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Judge Rules Against DA Willis In Potential Blow To Her Career

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


A Georgia judge has ruled against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a case concerning an open records lawsuit.

Fulton County Judge Rachel Krause denied a request to dismiss a lawsuit regarding open records aimed at Willis and her office but she did grant a motion that exempts Willis from being personally named in the lawsuit, allowing her to remain involved in her official capacity as district attorney.

The lawsuit stems from the Fulton County election interference investigation and involves attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents co-defendant Michael Roman in the case against former President Donald Trump and his associates.

The Georgia Open Records Act required the district attorney’s office to provide documents on time, according to Merchant, who brought the legal action.

Merchant alleged that District Attorney Willis was concealing records related to a media monitoring firm allegedly funded with taxpayer money. In response, Judge Krause scheduled an evidentiary hearing to determine the existence and extent of the requested documents, according to 11Alive.

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Additionally, attorneys intend to subpoena individuals who managed the open records requests to Willis’s office to gather further evidence, the report said.

“The judge clearly agreed with the defense that the actions of Willis are a result of her poor judgment,” Merchant noted earlier.

Willis’ extensive racketeering case against Trump has been on hold since June as the Georgia Court of Appeals reviews Trump’s attempt to disqualify the 52-year-old district attorney.

In March, Trump and eight co-defendants requested that the appeals court consider their claims of prosecutorial misconduct, alleging issues related to Willis’ relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee had earlier ruled that District Attorney Willis could continue with the case provided her former lover, Nathan Wade, stepped down, which he did.

Trump’s appeal aims to overturn McAfee’s decision before the trial begins. The appeals court is expected to hear arguments on the disqualification effort in December, which will be after the November 5 presidential election.

Since securing the grand jury indictment against Trump and 18 others last August, Willis has faced multiple investigations by state and federal lawmakers over allegations of misusing taxpayer funds and her relationship with Wade.

Trump, 78, and his 13 remaining co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to felony charges accusing them of violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law in an alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, The Post noted.

Willis’ office is also dealing with another scandal. In June, text messages were produced during a court proceeding that reveal an investigator working for the DA’s office made inappropriate advances on a witness while working on a case.

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During the RICO trial for Young Slime Life (YSL) against rapper Young Thug and several co-defendants, additional information regarding the investigator’s actions surfaced. While cross-examining a female witness known as A. Bennett, her lawyer asked about messages she had received from a county investigator identified as “Hamilton.” Among the text messages was one from Hamilton that suggested he wanted to go out on a date with Bennett, saying, “Hit me up if you’re bored later. We’re not gonna talk shop.”

“And this is February 7 of 2024, this year, when the investigator for the DA’s office is supposed to be talking to you about a case, but in fact, is calling you talking about going on a date. Is that true?” her lawyer asked. “Yes,” she responded.

Bennett also testified that Hamilton had called her “mama” several times.

In a text message that was shown to the court, the investigator had texted the witness, “G[ood] m[orning] Mama. Hope you slept well. Again don’t come at 1:30. I have a feeling the defense will keep this same witness from yesterday all day again today. I’ll give you an update at 3pm. You will most likely go up tomorrow morning. I’ll talk 2 u soon.”

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