Fani Willis taking stand to testify in hearing that could disqualify her from Trump election case

By Kate Brumback And Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press on February 15, 2024.

ATLANTA (AP) – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was preparing to take the witness stand Thursday to testify about her romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she hired to lead the 2020 election interference case against Donald Trump.

The extraordinary hearing could lead to Willis’ removal from the case over what defense attorneys have described as a conflict of interest because of her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Robin Yeartie, a former co-worker of Willis, testified earlier Thursday that Willis’ relationship with Wade began before he was hired as special prosecutor in November 2021. Wade testified that they didn’t start dating until 2022, and that their relationship ended last summer.

During extraordinarily personal testimony that spanned hours, Wade admitted to having sex with Willis during his separation from his estranged wife.

Together, the testimony directly contradicts earlier sworn statements from Willis and Wade, who said their relationship hadn’t begun until after he was hired to lead the case. The revelation of earlier encounters threatens to undermine the prosecutors’ credibility and upend the case against Trump and others who are charged with conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

Trump and others involved in the case have argued that the relationship presents a conflict of interest that should force Willis off the case. Wade sought to downplay the matter, casting himself and Willis as “private people.”

“There is nothing secret or salacious about having a private life,” he said. “Nothing.”

Wade said the relationship ended last summer, but that he remains good friends with Willis. He added that they were “probably closer than ever because of these attacks.”

But the hours of probing questions for Wade underscored the extent to which the prosecutors who pledged to hold Trump accountable are themselves now under a public microscope, with revelations about their personal lives diverting attention away from Trump’s own conduct and threatening to derail one of the four prosecutions he confronts as he vies to reclaim the White House.

Willis could also be forced to testify in the hearing though her lawyers are fighting to keep her off the witness stand.

Wade said his relationship with Willis ended last summer but they remain good friends, adding that they are “probably closer than ever because of these attacks.” Wade said their relationship was not a secret – just private – because they are “private people.”

“There is nothing secret or salacious about having a private life,” Wade said. “Nothing.”

Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney representing Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, has described the relationship as a conflict of interest that should disqualify Willis – and her entire office – from the case. If that were to happen, a council that supports prosecuting attorneys in Georgia would find a new attorney to take over who could either proceed with the charges against Trump and 14 others or drop the case altogether.

Merchant alleges that Willis personally profited from the case, paying Wade more than $650,000 for his work and then benefiting when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations the pair took together.

The judge refused to quash a subpoena for Wade and he took the witness stand after Yeartie’s testimony. He insisted that the pair didn’t start dating until after he was hired as special prosecutor in 2022. He also testified that he and Willis traveled together to Belize, Aruba and California and took cruises together, but said Willis paid him back in cash for some travel expenses that he had charged to his credit card.

“She was very emphatic and adamant about this independent, strong woman thing so she demanded that she paid her own way,” Wade said.

Wade was pressed by defense attorneys to answer uncomfortable questions about his relationship with Willis, prompting objections from the district attorney’s office. The hearing began with lengthy sparring between lawyers over who must answer questions. It is expected to stretch into Friday.

Willis’ removal would be a stunning development in the most sprawling of the four criminal cases against Trump. Even if a new lawyer went forward with the case, it would very likely not go to trial before November, when Trump is expected to be the Republican nominee for president. At a separate hearing in New York on Thursday, a judge ruled that Trump’s hush-money criminal case will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting on March 25.

In a court filing earlier this month, Willis’ office insisted that she has no financial or personal conflict of interest and that there are no grounds to dismiss the case or to remove her from the prosecution. Her filing called the allegations “salacious” and said they were designed to generate headlines. Wade said in an affidavit filed in court that their relationship began after he was hired and that they have never lived together.

Since the allegations of an inappropriate relationship surfaced, Trump has used them to try to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Willis’ case against him. Other Republicans have cited them in calling for investigations into Willis, a Democrat who’s up for reelection this year.

Roman’s lawyer, Merchant, subpoenaed Willis, Wade, seven other employees of the district attorney’s office and others, including Wade’s former business partner, Terrence Bradley. Bradley took the witness stand earlier Thursday but refused to answer questions from Merchant, citing attorney-client privilege.

McAfee said during a hearing Monday that Willis could be disqualified “if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one.”

He said the issues he wants to explore at the hearing are “whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or nonromantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues.” Those questions are only relevant, he said, “in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of the relationship.”

____ Richer reported from Boston. Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami contributed to this report.

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