Judge Orders Fani Willis to Pay Over $54,000 for Violating Georgia’s Open Records Law

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been ordered to pay more than $54,000 in legal fees after a judge found she violated Georgia’s Open Records Act, according to court filings.

The ruling comes after defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents former Trump aide Michael Roman, accused Willis’s office of improperly withholding public documents. The dispute centers on records related to Nathan Wade, a former special prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case led by Willis.

According to the judge, Willis’s office responded to Merchant’s records requests with “open hostility” and handled them “differently than other requests,” showing what the court described as a “lack of good faith.” The court ordered the DA’s office to release the requested documents within 30 days and to pay $54,264 to cover roughly 80 hours of Merchant’s legal work.

This is the latest legal trouble for Willis. In December, she was removed from the high-profile case against Donald Trump and several co-defendants due to concerns over her past romantic relationship with Wade. Wade resigned from the case in October after intense public scrutiny.

Willis is now appealing her disqualification to the Georgia Supreme Court, arguing that she was removed based solely on the “appearance of impropriety” and not because of any proven misconduct. In her appeal, she emphasized that no Georgia court has ever removed a district attorney under similar circumstances.

Merchant’s records request focused on how public funds were used and the contracts involved in hiring Wade. The judge found that Willis’s office failed to respond transparently or in a timely manner.

Separately, in March, the Georgia Senate unanimously passed a bill that could allow defendants—including Trump—to seek reimbursement for legal costs if their cases are dropped due to prosecutorial misconduct. The legislation is designed to hold district attorneys accountable when cases fall apart due to ethical violations.

Although the ruling doesn’t dismiss the charges against Trump or his co-defendants, it bars Willis and her office from continuing to prosecute the case. A new team of prosecutors will now need to take over.

This isn’t the first time Willis has faced legal issues related to transparency. Last year, she was involved in another open records lawsuit, also brought by Merchant. In that case, the judge let the suit move forward but ruled Willis didn’t have to be personally named as a defendant. That case focused on her office’s alleged failure to disclose how public money was spent on a media firm.

After Friday’s ruling, Merchant posted on social media: “Proud that we have judges willing to hold people in power accountable when they ignore the law!”

As the case continues, Willis faces growing scrutiny over transparency, ethical conduct, and how her office has handled one of the most politically charged investigations in the country.