Trump Co-Defendant's Lawyer Hits Roadblock in Fani Willis Hearing

Ashleigh Merchant, the lawyer for Donald Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, hit a roadblock Tuesday in her efforts to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the sweeping election interference case in Georgia.

During a hearing on misconduct allegations against Willis, Judge Scott McAfee blocked a string of questions Merchant had for Terrence Bradley, the former law partner and divorce attorney of special prosecutor Nathan Wade, about when he first learned of the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade.

McAfee agreed with the district attorney's office when it objected to Merchant's questioning, saying that it was based on "gossip, innuendo, assumption and privileged information" and that she had not established any basis for her interrogation.

Merchant argued that she was allowed to impeach Bradley with any "inconsistent fact," to which the judge countered, "Why would it be a relevant impeachment if he has no personal knowledge of this?"

Bradley, who has been described by the defense as a key witness, is taking the stand again after he repeatedly declined to answer many of the questions Merchant had two weeks ago, citing attorney-client privilege.

When Merchant began asking Bradley if he remembered telling her when Wade and Willis' relationship began, McAfee pushed back, saying, "Well, no, then you're going into the substance of it, which we haven't determined whether he actually knows or how he knows."

Bradley repeatedly told Merchant on Tuesday that he could not offer a timeline or recall any specific dates about when he learned of the relationship between Willis and Wade.

The revelation that the two prosecutors are in a romantic relationship has upended the Georgia case against Trump and 18 co-defendants. The defense has argued that Willis hired her boyfriend to help prosecute the presidential election interference case, which concerns efforts by Trump and allies to overturn the 2020 vote in Georgia. Willis and Wade maintain they did not become involved until after his appointment.

When Bradley said he recalled that Wade had shown him the contract that the district attorney's office offered him, Merchant asked if Willis and Wade had been in a relationship at that point—a question that got an objection from the district attorney's office.

In response, McAfee warned, "Ms. Merchant, you don't have much more to pull on" before asking that she move her questioning along.

"I'll let you ask a few more questions, but if he doesn't have a date then I don't know that you're going to be able to create one today," he told the attorney.

Merchant and Adam Abbate, who is with the district attorney's office, got into a heated back-and-forth during the hearing, with Merchant saying Abbate's objections "are clearly coaching the witness, because he's regurgitating."

"Your honor, I take offense to that comment," Abbate fired back. "I'm objecting based on the law, and I'm making a record for the court. So I take offense to that comment. It's not the case."

Although he repeatedly answered "I do not recall" during Tuesday's hearing, Bradley acknowledged telling Merchant over text that he thought Willis and Wade began dating before she hired him to join her prosecutorial team in the case.

Update 2/27/24, 2:58 and 3:25 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and background.