Ashley Merchant subpoenaed to appear before state commission investigating Fani Willis

CNN
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Defense attorney Ashley Merchant has been subpoenaed to appear at a Georgia Senate committee hearing Wednesday to investigate the conduct of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Merchant confirmed to CNN that a subpoena has been issued for the hearing, which will be livestreamed.

The Georgia Legislative Commission, which was formed in January to investigate the Fulton County District Attorney’s office, is investigating Willis, the Democratic state prosecutor who brought an extortion case against Donald Trump and his supporters for his post-2020 election conduct. He said he plans to issue subpoenas to investigate the matter.

Mr. Merchant, an attorney for Mr. Trump’s co-defendants, is the first person to be subpoenaed by the committee. She initially raised allegations of an inappropriate relationship between Willis and the case’s lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade. The controversy threatens to weaken the case against Trump in Georgia.

At the committee’s first meeting in February, state Sen. Bill Cowsert, the Republican chairman, announced plans for subpoenas and depositions as part of the investigation into Willis’ alleged misconduct.

Cowsert said the committee had already heard from “whistleblowers” but did not elaborate on what information they had provided. He said the committee intends to thoroughly investigate any credible allegations, no matter how long the investigation takes.