Ashleigh Merchant, the Georgia lawyer who first alerted the Fulton County Court to the romantic relationship between prosecutors Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, said on Tuesday that she’s not happy with the judge’s decision to keep Willis on the Donald Trump 2020 election interference trial.
Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday that, although Willis had committed “a tremendous lapse in judgment,” in his opinion, now that Wade has stepped down, there is no longer a conflict of interest.
“I was surprised that the judge did not go all the way,” Merchant told Megyn Kelly on Tuesday’s episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show.” “He sort of played it down the middle, split the baby very Solomon-esque of him, so that was a little bit surprising.”
She continued, “Obviously, we think that it was an actual conflict of interest. The appearance is enough. But I don’t think that the fight is over. We’re going to file an appeal. And we’re going to continue to pursue this and hopefully get what we sought in the beginning, and that was a neutral prosecutor to actually look at this case, from a neutral, non-political non-biased lens.”
Merchant also commented on allegations from Willis that she and her client, former Trump staffer Michael Roman, are racist.
“She knows I’m not racist,” Merchant told Kelly. “She knows that I’m not all of those things. So it did surprise me that she had those personal attacks.” Merchant added that she has known Willis for 20 years.
Kelly then said of Willis, “And then once again, she decided to make color, her race, an issue in discussing her detractors.”
Merchant also took exception to Willis’ statement that she felt Jesus was leading her to the high-profile legal case.
“When someone says that Jesus himself told them to prosecute this case, how do you defend against that? … That’s insane,” Merchant told Kelly. “I’ve never dealt with that … Nobody says this. This doesn’t happen. People don’t take to the pulpit.”
In August 2023, Trump and 18 alleged conspirators were charged in a racketeering case for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Watch the conversation between Kelly and Merchant in the video, above.