by Ashleigh Merchant is an attorney representing Michael Roman, former President Donald J. Trump’s former campaign official and co-defendant facing criminal charges in the Georgia election interference case.
Ms. Merchant, who was recently elected president of the Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyers Associationhas a private practice with her husband. She was previously a Public defender in Fulton County for several years.
In early January, Ms. Merchant filed court documents accusing Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, of engaging in a “clandestine” relationship with Nathan J. Wade, the special prosecutor she hired in 2021 to help with the case against Mr. Trump and his allies.
Ms. Merchant has argued that the relationship between Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis should disqualify them, as well as Ms. Willis’ entire office, from prosecuting the case, citing a conflict of interest. She claimed that Ms Willis was benefiting financially from her accusation, accusing her of taking holidays with Mr Wade with money he had earned working for her.
Willis admitted to having a relationship with Wade in February, but argued that was no reason to disqualify her or her office from the case. She and Wade have also said they share the costs of private trips.
In court papers, Ms. Merchant said Mr. Wade was not qualified for the position. But in 2016, she praised Wade’s “solid legal background” on Facebook, when he supported him in one of his failed attempts to be elected Superior Court judge. In another post, a photo of her showed her posing in a Wade campaign T-shirt.
When asked about the positions, Merchant recently said Wade “was the most qualified candidate in that race.”
Before Thursday’s hearing, Ms. Merchant sent subpoenas demanding that Mr. Wade, Ms. Willis and several witnesses testify about the relationship between prosecutors. It’s unclear whether the judge will allow him to take them to the stand.
Richard Fausset and Danny Hakim contributed with reports.
