The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that special prosecutor Nathan Wade and district attorney Fani Willis of Fulton County have been subpoenaed to testify at a hearing set for February 15.
This most recent development is a result of a lawsuit brought by Ashleigh Merchant’s legal practice, which charges Willis’s office of purposefully omitting information that was requested per the Open Records Act.
The central contention of the dispute is based on claims made in a motion filed earlier this month that Willis and Wade had an improper intimate relationship. According to the motion, Wade used the money he received from the election case to purportedly pay for Willis’s trips and hotel stays, giving the impression that Willis profited financially from their connection. The case is already more heated as a result of the allegations.
Wade’s divorce procedures were likely to be complicated by the expectation of being questioned about his purported relationship with Willis. However, this hearing was canceled as a result of a temporary settlement in the divorce dispute. Even though Willis was summoned to appear in Wade’s divorce case, the outcome of her testimony is still uncertain and depends on Wade’s initial testimony.
As the investigation progresses, accountability and openness have taken center stage. The DA’s office contradicts the allegations made in the merchant’s lawsuit, claiming that it has complied with all requests, and claims that the agency is purposefully withholding its response to Open Records Act requests.
Merchant, who took office as the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ new president recently, said that the District Attorney’s office had broken the law.
“It is disappointing to have to file lawsuits to obtain access to records that the public is entitled to,” Merchant said Wednesday to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We believe that transparency is vital to an open and responsible government and we hope that this can be resolved quickly so that we can get the public documents we are entitled to receive.”
