>> ashleigh: i did.y -- mr. bradley uses an android, i believe and so it was not easy to just download them and i'm not the most tech savvy person. i also, there's a lot of texts that i just wanted to things that i do not think those are thought would just embarrass people and will not relevant. so i screenshot of the texts that i thought were relevant. i tried to use those in courts, but the prosecutor said i was hiding things. so they just kept on and on for days saying i was hiding things and explain to them, let them look through my phone. asa colbert, all of my tax. it was adam abadie was the prosecutor. so he just kept saying, that i was -- where is the beginning of the text? where is the thing after that. these are not complete, you know, just kept objecting and i had just screenshot in the text that i thought were highly relevant but were not for interest, i guess, i don't even know the word. but there were some that, like, you know, that miss willis' daughter had found out. they were ugly. they

>> steve: i was going to set up, ashleigh merchant was cross-examining fani willis, she had a bunch ofts and fani willis was holding the documents saying, you are a liar, these are all lies. here she is ashleigh merchant talking about how after the judge said, one of you two has to go and wade said, i'm out, how she feels vindicated, listen. >> i was called a liar so many times, every stage of the process i was vindicated because everything was proven in court. she is getting federal forfeiture money and that is being used to pay nathan wade. i think she could be disqualified, we have new commission in georgia looking into this and they could disqualify her, a lot of other avenues the judge outlined. she is facing reelection, she has two opponents, there are checks and balances in place and more information can come forward and we'll continue to investigate. >> brian: she is so impressive, most of us agree. the other thing is proving also along the way direct linkage with the white house so when former president gets up there and says joe biden is coming after me and people say, that i

ashleigh merchant represents one of the 19 co-defendants and initially filed the motion to have willis dismissed. a central argument to have her removed from the case rests on claims that the fulton county d.a. benefitted financially from the decision to hire her lover. >> sandra: today merchant honed in on when the two started that relationship, telling lawmakers there is proof to contradict the timeline from willis and wade. all right, so, jonathan is live outside the georgia senate committee room where all things just went down. today's proceedings, jonathan, what is this committee trying to determine, exactly? >> sandra, the republican leaders of this bipartisan committee say they want to get to the bottom of whether any public funds were misused and whether fani willis's affair with nathan wade represented a conflict of interest. at issue is when did the affair begin. were they romantically involved after or before she hired him as a special prosecutor in the georgia trump case. ashleigh merchant who represented mike roman testified cell phone data placed the couple together in a

. >> steve: well, ashleigh merchant is going to join us for a "fox & friends" exclusive.ut down the remote. t she'hes next. ♪hos arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. i chose arexvy. rsv? make it arexvy. are you suffering from bladder and bowel leaks? it's time to take control and talk to a physician specialist about axonics therapy. you can even try it first to see if it works for you. visit findrealrelief.com to get started. look who saved slider sunday again! here we go... (♪) a perfect king's hawaiian slider. tastes good too! king's hawaiian slider sunday... the only way to sunday! hi, i'm jason and i've lost 202 pounds on golo. so when i first started golo, i was expecting to lose around 40 pounds and then i just kept losing w

>> kennedy: i think ashleigh merchant is holding her own.people watching are going, wow, i wish i had a defense attorney like that. members of the trump orbit. she does represent one of former president trump's co-defendants in that case. she is doing a good job and holding up. the thing about this and really good point jonathan turley made, why haven't these two stepped aside? massive distraction and his point, so much is unfolding everyday. >> harris: so true. >> kennedy: damning facts, pinpointing him at her house years before they say this relationship began. >> harris: 12,000 messages and phone calls wrapped up in a bundle and ashleigh merchant had some on her phone going back to a key witness in the case. the reach out to twhite house ad that is problematic, if you have a situation where someone is going up against another person in an election is using high officials in a doj situation to go after that opponent, there could be criminality there he's looking at. >> that is problematic and i'd like to know more about it. i'm focused on

i think for ashleigh merchant, it is cut and dry. >> todd: not normal to call them to the stand.in soap opera, not usually in a court of law. it will come down to fani willis, does the judge believe her? he's making the decisions in this case, there is no jury in this part. here is what fani willis said. >> i want to be clear, my credibility is being evaluated. we were friends and hung out prior to 2021. in november of 2021, i hired him, i do not consider our relationship romantic until 2022. >> todd: based on the evidence, if the judge determines fani willis lied under oath, what happens to the trump prosecution and what happens to her career in this county where she is prosecutor? >> there are several different issues, fani willis has her own issue as an attorney if she perjuries herself. that would undercut the entire case. whether he dismisses the case, that is another decision. every attorney at fani willis's office would be disqualified. would another prosecutor's office pick it up? that would severely delay it. for fani willis's purposes, she will face investigation by the

ashleigh merchant, like -- it started when she left the d.a.'fice and was terrence bradley, the municipal court conference. merchant. that is what i figured when he was married. a couple of hours later, is this accurate upon information and belief, willis and wade met while both were serving as magistrate judges and began a romantic relationship at the time. municipal court, merchant, thank you. bradley, but you can't put where they meet, not many people know that. he was afraid, shannon of being smoked out here and he was the source of this information and then when he got on the stand last week, all of it seemed to completely escape his memory. >> shannon: yes, there were a lot of "i can't recall." but he tried to get out of this altogether because he said at one point he was a legal partner of nationwide -- nathan wade and that he served as an attorney and his worst case. and so this judge, scott mcafee, had a hearing of camera and said let's take a look at this. is there privilege? what is going on here? he decided there was enough that terr

of the text messages between terrence bradley and ashleigh merchant. terrence bradley says, it does not surprise me they took so many trips together, ashleigh merchant writes back, he says, florida texas, merchant says that now. , brantley, california, britain, europe, brandy when she moved there. merchant says she can't believe they were so carefully and then says, i am trying to anticipate her response when i blow this up. sandra, we are about to find out. >> sandra: we are indeed. kerri, do you want to get a final thought in here? >> kerri: it will be interesting to see how this plays out. i did think that the discussion around the former divorce lawyer and his text messages and why they cannot get a statement locked down. the judge was making the putt practice would be better if you had a lockdown statement versus these text messages and the defense said, but these are text messages to the defense lawyer and we have the right here? what is the difference? but certainly something to judge is considering today. >> john r: the one thing that the judge

chair watching the violence and play and for a on tv several states, a non reaction at the death of ashleigh babbitt, a non reaction was that his general attitude during much of this period, according to the ballet yeah. >> i the valley does say at one point that donald trump appeared concerned about the violence and said that that he should call mark milley or nancy pelosi. but the testimony we have is that president trump at the time never did that. mark milley testified that he received no call from president trump at all that day. so even if he did say that it really took no action about it. and then at the end of the day after all the violence that happened after 150 police officers were injured the thing that donald trump says to the valais when they're one-on-one is that mike pence really let him down so that was really all still on his mind. was still his discipline appointment and his and his anger at his own vice president for not helping him overturn the election. and not what was not on his mind was that the riot and the violence that have just happened. >> so it's interesting, t

thanks so much for being with perspective now from ashleigh merchant, the lawyer who led the effort toani willis. she represents michael roman, a former trump campaign operative, and now co-defendant counselor. how likely do you think it is that this trial really is able to begin this summer as de a fani willis is now pushing for i think it's very unlikely. i never thought that we would be able to start this trial this summer. i now with all of the other issues that we've had with the disqualification, the appeal i think gets completely impossible that it would be able to be started as early as this the summer to10 people, there's too many to defendants, too many defense lawyers, too much evidence, just too much to corral such short amount of time. >> would you like to see it start this summer? >> i love to see it start i'm not for that. we'll be ready this summer and part of the reason that we're having trouble getting ready is because the district attorney is still giving us discovery. so if they had been able to give us all of the disc february as soon as they indicted the case, we

ashleigh merchant. thank you so much for joining today. >> thanks for having me >> we've got some breaking news in right now and appeals court putting that controversial texas immigration law back on hold. this just hours after the supreme court gave the green light we'll talk about what's going on and why next >> space shuttle columbia, the final flight from your sunday, april 7 nine once you demand for energy is growing, and so is the need for american oil and natural gas. it's time to turn the lights america's resources are abundant. our nation is a global leader in reducing emissions and innovators and delivering more energy sources to secure for our future. nine in ten americans agree american oil and natural gas are vital to our account >> lights >> start your day with nature me. >> the number one >> pharmacist recommended vitamin supplement brand >> so i can take all these trips because priceline has all these amazing deals and that's when i said, deal on your right is our infinity deal. >> i am

. >> kayleigh: absolutely, ashleigh merchant did great work for her clients finding this. see what happens to fani willis. i am dedicating my time to reserving my time to unhinged left and the media as they attack our institutions. take a watch. >> to me, it is disappointing and troubling, they have thrown a monkey wrench in the schedule. they take so long in making the decision, they are giving de facto immunity. >> it is frustrating that the u.s. supreme court will delay this trial for a couple months. >> the court is evident with the pacing, putting this off for seven weeks, sitting on it for two weeks, pushing all the cases they can push to the point where trump will stand for election before any of us heard the verdict in any of the cases, got it, timing. >> we can't put our hopes in the supreme court, people need to be engaged and aroused at this point. >> kayleigh: being engaged and aroused against the supreme court. >> harris: i don't like the use of those words, they are confusing. >> kayleigh: i don't either, you are only allowed to attack greatest institutions i

perspective now from ashleigh merchant, the lawyer who led the effort to remove fani willis. she represents michael roman, a former trump campaign operative, and now co-defendant counselor how likely do you think it is that this trial really is able to begin this summer as da fani willis is now pushing for i think it's very unlikely. >> i never thought that we would be able to start this trial this summer. now, with all of the other issues that we've had with the disqualification and the appeal, i think gets completely impossible that it would be able to be started as early as this summer to10 people there's too many tonight, defendants, too many defense lawyers, too much evidence, just too much to corral in such a short amount of time, would you like to see it start this summer? >> i love to see it start. i'm not for that. we'll be ready this summer and part of the reason that we're having trouble getting ready is because the district attorney is still giving us discovery. so if they had been able to give us all of the discovery as soon as they indicted the case. we could ha

we've asked ashleigh merchant, who also forwarded this ruling to comment on this on the record and they have not said yet what their reaction is. and that's a big indicator that this is a hue which when again, for fulton county district attorney fani willis and her team, john nick valencia. thank you so much and may take it from here. let's go now to laura coates. laura there are these two ideas. one is whether there was actual proof of impropriety and the other idea that is brought into this case, which the judge mentioned is the appearance of impropriety he said, yes, there was the appearance, but not the proof explain all of this and how this sort of panned out for the judge this was so consequential if you remember at the end of the last hearing, you heard from the da's office, they were defending against this motion to >> disqualify fani willis and the entire team. this question of well, isn't appearance of impropriety and appearance of a conflict going to be enough. most people are accustomed to hearing about the quote, unquote hint of impropriety. we were talking about a judge at

ashleigh, going to be a busy day we will be watching you. >> it is.ood to see you all. >> lawrence: carley has got some headlines for us. >> brian: can you sound more unenthusiastic. you haven't seen her and you are very mechanical. >> lawrence: brian, can you redo it for me? >> brian: carley shimkus is here, ladies and gentlemen with the news. car cancer and the crowd goes wild. >> carley: actually crickets. hi, brian, hi, rachel. i love seeing you. joey, hugs, lawrence as well. >> brian: see, that's how you do it. >> carley: that's the enthusiasm we are talking about. lawrence, you are pecket perfect. >> don't worry about it. news to get to starting with attribute here. tributes pouring in for former connecticut senator joe lieberman who died yesterday after complications from a fall. he served in the u.s. senate from 1989 to 2013. and he ran for the vice presidency in 2,000. his former running mate al gore paying his respects calling lieberman a truly gifted leader whose apropos personality and strong will made him a force to be reckoned with. the

. >> jim, today has very much so the feeling of political theater we had anticipated that ashleigh merchant was going to face a friendly line of questioning, but that's even exceeded our expectations so far. this is a bipartisan senate committee here for the georgia in georgia state capitol, but it is made up of primarily republicans. and so far, only the republican chairman has been allowed to question merchant and it's allowed her to reiterate her argument as to why fani willis should be disqualified from this case without being challenged. the questions were intended to focus on whether or not willis had a conflict of interest or misused public funds, but they also dealt into political propaganda with a suggestion that willis was colluding with the biden white house when she visited the white house in 2023, of course, you know from our reporting that those were routine visits from the da's office with the white house. but it really underscores just how much he's able to say things without being pushed back on. >> this it's committee has no power or authority whatsoever to remove fani wil

i ashleigh merchant was sworn in about 30 minutes ago. she's currently being questioned right now by this bipartisan committee six republicans three democrats, and they are expecting her to answer questions that they want to know about this potential misuse of public funds. we expect this to last several hours and afterwards, sara, there will be a press conference held about any developments that we hear today. sara. >> all right. i know you'll be watching every detail. nick valencia. thank you so much to you and your team >> and we are minutes away now from nikki haley set to speak in charleston, south carolina, where she is expected to end her presidential campaign. this as the biden campaign, is casting donald trump as quote, wounded, dangerous, and unpopular keeler. this morning why the biden by biden's campaign manager says they now see a clear path to victory erin burnett outfront tonight at seven on cnn. >> right now, you get a free foot august of weight just by any foot login to app to get one free, just scan the qr code and enter

we're also waiting to hear from the defense attorneys in this case, especially ashleigh merchant, the attorney for mike roman, who filed the initial disqualification motion, and whether she plans to appeal this ruling, that could obviously extend the timeline for this fight and keep it dragging on for weeks or even months to come. >> nathan wade, he could he could potentially just resign or she could fire him, right >> yes. exactly. and he's been on this case since november 2021, almost since the beginning. he really has been a key organizational force in all of this. and so that could be a major change day-to-day for this roughly 12-person team that's been working on this case. >> do we have any idea who bite replace him >> well, as i mentioned, there's already about a dozen other folks who she could decide to elevate into that that kind of key quarterback role many of them have been at the da's office for several years now, or she could look for outside counsel. she has there's two other special prosecutors who have been helping with this case. and across in john floyd, they've been

he was right there in the office, and there were also very specific exchanges between ashleigh merchant on the stand where information that he had been communicing to her, very detailed, very specific, now all of a sudden he can't remember anything. i think the judge is likely to say he was not credible on the stand. the phone records are damning, there have been references in trump's filings to them. there are text messages and there are calls that show that fani willis and nathan wade were communicating prior to her hiring him in 2021 at all hours of the night, midnight, 4:00 a.m. text messages, you know, just based on the frequency of those communications and the timing of those communications, strongly suggests here that they had a relationship before she hired him, and that raises the question of perjury, and again, i don't think there's been any evidence that she financially profited from hiring nathan wade, and that would have been the thing that would have disqualified her. but if they perjured themselves on the stand, it's hard to see how they can stay on the case. >> we'll see

the lawyer testifying in front of georgia state senate is ashleigh merchant, a lawyer for the defense. how rare for a defense attorney to testify in front of a legislative body in middle of case she is working on? that seems odd to me. >> well, todd, it is rare. what we're dealing with is potential misconduct proceedings against fani willis and this is something judge mcafee eluded to. this is somewhat related when you have a georgia legislative body looking into allegations. >> todd: what impact, if any, could this senate hearing have on the underlying case? >> i don't think it will have any impact. what we need here is a financial conflict of interest. not just lying or paying your boyfriend, we need something more. that is why you see the defense say they are trying to connect the dot and argue this was unlawful kickback scheme. i am not sure they connected the dots yet. >> todd: you don't think the judge has enough to disqualify fani willis or her office? >> i think, if i had to guess, i think mcafee will keep her on the case. that doesn't mean she shouldn't stretch down. it has c

fani willis issues -- ashleigh merchant blew the list on willis and nathan wade's relationship, she will- senator marco rubio joins us. and squatters arrested for -- rising epidemic and piers morgan and paul mauro stop by. see you top of the morning. we have a busy monday morning. i can make this work. it can help you reach them with confidence. no wonder more than 9 out of 10 of our clients are likely to recommend us. ameriprise financial. advice worth talking about. suspect after noticing a suspicious car inside. they found burglary tools. pet deterrent shoe covers and masks. chile is part of a u.s. waiver program allows travelers to enter america 90 days or less without having to obtain a visa or go through a thorough vetting process. meantime. vice president kamala harris set to meet with the president of guatemala later today to discuss, wait for it, the root causes of migration. as joe biden's own border patrol chief warns the border is a national security threat. mademadeleine rivera has more. mediterranean? >> good morning, todd. during the meeting with guatemala's in the body, v

we'll talk to ashleigh merchant, who represents a co-defendant and lawyer who discovered this relationshipnd nathan wade, she will join us on "fox and friends," in an exclusive. graining crackdown in el salvador, senator tom cotton is giving us a first-hand look. it might be the safest country in central and south america. and stepping up patrol on the coast as the situation in haiti goes from bad to worse. a busy morning, mornings on "fox and friends" morning show will get started here. get dressed and stay within yourself and throw in the animation. uuu, this looks romantic. [bell sounds] welcome, i'm your host, jacob. hi. how was the weather getting up here? fine but, you know, i think we're, we're just going to go up to bed and— do you believe in ghosts? [whistling kettle sound] no? good! mother is buried in the yard. meanwhile, at a vrbo... when other vacation rentals have no privacy, try one that has no one but you. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn m

. >> lawrence: i asked ashleigh merchant about this, here answer is yes, i see your point on this.we were to get another prosecutor, we don't think there would be a case there. where do you stand on that? >> i'm in a different place, i'm an analyst and trying to decide what the best thing to happen is. whereas if i were a defense lawyer in this case, it is your duty to bring the motion and follow it through all the way and if she's right and they get a neutral, fair prosecutor, there is so much wrong with this case. we respondent the last couple months on this salacious stuff, this case stinks as a case and has since the beginning. you have 19 people she's trying to indict and only thing they have ever done together is get indicted and idea they are rico organization is one of the more preposterous things i've seen in many decades. >> joey: on that topic, she said she felt like, defense teams feel like this is first amendment issue and that is their strongest argument. can you explain what she means by that and why the first amendment? go ahead. >> i think the thing is what she's d

ashleigh merchant is up early and joins us on the state of the appeal on the decision and major leaguem globe life field, home of the texas rangers to get started. former secretary of state mike pompeo live on joe biden's concerning shift on israel, he is anti-israel these days, we'll talk about all that and the meltdown on ronna mcdaniel and her contract at nbc. noah james will be here from the chosen, all coming up on "fox and friends", stay here. >> good morning, carley and todd. my name is ileen bogey, i'm up early, i am instructional aid for special education at somerset high school in kentucky. go, jumpers! have a good day! a month, each lasting 4 ho urs or more - can be overwhelming. so, ask your doctor about botox®. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start. it's the #1 prescribed branded chronic migraine treatment. so far, more than 5 million botox® treatments have been given to over eight hundred and fifty thousand chronic migraine patients. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your

we heard ashleigh merchant's piece in the last take and the filing in the fani willis case said "the trial court banned by existing case law to not only require wade's disqualification, which occurred, but also to require the disqualification of da willis and her entire office. the trial court's failure to do so is plain legal error requiring reversal". is it as simple as that and plain legal error? >> absolutely not. so formally in order for for a trial level judge find ago attorney is disqualified and it's not impropriety and no conflict of interest and in order for it to go forward, the appellate court has to agree to take the case. that's the first hurdle that the defendants will have in the situation. they filed their petition and the appellate court has 45 days to decide. and then they'll decide whether the trial court did the right thing in fixing this error, which i believe the court did by either the prosecute's off had to be disqualified or mr. wade. and he stepped down. johnathon: she stays on the case, but it does or does not feed in to trump's overarching argument here t

let's watch this, ashleigh merchant from 5:50 eastern time this morning. >> if you look at that order you can tell he made some really strong factual findings that support a conflict. we'll argue that his decision actually should have gone farther and should have actually disqualified her. he gave us all the factual findings we need. we now need a court to say that's too much. that's enough. she has to be disqualified. >> bill: the line for me is we just need a court to say that's too much. when does that happen and which court does that? where could they win, if at all? >> it was doubtful that this judge, who has significant ties to the county attorney's office, to fani willis herself, was going to actually recuse fani in this case and order the attorney general or another pick up the case. although she is accurate. the facts are there. think about this, bill. the one thing that's really puzzling. he found that there was, in fact, circumstances that justified that the prosecutor's office had been compromised. a finding they had been compromised in this particular case. that finding i

we remember terrence bradley suddenly forgot everything he talked to ashleigh merchant about, but one indication here and text messages and they talked a lot, look at this, where he indicates why somebody might not want to say anything. she texted him and says any idea who i could get an affidavit from on the affair? bradley responds, no. no one would freely burn that bridge. legal community in fulton county is pretty tight, and bradley doesn't want to be out there throwing these two under the bus, i imagine. >> even though he said absolutely the affair started before fani willis and her lover nathan wade have testified that it started, which plays into some of the ethics questions at play. so, if you rewind the tape throughout this whole series of hearings, you have one of fani willis's long time friends testifying the affair started earlier. you have now this gentleman, at least in text messages affirming yes, it started earlier, and saying oh, that was just speculation. then there are the perhaps telltale phone records where nathan wade's phone was showing up in the vicinity of fan

one woman telling our ashleigh banfield she thinks there's more than one person punching women. i've seen other videos of the people who have >> accused punching them and they're not the same as 5% by elise. i know that. >> the mckayla have the same attacker. i thought it was an isolated incident. i thought i was going to your crazy moment. and then after i that was handed over reporting for us. and now for your health or some alarming new data showing 2024 measles cases have already surpassed. >> last year's numbers in the u.s. several outbreaks have caused early year spikes in cases and that includes an outgoing ongoing outbreak at a migrant shelter in chicago. but so far the u.s. has recorded 64 cases across 17 states. last year's total for all 12 months was 59 cases. the majority of 2024 cases are linked to international travel and children who have not been vaccinated. according to the cdc, 2 doses of a measles vaccine are 97% effective. there's also growing concern over about a spike in m-pox cases, which has health experts are urging people to get vaccinated. the cdc is r

and it's changed quite a bit in the years, over the years with the emergence, especially ashleigh, have all these online sports bookings et cetera. but this is still a league that band pete rose for life and had the black sox scandal. so do you think it, is being handled differently or will be handled differently especially because you've got a star. we're so much money unprecedented amounts of money is invested >> yeah. well, the issue with both the black sox as pete rose as they were betting on baseball, there's no evidence yet that mizuhara was betting on baseball. i think if that comes into play, if there's a way to prove that, then the severity of the sort of punishment or potential investigation becomes that much more significant. but it also just the appearance of impropriety is sort of kind of part of the slippery slope is sports leagues, not just baseball, but all across america have further and further deepen their relationship with gambling companies. you can't turn on a television and watch anything without getting hit by draftkings or whomever convincing you to try and bet.

an admonishment there from the judge and we're getting some more sharp words from defense attorney ashleigh merchant. she is the defense attorney. the first surface these allegations against willis and her team. this is the first time that she's responded since that order came out this morning. and this is part of her statement here. why we believe the court should have disqualified willis's office entirely. this opinion is a vindication that everything put forth by the defense was true accurate, and relevant to the issue to surrounding our client's right to a fair trial she goes on to say the judge clearly agreed with the defense that the actions of willis or result of her poor judgment and that there is a risk to the fuel picture of this case if she doesn't quickly work to cure her conflict, we do expect a resignation to happen sometime from nathan wade. we've reached out to wade. we have not heard back he can only imagine that that decision is forthcoming. big questions, those still remain will willis be able to get this trial back on track for a desire trial before the election. that is

an attorney for one of trump's co-defendants ashleigh merchant joined us last hour. >> too much heardto dismiss based on first amendment grounds. second one is called a demuir in georgia a demuir is really a motion to dismiss. when you look at the indictment you see a lot of language that says fake electors, things like that. duly elected. fraudulent. and those are legal conclusions. so we are trying to have those dismissed saying that the state just can't put those legal conclusions in there. that's something that jury has to decide. >> carley: meanwhile fulton county d.a. fani willis firing back at republicans seeking information about funds. nothing you do will derail the efforts of my staff and i to bring the election interference prosecution to trial so that a jury of fulton county citizens can determine the guilt or innocence of the defendants. and those are your headlines. lawrence, over to you. >> lawrence: where does freedom of speech and democracy stand? does the left silence those that they disagree with? let's bring in fox news contributor joe concha. it really goes to the

meghan, or william, or harry and i think this is going to be a real question on four, could this brand ashleigh to succeed? and then the other real question is, given kate's high pile popularity, she's sort of the face of the royals. will these scandals really drag her down? all right, harry enten. thank you. before we go, we wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to a member of our team. here are line producer christina callahan is in the control room for us right now for the last time, unless of course she ever wants to come back christina has been 360 for nine years and over the years have become vital member of the team. she's incredibly calm incredibly calm under pressure, incredibly professional, which are two really important traits for line producer. most importantly, she's an all around great human being, and we are truly going to ms her. so thank you, christina. and we wish you the best of luck moving forward. >> he was >> continues right here on cnn >> hello, and welcome to have you as here in the united states and all around the world, i'm linda kincaid coming up on cnn user as desp

so, ultimately, i guess and ashleigh merchant was on talking about this yesterday.was the woman we played the soundbite on a minute ago. if they do decide to change the law, would that apply to the trump case? >> oh, it absolutely would apply to it. you know, this is a governor whose duty-bound to see the georgia laws are faithfully executed. that includes prosecutions that abide by legal and ethical standards. he's publicly expressed his concern that willis' behavior is making the case look more and more political, which is the opposite of a neutral, objective prosecution. and, of course, having signed that new law, i think he is leaving this in the hands of the new state commission to discipline and remove rogue prosecutors like fani willis. >> steve: gotcha. gregg jarrett, thank you very much. we've got the governor of the commonwealth of virginia coming up on this show. up on this show. ♪ botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start. it's the #1 prescribed branded chronic migraine treatment. so far, more than 5 million botox®

so, ashleigh, avenues, the berkeley is going to be a really good one for you.about this commute. he was saying that if you are on a t 80 eastbound exit in that pow getting back on a less mount is another better alternate. if you have to take that route or bart bay bridge right now. if you are able to maneuver around those delays, 18 minute ride once you hit the may's to that fremont street exit other bridges, a lot of people born in the bay bridge altogether. they're opting for the san mateo bridge because maybe that you're out this morning. 23 minute right there. 80 to 101. you see traffic is a busy and building cause of that crash and a lot of people are taking. other alternates are avoiding the east bay and altogether. richmond center fell bridge just short of 14 minutes. there. golden gate bridge. get a good look at things about 34 minutes. 37 to the tolls. thankfully for a lot of you out there traveling this morning, we don't have the rain. any conditions that would make even worse. yeah. so right now just the cloudy skies that you see there. we've got joh

and i think this is going to be a real question on four, could this brand ashleigh, the sixth? seed, and then the other real question is, given kate's high popularity, she's sort of the face of the royals. will these scandals really drag or down? all right, harry enten, thank you. before we go, we wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to a member of our team. here are aligned christina callahan is in the control room for us right now for the last time, unless of course she ever wants to come back. christina has been in a 360 for nine years and over the years has become vital member of the team. she's incredibly calm, incredibly calm under pressure, incredibly professional, which are two really important traits for line producer. most

it's interesting in their comments today, both steve sadow, the trump lawyer, and ashleigh merchant, the lawyer for michael roman, who brought the motion to begin with. did not say specifically that they're going to try to appeal, so they may realize this is it. and now we're going to pivot to the actual case in mind. and i think that's that was one takeaway from the responses today. >> another thing ryan that stood out to me was judge mcafee is reference to the georgia bar and the obviously the bar association in a state is the police for lawyers in the state would have the ability to disbar somebody or to punish them in other ways. and there are other investigations going on here. so even even separate from the appeal point that michael just raised, is this really just clear sailing or is it possible? but there are punishments that come along for fani willis here, the do derail this in these next few months. >> i think the next few minutes are going to see a number of different institutions in georgia reviewing fani willis and nathan wade, the judge almost invited that too. he list

and they just have not been able to bring the evidence that was promised initially by ashleigh merchant enjoy you hear the judge saying that suggesting that the georgia bar might be >> the more appropriate venue for any questions about fani willis is behavior >> i mean, i don't think that's an unreasonable suggestion by the judge. the reality is is that we have a case here involving these four 14, 15 defendants. again, including the president, three laurie is already being pled guilty and someone else >> did they do what was >> alleged? did does that indictment stan to the scrutiny remember this a process? the process before you actually can be indicted, there are people who hear this. is there probable cause to believe a crime was committed in that to committed it. that's an essential core of our system. then you have a trial where there's 12 people that sit in judgment to determine did you do it beyond a reasonable doubt? is that impaired in any way by all of this salacious activity? and if it's not, then perhaps if you made mis-rep misrepresentations, if you had an undo our relations

well, those remarks from willis coming after a state senate hearing today featured ashleigh merchant. she is the defense attorney, who was pushing to disqualify willis in the trump georgia election interference case? his including testimony about how taxpayer money was allegedly used to pay for personal trips that willis took with the lead prosecutor, nathan wade >> you show the trip to aruba, another one, bahamas wonder believes one to napa valley, california. these are all from october 22 up until my a 23? yes. >> this is a document you produced us. yes. so do either of them deny these trips occurred? >> no, not at all. >> it is so resist the the impropriety, the financial impropriety of getting financial benefit from the job that he's paying for her way on these trips with money? >> yes. that she's paying him >> on approving this. >> this is the what i would call undisputed >> right. both willis and wade deny any wrongdoing in that relationship or funding for vacations. >> outfont. now, the man that you just heard there and saw questioning merchant, who led today's hearing, the rep

. >> let me get ashleigh the way and what do you think actually tried? and i said he was a name that was associated with no labels, but unfortunately, i feel no labels has a pretty strong infrastructure. they continue to recruit candidates. i don't think that joe lieberman passing is doesn't necessarily going to dissuade individuals from pursuing that an effort. i think it is the question more so is that does somebody wants to take up the mantle of no label, noting to what scott just says that if you're afraid no labels is afraid of donald trump winning second a second term. and if they, those somebody a viable candidate into the wraith, it is more likely to help donald trump win then joe biden. and so the question is really can may just find someone i'm not sure the passing of senator lieberman will really play a role in that >> yeah. you know, jeff, you covered him for a long time as did i. we talk often about how often he was an independent voice in the us senate, something we don't necessarily see as often these days, right? >> he definitely was and

and he pointed out that ashleigh merchant, the lawyer, didn't lock him in, didn't go sit down and probe for those answers to those questions and get affidavit. but at the same time when andrew body, the lawyer for the da's office, got up there and the questions came about the state of the law and whether it's actual conference conflict or an appearance of conflict >> he >> mcafee pushed back on the argument that appearance was not an appropriate standard, and i think that's where this ball game is right now. it's not an actual conflict. the trump lawyers haven't proven that by and he means, but if it's an appearance which is kind of a loosey, goosey standard. it just looks bad. then fani willis could be in trouble. >> and to that point, van appearance of a conflict versus an actual conflict that is really what this is about. actually beyond that courtroom the public perception, even if the case goes ahead, what is now the public perception >> well, it's unfortunate. i mean, this is the case that people at felt strongly about. they thought it was strong, they thought she was strong and a

defense attorney ashleigh merchant testifying basically reiterating her argument as to why she believes fani willis should be qualified from this case, and those claims largely went unchallenged by the majority republican committee. we did catch up with one of the democrats on the committee who called this hearing today, silly and said that the republicans are continuing on with political theater and that they just want to keep this story in the news. we should mention also, not only does this committee not have the power to remove fani willis, but the recommendation of what to do next will come long after judge scott mcafee makes his decision. remember, he said last week he expects to quarter or give his order in this case and whether willis should be disqualified and the next two weeks brianna. >> yeah. very good point there. nick valencia. thank you. >> still ahead. you you can call them out of this world absentee votes. how astronauts on the international space station cast their ballots for super tuesday to be a headliner was vegas >> that's what i want to do. >> they had the bigge

you know, they're not altogether happy, but they do in part feel vindicated and i did reach out to ashleigh merchant. she sent me a statement a few hours after the order came out, and this is what merchant is saying. she's the attorney that first surface these allegations saying, quote, the judge clearly agreed with the defense at the actions of willis are a result of her poor judgment and that there is the rest of the future of this case. if she doesn't quickly work to cure her conflict, that conflict, of course, has been cured with the resignation of nathan wade. but we should stand by for a an appeal launched by defense attorneys in this case, principally steve sadow the attorney for the former president, abbie nick valencia. thank you for that report. and there's a lot to discuss here with my panel of insiders. let's start with paula reid. paula nathan wade resigned and fani willis is staying. but this ruling from the judge was pretty scathing. it did not leave her without some black marks on her reputation. >> that's exactly right. well, the judge found that she did not engage in a cor

and they just have not been able to bring the evidence that was promised initially by ashleigh merchant enjoy you hear the judge saying that suggesting that the georgia bar might be the more appropriate >> venue for any questions about fani willis is behavior >> i mean, i don't think that's an unreasonable suggestion by the judge. the reality is is that we have a case here involving these 14, 15 defendants. again, including the president, three lawyers already have been pled guilty and someone else >> did they do what was alleged? did does that indictment stan to the scrutiny remember this a process? the process before you actually can be indicted, there are people who gave this. is there probable cause to believe a crime was committed in that you come at it, it that's an essential core of our system. then you have a trial where there's 12 people that sit in judgment to determine did you do it beyond a reasonable doubt? is that impaired in any way by all of this salacious activity? and if it's not, then perhaps if you made mis-rep misrepresentations, if you had an undo our relationship

. >> let me get ashleigh the way and what do you think actually try? >> partisanship. >> i said he was a name that was associated with no labels, but unfortunately, i feel no labels has a pretty strong infrastructure. they continue to recruit candidates. i don't think that joe lieberman passing is doesn't necessarily going to dissuade individuals from pursuing that effort, i think it is the question more so is that does somebody wants to take up the mantle of no label noting to what scott just says that if you're afraid no labels is afraid of donald trump winning second, a second term. and if they, those somebody a viable candidate into the wraith, it is more likely to help donald trump win then joe biden. and so the question is really can may just find someone i'm not sure the passing of senator lieberman will really play a role in that >> yeah. you know, jeff, you covered him for a long time as did i. we talk often about how often he was an independent voice in the us senate, something we don't necessarily see as often these days, right? >> he defini

so today there was a state senate committee in georgia that subpoenaed ashleigh merchant, who was the attorney, arguing to get rid of fani willis on the trump side here, who had raised the allegations of misconduct. now that committee doesn't have the power to remove move willis from the case. but is the committee still a risk or threat to willis >> i certainly think so because i think the follow-up is easily can be the question of, for example, did ms willis make false statements when she testified in these proceedings that we've just had in the last couple of weeks, did she testify falsely about the relationship? russian ship. and that's the cell phone data that we've talked about that seems to contradict her testimony that that really started in 2021 and that would be very bad for her, said, no, they don't have enforced horseman power, but could they could really raise the stakes, public pressure could be enormous if it's found that the district attorney, in fact, lied to the court, that would be the problem for her. >> right. and a hugely hugely reputationally issue and also for t

so during that course of the evidentiary hearing, during her testimony, fani willis called ashleigh merchant a liar. she was the defense attorney that first brought forward these allegations and the judge, those saying in his ruling that she came with her own credibility issues on the stand, we should expect you've stayed. out, the former president's attorney here in this case to launch an appeal. and there are also some big questions that still remain here. one principally, when will we see nathan wade file his resignation letter? or when will that happen? and also will the fulton county district attorney's office be able to get this case back on track for a trial date before the november election. client dana >> such good questions. and nic, if that's somebody calling with a hot scoop, get back, get back on the aaron tell us what it is. okay. >> thanks, dana. you got it. thanks. and we still still have not heard from fani willis, his office, as you just heard from nick, but donald trump's lead attorney, steve sadow, said, this. he said while respecting the court's decision, we believe the

. >> it's really important pointing raised to ashleigh about the message it sends because clearly you're not talking about the same unified approach or a fraternity of sorts for the republicans ashwath's donald trump we also know that obama is tremendously popular. i mean, he really is. he was when he was president also still is a especially among black and latino voters and younger voters as well i wondering though, so i can to chris wallace earlier this evening and they satan was something like, well, the popularity has essentially translate campus so it on somebody else can >> he >> send some of that to biden? will it stick? >> well, when you're building a campaign, you want to have surrogates and trusted messengers and like it or not, president obama is still one of the most famous individuals in the world and definitely in american politics. and so do you think there are voters, some who voted for the first time for obama and never came back back to the democratic party or back to democracy and cast a vote. and he could potentially be the person to reach out and say, listen folks, t

her career is in jeopardy right now because you see ashleigh merchant to point to everything and she is a very powerful hearing and their outcome will have political and judicial implications, bill. >> dana: indeed it will and thank you, neil terrel. we continue to watch that. that continues today and there's so much to talk to you about. we had an incredible day of news. >> leo: by the way, can i quickly say, going to slip, svp, i will tell percy and no one else. >> dana: i appreciate your vote. >> bill: that is cute. >> dana: thank you. thank you, leo. >> bill: thank you, leo, very much. worked to the news. we are up and running. >> dana: nikki haley has exited the race. she was in it for about 30 months. that ended today. mitch mcconnell endorsed. >> during this hour as well. >> bill: we don't expect to see the president today. but stand by for that. in the meantime, the state of the union and i'm headed to a secret location to be named later. >> dana: where in the world is bill hemmer? >> bill: i'm going to come back with a story that i hope is unbelievable. >> dana: harris faulk

and i think this is going to be a real question on four, could this brand ashleigh, the sixth? seed, and then the other real question is, given kate's high popularity, she's sort of the face of the royals. will these scandals really drag or down? all right, harry enten, thank you. before we go, we wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to a member of our team. here are aligned christina callahan is in the control room for us right now for the last time, unless of course she ever wants to come back. christina has been in a 360 for nine years and over the years has become vital member of the team. she's incredibly calm, incredibly calm under pressure, incredibly professional, which are two really important traits for line producer. most importantly, she's an all around great human being, and we are truly going to ms her. so thank you, christina. and we wish you the best of luck moving forward. the news continues to source of kate collins starts now straight from the source tonight, willis stays, wade goes and the case against donald trump in georgia survived hi, it's but the da o

having with her lead prosecutor so today there was a state senate committee in georgia that subpoenaed ashleigh merchant, who was the attorney arguing to get rid of fani willis on the trump side here, who had raised the allegations of misconduct. now that committee doesn't have the power to remove willis from the case but is the committee still a risk or a threat to willis >> i certainly think so because i think the follow-up is easily can be the question of, for example, did ms willis make false statements when she testified in these proceedings that we've just had in the last couple of ditchey testify falsely about the relationship. and that's the cell phone data that we've talked about that seems to contradict her testimony that that really started in 2021 and that would be very bad for her, said, no, they don't have enforcement power, but could they could really raise the stakes, public pressure could be enormous if it's found that the district attorney, in fact, lied to the court, that would be the problem for her. >> right. and a hugely hugely reputationally issue and also for the people