The lawyer who filed the motion to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sits for an interview for “Breakdown.”

Attorney Ashleigh Merchant explains her motivations for filing the motion and gives her reactions to Willis’ surprise testimony at the evidentiary hearing. Episode 36 — “Merchant Speaks Out” — is the most recent installment of Season 10, “The Trump Indictment,” of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Breakdown” podcast.

The episode also covers a recent decision by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that allows lawyers for former President Donald Trump and seven of his co-defendants to pursue an appeal of the judge’s recent decision denying the motion to disqualify Willis.

You can download the Breakdown podcast from Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcasting platform. You can also stream it above.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com