time." She added that the White House records showing the meeting are open to the public but noted that there was no information available as to the reason the meeting took place.
The disclosure of the Willis-Harris meeting comes amid allegations of ethical misconduct against the Fulton County DA. Merchant has accused Willis of only hiring attorney Nathan Wade as a special prosecutor because they were in a relationship and claimed that Wade had never prosecuted a felony case before. Both Willis and Wade acknowledge that they were in a relationship but maintain that it started after she hired him for the Trump case.
During her testimony, Merchant alleged that Willis and Wade had committed perjury in February when they testified about their relationship, stating that this was enough to have them both disbarred. The timeline of their relationship has emerged as a key point of contention, with Trump's lawyers examining phone records and alleging that the pair were involved before the Georgia election fraud case began.
Willis has come under fire for her handling of the case, with accusations that she financially benefited from her relationship with Wade, who has been paid over $600,000 for his work on the case-a rate that reportedly exceeds the usual pay for similar contract work. However, both Willis and Wade have denied any wrongdoing.
Merchant also accused Willis of making false statements during a church service on Martin Luther King Day in January, claiming that the DA told the congregation that Merchant was questioning her hiring of Wade because he is Black and ignoring the fact that Willis had two other white lawyers on the case. Merchant denied these allegations and said that Willis did not disclose her relationship with Wade until it emerged in court.
The Georgia Senate hearing has brought renewed scrutiny to the Fulton County DA's office and the handling of the high-profile Trump case. Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the case, has said he plans to rule within two weeks on whether to remove Willis from the case based on the allegations of ethical violations.
As the legal battle continues, the revelation of Willis' meeting with Vice President Harris and the ongoing accusations of misconduct have added another layer of complexity to an already contentious case. The outcome of Judge McAfee's ruling and the impact of these allegations on the prosecution of Donald Trump and his co-defendants remain to be seen, as the nation watches this unprecedented legal challenge unfold.
