Fani Willis violated open records law, judge finds
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was found to be in violation of the state’s Open Records Act as outlined in a judge’s Friday ruling ordering her to present requested documents and pay more than $54,000 in legal fees.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause determined that Willis’ failure to comply with the law “were intentional, not done in good faith, and were substantially groundless and vexatious.”
Willis was accused of preventing attorney Ashleigh Merchant from acquiring files pertinent to her client, Michael Roman, one of the 18 people indicted with President Trump for alleged election interference.
Krause’s ruling comes over a year after Merchant filed a lawsuit seeking punitive damages.
Willis is now being asked to turn over all records requested by Merchant and pay her $54,000 within 30 days of Friday’s order.
Her office said they would appeal the ruling, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s requests for comment.
However, Merchant openly celebrated Friday's ruling.
“Proud that we have judges willing to hold people in power accountable when they ignore the law!!!! #faniwillis #openrecords #fultoncounty,” she wrote in a Friday post on X.
Willis was re-elected to serve as the Fulton County District Attorney in November but barred from pursuing the election subversion case against President Trump and several allies in January based on the appearance of impropriety.
She challenged the ruling with the Georgia Supreme Court and is still awaiting an answer regarding her ability to prosecute Trump and others in criminal proceedings.
The president’s lawyers argued a review from the high court is not a right and should only be granted “in cases of great concern, gravity, or importance to the public,” according to court filings.
They cited the majority opinion from the state’s court of appeals which disqualified Willis, alleging the appearance of impropriety was “significant” and an “odor of mendacity” stands.