Ashleigh Merchant, the attorney who exposed the romantic relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, has spoken out about her experience and the recent ruling by Judge Scott McAfee. In an interview with Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne, Merchant expressed feeling "vindicated" following the judge's decision, which allowed Willis to remain on the case but required Wade to step down.
"Personally, Judge McAfee's order vindicated me. But professionally, and for my duty to my client, I believe that we have a good appeal," Merchant told Winne. She filed the motion revealing the relationship on behalf of her client, Michael Roman, whom she maintains is innocent in the Georgia election interference case.
Merchant's efforts to have both Willis and Wade disqualified from the case led to a firestorm of criticism and personal attacks. "I had been under attack since I filed this. I have been called a liar multiple times. I've been called statements that were patently false. I've been under repeated attacks," she said.
Despite the high-profile nature of the case, Merchant emphasized her commitment to transparency and her duty to her client. "I think the truth needed to come to light and I'm all about transparency," she said.
In a separate interview with Megyn Kelly, Merchant criticized Willis for a speech she made at Atlanta's Big Bethel AME Church, where the district attorney claimed that "Jesus" told her to prosecute Trump. "When someone says that Jesus himself told them to prosecute this case, how do you defend against that?... That's insane. I've never dealt with that... Nobody says this. This doesn't happen. People don't take to the pulpit," Merchant told Kelly.
Merchant also addressed Willis' use of race as "an issue in discussing her detractors," saying that it was not surprising given the district attorney's history. "She's known me for 20 years. She knows I'm not racist. She knows that I'm not all of those things. So it did surprise me that she had those personal attacks... She's known me for so long," Merchant said.
During the disqualification hearing, two key witnesses testified about the relationship between Willis and Wade: Terrence Bradley, Wade's former law partner and one-time divorce attorney, and Robin Yeartie, a former DA's office employee. Merchant expressed disappointment in Bradley's testimony, as he repeatedly denied knowledge of the relationship despite having initially contacted her with information about it.
"I'm still shocked when I look back at it, looking at him. But I can tell from his testimony when he by his eyes and when he looked at me and said I'm trying to save my law license that was one of the only times he directly looked at me during his testimony," Merchant said. "And I think that was him telling me like, 'I'm sorry, but I'm trying to save my law license here'... But it was disappointing because he came to me and he knew my role in the case."
Merchant also noted that Yeartie, who she believed to be the most credible witness, was hesitant to come forward and had hired a lawyer who was a supporter of Willis' campaign. "With Robin she was very hesitant to come forward...She had a lawyer who filed a motion to quash and re-litigated that right before she testified. That lawyer who was a very pleasant and wonderful person is a Fani Willis supporter... All of the lawyers that did these motions to quash, you see their names on her campaign flyers regularly," Merchant said.
As the Georgia election interference case continues to unfold, Merchant and the defense team have filed an appeal of Judge McAfee's order, which first goes to the judge for determination before potentially reaching the Georgia Court of Appeals. The case has drawn national attention, with former President Donald Trump and others facing charges for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
