A ruling by Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday meant that an attorney representing one of former President Donald Trump‘s co-defendants in his election interference case could force Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to hand over documents and money.
The opinion, laid out in a separate case, backed up a lower court judge’s ruling on Monday in favor of the Merchant Law Firm, who said Willis’ office was violating the Open Records Act (ORA).
Ashleigh Merchant, who represents former Trump official Michael Roman, said the office failed to provide documents relating to her client, despite some 20 open records requests over the past year.
“She is the elected DA. It’s her office. I think that every government agency has a duty to respond to open records requests. I think when you have an elected official that they are the ones who are held accountable by the public. They are the ones who set the policy,” Merchant said at the hearing Monday.
Left: Attorney Ashleigh Merchant, attorney for Donald Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, on February 16, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. Right: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. Center: Trump campaign staff member Michael Roman poses for his booking photo at the Fulton County Jail on August 25, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Alex Slitz-Pool/Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images
Judge Rachel Krause ruled in Merchant’s favor and indicated Willis’ office may owe her attorney’s fees, although the amount was not declared.
Willis’ office had argued that it could not be sued under the act because of working in the state’s constitution.
Then on Tuesday, in an unrelated case, the arguments Merchant brought were upheld by the state’s Supreme Court. It ruled that district attorneys can be sued under the Open Records Act because the action is against the office as a whole and not the district attorneys themselves.
Georgia’s constitution says that all public records should be available to all unless they are “specifically exempted from disclosure”, while it also protects those related to individual judicial officers – which Willis’ counsel claimed she was.
Tuesday’s ruling related to District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, however, stated that the ORA overruled this, meaning claims against individual district attorneys could be made.
Willis is pursuing a case against Trump and several alleged co-conspirators over their plan to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
While some defendants have pleaded guilty, other cases are still active, including the one against the former president. The chances of a trial before the end of the year are unlikely.
Roman started working for Trump during the 2016 election campaign and was the co-defendant who exposed the “personal relationship” between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, in a move that threatened the viability of the election interference case.
Newsweek reached out to the Merchant law firm and Willis’ office for further comment Tuesday afternoon via email.
