In December, Willis was removed from the case concerning Trump and 18 other co-defendants, who are accused of conspiring to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in Georgia. Trump has denied the allegations and claimed that Willis is conducting a politically motivated attack. The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that her disqualification was justified due to the ‘appearance of impropriety’ associated with Willis’ previous connection to Nathan Wade, a former special prosecutor on the case who resigned in October. In January, Willis appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court, arguing that the court made an error by disqualifying her ‘solely based on an appearance of impropriety and without proving an actual conflict of interest or forensic misconduct.’
In the court ruling issued on Friday, the judge remarked that the District Attorney’s office had displayed a clear hostility towards Merchant’s requests for documents, suggesting that these requests were handled in a manner distinct from others, which implied a deficiency in good faith. Consequently, Willis is mandated to supply all requested documents within a 30-day period and to compensate Merchant with $54,264, representing nearly 80 hours of work on the case, according to the court ruling, as reported by Newsweek. Merchant had earlier alleged that Willis’ office was withholding critical documents pertaining to Nathan Wade’s employment.
Recently, the Georgia Senate passed a bill in early March that could enable Trump and his co-defendants to seek reimbursement for their legal expenses. This legislation, which was unanimously approved, permits counties to cover attorneys’ fees and other legal costs in instances where a district attorney is disqualified due to misconduct, provided that the case is dismissed, according to Newsweek.
Following the court order released on Friday, attorney Merchant conveyed on X: ‘I take pride in having judges who are prepared to hold those in authority accountable when they violate the law!’ Willis remarked in her appeal from January: ‘No court in Georgia has previously disqualified a district attorney merely based on the perception of impropriety in the absence of a genuine conflict of interest.’
In December, the appeals court removed Willis from the case involving Trump. Although the court did not completely dismiss Trump’s indictment, it determined that Willis and the assistant district attorneys in her office currently lack the authority to proceed, as reported by Fox News. This development represents the latest in a series of legal challenges faced by Willis. In September, a Georgia judge ruled against her in a case concerning an open records lawsuit. Fulton County Judge Rachel Krause denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit regarding open records aimed at Willis and her office, although she did approve a motion that shields Willis from being personally named in the lawsuit, thereby allowing her to fulfill her official responsibilities as district attorney. The lawsuit stemmed from the Fulton County election interference investigation and involved Merchant, who alleged that Willis was withholding records related to a media monitoring firm purportedly funded by taxpayer money.
