A judge is hearing arguments Thursday over whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the prosecution of former President Donald Trump and others accused of breaking the law to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government building on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta.FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A judge is hearing arguments Thursday over whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the prosecution of former President Donald Trump and others accused of breaking the law to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election.
The hearing will determine whether Willis and her office can continue pursuing the case amid allegations that she and the special prosecutor tapped to handle the case had an inappropriate relationship,Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee decided to dismiss the courtroom for the day and said the hearing would pick up again Friday at 9 a.m. EST.Willis while on the stand said that her relationship with Wade started during February and April 2022, This was reportedly months after she had hired him in Nov. 2021.“You don’t have to yell at me. I’m able to understand,” Willis said in response to Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow asking her if her children lived in her house while she lived at a separate residence. She was asked with people living and staying at the separate residence and she said that it was “a very lonely period of my life”. “This is a very isolating job,” Willis said. “I turned 50 in 2021 and that was probably one of the worst birthdays I’ve had.”On the stand, Willis said that she objected to defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant getting records related to her travel with Wade. “You’ve been intrusive into people’s personal lives,” she said. “You’re confused. You think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.” Merchant is representing Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign staff member accused of trying to use slates of fake electors to block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.Willis said that she got into the habit of taking extra cash out and keeping it on her with encouragement from her father. She said that her father always told her that a woman should have six months of expenses in their house. “It’s been my whole life,” she said. She added, “You just put money in. It’s a very good practice. I would advise it for all women.”Willis acknowledged her longtime acquaintance with Robin Yeartie, who earlier testified that Willis and Wade began dating in 2019, saying in court that they met while in college in the 1990s.Willis accused an attorney representing Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign staff member, of lying in court. “It’s ridiculous to me that you lied on Monday and yet here we still are,” she told attorney Ashleigh Merchant. The district attorney said that she was pacing in her office when she heard someone yell that Wade’s testimony was over. She walked to the courtroom afterward under the assumption that she would be called next. “I’ve been very anxious to have this conversation with you today, so I ran to the courtroom,” she said.The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office took back its objection to having Willis take the stand on Thursday as she faces a misconduct hearing. Willis took the stand just before 3 p.m. following testimony from Wade, who said that they dated from early 2022 until the summer of 2023.Wade finished giving testimony on Thursday after spending hours on the stand answering questions about his relationship with Willis, his work and his divorce. Attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who is representing former Trump campaign staff member Michael Roman, asked for Willis to take the stand next. Prosecutors objected, highlighting the high bar needed to justify calling opposing counsel to testify.Update 2:40 p.m. EST Feb. 15: Wade said that he was not dating anyone in 2020 as he was battling cancer with added precautions necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. “In 2020 and a portion of ‘21, I was battling cancer that prevented me from pretty much leaving ... environments that aren’t sterile,” he said. “I just, I had health on my mind.”Wade’s former law partner, a former longtime friend of Willis and Wade himself took the stand Thursday to testify in a hearing aimed at determining whether to remove Willis and Wade from the case.ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. Wade filed for divorce from his wife one day after Willis hired him as a special prosecutor by coincidence, the attorney testified on Thursday. He said that he and his wife agreed to split after she had an affair in 2015, but they agreed to wait until after their youngest child graduated high school. He said his wife was in Texas, where she was taking care of her ailing mother and aging father. “So, the first opportunity that I had after speaking with my lawyers to take care of that was the date that it was filed and served, because she happened to be here” in Georgia, he said. He added that he and his wife had reached an agreement years earlier about getting divorced, but that it fell apart after he filed for the separation.Wade testified Thursday that his romantic relationship with Willis ended in the summer of 2023, though their personal relationship continues. “We’re very good friends — probably closer than ever because of these attacks,” he said. Later, he added that they have not had sexual relations since their split. The special prosecutor said that he and Willis’ relationship wasn’t “secret, it was just private.” He said he didn’t tell anyone at work and that he was unaware of Willis telling anyone.Update 12:20 p.m. EST Feb. 15: On the stand on Thursday, Wade reiterated that his romantic relationship with Willis began in early 2022, after she had appointed him as a special prosecutor. He said that Willis reimbursed him in cash when he paid for her travel expenses on his business card. Credit card statements show that he paid for two of the district attorney’s flights in recent years: one to San Francisco and another to Miami, He denied having had an affair with Willis, saying that his marriage was “irretrievably broken” after his wife had an affair in 2015. He added that he and his wife waited until their youngest child had graduated before filing for divorce. “During the course of my marriage, I had no relationship” with anyone other than his wife, Wade said.The special prosecutor heading Trump’s Georgia election subversion case took the stand Thursday as a judge considers whether to remove him and Willis from the case. Defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant opened her questioning by talking about her earlier support for and friendship with Wade. She then began questioning him about his ongoing divorce proceedings.Update 10:55 a.m. EST Feb. 15: A longtime friend and former coworker of Willis’ said that the district attorney and Wade began seeing each other beginning in 2019, contradicting a timeline shared earlier by the pair. Robin Yeartie testified that she met Willis in college and the two became friends. They later worked together in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. The pair had a falling out after Yeartie faced possible firing due to her performance in the DA’s office. They last spoke in March 2022, Yeartie said that she was sure that Willis and Wade had a romantic relationship in 2020 and 2021, adding that she saw them “hugging, kissing” and sharing “just affection.” In an earlier court filing, Willis and Wade said that they met in 2019 but did not begin a romantic relationship until 2022.Defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant earlier accused Willis and Wade of having a “clandestine personal relationship” that created a conflict of interest. Merchant is, a former Trump campaign staff member accused of trying to use slates of fake electors to block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.Merchant is asking the judge to dismiss the indictment and bar Willis, Wade and their offices from having further involvement in the case, The judge overseeing the case, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, said earlier this week that Thursday’s hearing will focus on whether Willis benefited financially from hiring Wade, when their romantic relationship began and whether the relationship is ongoing, “It’s clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one,” the judge said.It was not immediately clear what might happen to the case against Trump and his co-defendants if Willis is disqualified. Pointing to the political and legal challenges,that another prosecutor might not be willing to take up the case. Court proceedings could also be delayed past when voters go to the polls to pick the next president in November.Authorities filed charges against the former president, Roman and 17 others accused of racketeering to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election. Four people — bail bondsmanTribes in Washington are battling a devastating opioid crisis. Will a multimillion-dollar bill help?Sign up below to be added to our mailing list for the latest news updates, access to exclusive contests, and more!
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Live updates: Fani Willis to testify on misconduct allegations in Trump Georgia caseThis is additional taxonomy that helps us with analytics
Read more »
Prosecutor in Georgia Trump case questioned about relationship with Fani WillisThis is additional taxonomy that helps us with analytics
Read more »
Will Georgia attorney Fani Willis be removed from election case against Trump?A former friend and co-worker of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testified Thursday that Willis’ personal relationship with a special prosecutor began before he was hired in the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump.
Read more »
Welp, It Looks Like Fani Willis Torched Her Case Against TrumpQuestionable tangents about vacations and alcohol did not help her cause.
Read more »
Takeaways from Fani Willis’ stunning testimony in GeorgiaThe Georgia election subversion case against Donald Trump and 14 of his allies took a stunning turn Thursday when two top prosecutors testified under oath about their romantic relationship at a hearing triggered by allegations of self-dealing that have the potential to derail the indictment.
Read more »
Opinion: Fani Willis and Nathan Wade need to step aside for the sake of the countryFulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has made two severe lapses in judgment while presiding over the investigation and prosecution of former President Donald Trump, writes William Cooper: holding a fundraiser for the political opponent of one of the allies targeted in her investigation and admitting to having a personal relationship with...
Read more »