Judge: Fulton DA employee did not act in good faith over open record requests
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A Fulton County judge has sided with one of the attorneys representing a co-defendant in the Trump Georgia election interference case over records requests.
Attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Michael Roman, a former campaign operative for former President Donald Trump, filed a lawsuit against District Attorney Fani Willis's office, saying they did not fully comply with her requests for records, which is in direct violation of Georgia law.
The DA’s office contended the lawsuit, filed back in January, is part of the defense’s attempts to remove Willis from prosecuting the 2020 election interference case. They further claim the lawsuit is another effort to delay, harass, and potentially intimidate prosecutors.
At a contentious hearing in September, Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Dexter Bond Jr. testified about a response he drafted to Merchant, saying that the office had already turned over several documents that had been requested and said it was not the custodian of record for others.
However, on Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause said she was leaning in favor of Merchant, saying Bond did not act in good faith by denying records.
While Krause acknowledged that the request for documents was "somewhat out of the ordinary for what the office requires or typically handled" and that Merchant's efforts to get documents may have been "difficult," she said Bond's inability in his testimony to describe the particular process he follows for other record requests and a lack of follow-ups with Merchant indicated what she called a "problem."
"I do not believe the records custodian engaged in a good-faith effort to determine how to respond to the requests that were made," she said, pointing out the "high-profile nature" of the DA's office's work.
Krause said her ruling may change depending on whether the Georgia Supreme Court agrees that the DA's office is subject to the Open Records Act.
Krause has not determined how much the DA's office will have to pay in legal fees to the Merchant Law Firm.