Star witness for the defense team Terrence Bradley revealed late in questioning Friday afternoon that he was accused of sexual assault by someone at the law firm at which he was a parnter, along with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
In questioning by state attorney Anna Cross, Bradley admitted that a large reason he left the law firm was because an employee at the firm accused him of sexual assault, though he denied the allegation.
Bradley indirectly admitted that he paid the employee who accused him.
The admission is key because earlier in his testimony Bradley testified that the reason he left the firm was related to Wade's divorce proceedings, and therefore covered by attorney client privilege, because Bradley served as Wade's divorce lawyer for a time.
Judge Scott McAfee said that Bradley's admission re-opens questions about what Bradley refused to answer about what he knew about Wade and Fani Willis' romantic relationship and when he knew. Bradley refused to answer citing attorney client privilege.
"Mr. Bradley previously testified that the reason he left the firm was totally and completely covered by privilege. When asked by the state, he went into a factual scenario that, to my mind, I don't see how it relates to privilege at all. And so now I'm left wondering if Mr. Bradley has been properly interpreting privilege this entire time," the judge said.
McAfee said he would schedule an in-camera hearing with Bradley to determine matters of privilege in the testimony.
Judge Scott McAfee adjourned the hearing after two days of testimony in the allegations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had an "improper" affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
The judge said he would hold an in-camera meeting with Terrence Bradley to discuss his testimony, some of which that the state argued was attorney client privileged.
Bradley revealed he was accused of sexual assault by an employee of the firm at which he was once partner at with Nathan Wade.
The state attempted to call a woman to the witness stand they said would testify to the allegations of assault - which Bradley denied - but the judge said that testimony was outside the scope of the rules of evidence for the hearing.
The state said the woman's testimony would impeach Bradley's credibility.
Judge McAfee said he would hold a summation hearing of all the evidence presented in the next week or two.
Judge Scott McAfee said he will hold an in-camera meeting with star witness Terrence Bradley and defense lawyers but keep it under seal of the court, after roughly an hour of debate of attorney client privilege.
Defense lawyers are pushing Bradley, special prosecutor Nathan Wade’s former law partner, about when he knew Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis and Wade first began a romantic relationship – and if his knowledge of the relationship corroborates their testimony.
Bradley served as Wade’s divorce attorney for a time, which lawyers for the state keep invoking as a matter of privilege.
At an undetermined time after Friday’s hearing, Judge McAfee will be able to hear all the answers from the witness and then decide how much weight he will give to that testimony after he decides whether it is admissible or not based on privilege.
Fox News’ Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this report
{{#rendered}}NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal attended the inauguration for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a witness said Friday.
Terrence Bradley, the former law partner for Nathan Wade who also served as his divorce attorney, was being grilled on the stand by Trump's lawyer, Steve Sadow, about whether he ever socialized with Wade or Willis before Nov. 1 , 2021.
Bradley said he recalled being at Willis' inauguration in January 2021 where O'Neal was present.
"Out to eat with both of them before When was she sworn in?" Bradley asked. "I’m sorry. When was she sworn in? There was a dinner. There was a dinner before. I mean, when she was sworn in that I attended, Shaquille O’Neal was there. So it was like her inauguration."
"So I’m thinking that’s before 2021. So I would say yes. In early January of 2021," he added.
Bradley said he didn't recall socializing with Wade or Willis after that or before Nov. 1, 2021.
Frustration grew in the Fulton County courtroom as prosecutors raised objections to defense star witness Terrence Bradley's testimony.
The state's previous objections derailed court proceedings Thursday after prosecutors claimed Bradley, who was formerly Nathan Wade's divorce attorney, was being asked to share information protected by attorney-client privilege.
Steve Sadow, an attorney for former President Trump, stood up and suggested a different method — allowing all the questions to be asked that don't deal with privilege and let Judge Scott McAffee decide later what is admissible to save time.
"They've repeatedly attempted to stop questioning, your honor, to hear it all and then decide what is and is not relevant admissible. We don't have to go through every single one. If the only time you have to go through this is if it is, in fact, the communication. And is it a privilege," Sadow said.
Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for Michael Roman, had the witness read verbatim text messages between Bradley and herself. One of them is Merchant asking Bradley, "Is he that dumb?" — referring to Wade — after Bradley told Merchant about the vacation to Napa Valley Wade paid for with his firm.
Fox News' Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this update.
{{#rendered}}Terrence Bradley, an attorney and former friend and colleague of special prosecutor Nathan Wade, is back on the stand.
Bradley, a star witness for the defense, is expected to testify that Wade and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began their affair before she appointed him to prosecute former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants.
"Willis and Wade claim they did not have a personal, romantic relationship before Willis appointed Wade as a special prosecutor, but Terrence Bradley ("Bradley") will refute that claim," attorney Ashleigh Merchant wrote in a court filing. Merchant is an attorney representing Michael Roman, one of the defendants in the 2020 election interference case.
Bradley will testify that the romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began before Willis was sworn as the district attorney for Fulton County in January 2021, Merchant wrote.
Prosecutors representing the state said they do not have any more witnesses to call today.
Former assistant district attorney Phil Holloway joined "The Faulkner Focus" to discuss Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' testimony Thursday, and said she could be in "very big trouble."
Holloway told host Harris Faulkner that it appeared as if Willis was furious at the proceedings so far and went on the witness stand "to vent."
"To be honest with you, and this is just my opinion, I though and it still seems like she was watching the witnesses' testimony yesterday — which you're not supposed to do," Holloway said.
"That's not allowed," Faulkner affirmed.
"It appears that she was mad because she watched the testimony and the cross-examination of Nathan Wade and it looks like it upset her. But this whole thing is evolving into an ethical dumpster fire," Holloway continued.
He suggested that if the defense can prove that either Willis or special prosecutor Nathan Wade have made "material misrepresentations" in their affidavits, they could be disbarred.
The Fulton County Superior Court will reconvene at 1:00 p.m. on Friday after a brief break. The defense team will continue to press witnesses for evidence that Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis engaged in an "improper" affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Co-defendants in the sprawling political corruption case against former president Donald Trump have been trying to show Judge Scott McAfee evidence that Willis financially benefitted from hiring Wade through their lavish vacations together as a romantic couple.
On Friday, Willis' father, John C. Floyd III, took the stand and confirmed what Willis testified to on Thursday - that her father taught her to keep large amounts of cash on hand at all times.
Willis said Thursday that since she reimbursed Wade for her share of vacation expenses in cash.
Both she and Wade testified there are no receipts for those transactions.
The crux of the defenses' case is whether they can prove with a money trail that Willis has a conflict of interest in the case against Trump and should be disqualified.
When the hearing resumes, the defense is expected to call Terrence Bradley -- Wade's former law firm partner -- to the stand.
{{#rendered}}State's attorney Adam Abbate questioned John C. Floyd III on his living situation in 2019, when Floyd claims he was forced to move in with is daughter, District Attorney Fani Willis.
Floyd testified that he was living in South Africa before the political situation in that country forced him to relocate to Georgia in the spring or summer of 2019. He said that while he was living with Willis she was dating someone named "Deuce" and that he did not meet Nathan Wade until 2023.
"Did you ever meet Mr. Wade in the year 2019?" Abbate asked.
"Absolutely not," Floyd answered.
Floyd later testified that he moved back to Los Angeles to pitch a movie script called "Bad Blood," which he said he developed after working on a memoir about his work in the civil rights movement — presumably including his time as a Black Panther.
He also said he did not find out that Willis and Wade had a romantic relationship until about seven weeks ago, when Michael Roman alleged in a court filing that Willis had a conflict of interest in the Trump 2020 election interference case.
Floyd was also asked about his daughter's claim that she keeps large savings in cash. Willis testified Thursday that she split the cost of her vacations with Wade and paid him in cash, transactions for which there is no receipt.
"Excuse me, your honor, I'm not trying to be racist, okay. But it's a Black thing," Floyd said, explaining that he trained his daughter to always keep cash.
John C. Floyd III, the father of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, has taken the stand in his daughter's misconduct hearing.
Floyd, a criminal defense attorney, is expected to testify that he was living with Willis at the time the defense claims she lived with her lover, special prosecutor Nathan Wade. His testimony would contradict the narrative presented by the defense and undermine their claims that Willis had a conflict of interest in hiring Wade as special prosecutor in the 2020 election interference case.
Floyd is a former Black Panther activist who participated at sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in 1965 in Memphis, Tennessee. He moved to California and joined the Black Panther movement in 1967 in Los Angeles, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
He once said that while living in a violent neighborhood of Los Angeles he never called the LAPD, believing the police "to be the enemy," according to the New York Post.
He would later renounce violence and enrolled at UCLA to study law after two Panthers, Bunchy Carter and John Huggins, were shot and killed in an altercation at a Black Student Union meeting, AJC reported.
Willis has said she remains close to her father and that they speak by phone as much as 10 times a day. She referred to him as "daddy" multiple times on the stand Thursday.
Floyd unexpectedly took the stand in person Friday instead of testifying remotely from California.
Terrence Bradley, the star witness for the defense, is late to Friday's evidentiary hearing on the misconduct allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Bradley scheduled a doctor's appointment for Friday morning which caused his delay. In his stead, prosecutors have called their first witness to testify, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat.
Barnes served as governor of Georgia from 1999 to 2003. He is the last Democrat to hold that office.
After leaving the governor's mansion, Barnes returned to Marietta to practice law in a private office. In 2021, Willis approached Barnes to serve as a special prosecutor in the 2020 election interference case, but he declined to do so.
Barnes testified that he did not want to have to hire bodyguards to protect against violent threats he expected to receive if he prosecuted former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants.
The state may use Barnes' testimony to show that Nathan Wade, Willis' lover, was not her first choice to serve as special prosecutor.
Fox News' Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}Georgia state prosecutor Anna Cross told the Fulton County Superior Court she expects to call three or four witnesses to the stand Friday for testimony that could last as long as five hours.
Among those expected to testify is District Attorney Fani Willis' father, John C. Floyd III. He will be called to the stand because Willis has said her father lived with her at the time she is accused of living with her lover, special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Floyd, who is also an attorney, will testify remotely from California.
Witnesses for the prosecution will challenge the bombshell testimony of Robin Yeartie, a former friend and coworker of Willis, who alleged Thursday that Wade and Willis began their romantic relationship in 2019.
Wade and Willis have both claimed their affair did not start until 2022, after Willis had appointed Wade as special prosecutor to lead the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his 18-co-defendants.
Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy questioned whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is fit to serve in office after her "train wreck" testimony on Thursday.
Georgia prosecutor Anna Cross said Friday they will not recall Willis to testify because they had no questions for her.
"Her testimony yesterday was kind of a train wreck," said McCarthy, a former assistant U.S. attorney. "It goes to some broader issues about, number one, her fitness to be district attorney, not just her fitness to run this case."
Prosecutors had initially sought to block a subpoena for Willis to testify on allegations that she had an "improper" romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired to lead the 2020 election interference case against Trump. But Willis flew into court Thursday to tell her side of the story.
Willis appeared flustered throughout the hearing, mentioned rushing to take the stand when she was called, and according to some who watched the hearing online, appeared to be wearing her dress backwards.
The fact that prosecutors won't call Willis to testify again "makes you think that they prepared for this hearing, which is a very important hearing for them, under circumstances where they thought she was not going to be on the stand," McCarthy said.
"And then she came in and kind of blew it up."
After the surprising announcement that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis won't take the stand Friday, the court is taking a short break.
Terrence Bradley, the next witness, won't be available to testify until at least 10:00 a.m. ET, because of a doctor's appointment.
In the meantime, lawyers are using this time to go over privilege issues that may come up during his questioning. This is because Bradley was at one time Wade's divorce lawyer — so the state and Bradley's attorney are concerned a lot of the questions will potentially violate attorney-client privilege.
Judge Scott McAfee ordered a short recess while the defense and the state go over questions that the defense plans to ask to address any privilege issues before Bradley takes the stand.
There is no time set for when the court will resume its session.
The defense attorneys present are: Steve Sadow, representing former President Donald Trump; Ashleigh Merchant and John Merchant for Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the election interference case; Craig Gillen and Anthony Lake, representing David Shafer; Harry MacDougald for Jeffrey Clark; Allyn Stockton Jr. for Rudy Giuliani; William Cromwell for Cathy Lathan; Richard Rice and Christopher Anulewicz for Robert Cheeley; and an attorney for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who appeared virtually.
Fox News' Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this update.
{{#rendered}}In a plot twist, the state says they have no further questions for Fulton County DA Fani Willis. This means that she will not be testifying today.
The defense is calling their next witness — Terrence Bradley. Bradley is special prosecutor Nathan Wade's former law partner and one-time friend. But his attorney says Bradley is not here because he has a doctor's appointment right now. He is expected to testify soon.
In a court filing last week, Trump co-defendant Michael Roman's attorney Ashleigh Merchant said Bradley will testify that Wade and Willis began their "improper" affair before she appointed him to prosecute Trump and his 18 co-defendants.
"Willis and Wade claim they did not have a personal, romantic relationship before Willis appointed Wade as a special prosecutor, but Terrence Bradley ("Bradley") will refute that claim," Merchant wrote.
He will testify that the romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began before Willis was sworn as the district attorney for Fulton County in January 2021, the filing stated.
"Thus, Bradley can confirm that Willis contracted with Wade after Wade and Willis began a romantic relationship, thus rebutting Wade's claim in his affidavit that they did not start dating until 2022," Merchant wrote.
Fox News' Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this post.
Sparks flew in a Fulton County, Georgia, courtroom Thursday afternoon when embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the stand to testify against allegations she had an "improper" affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which could derail her case against former President Trump.
At one point, Willis was asked by a Trump lawyer, Ashley Merchant, in a heated moment if she had any "proof" that she reimbursed Wade for vacations because the payments were in cash.
"The testimony of one witness is enough to prove a fact," Willis responded. "Are you telling me I'm lying?"
"I'm asking if you have any proof," the lawyer responded. And Willis shot back, "The proof is what I just told you."
"Has Nathan Wade ever visited you at the place you laid your head?" Merchant asked Willis in another question related to the timeline of her relationship with Wade.
"When?" an exasperated Willis responded.
"Has he ever visited you at the place you lay your head," the lawyer repeated.
"So let’s be clear because you lied," Willis said before picking up various piles of paper.
"Right here, you lied right here," Willis said, before shouting "No, no, no" when the lawyer interjected.
"It is a lie," Willis said while holding two piles of papers above her head. "It is a lie."
After that confrontation, a five-minute recess was called.
Check out the video above to see more explosive moments from yesterday's testimony.
Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller, Brianna Herlihy and Matteo Cina contributed to this update.
Nathan Wade, the Georgia special prosecutor accused of having an inappropriate romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, is not "qualified" to handle the Trump Georgia election case, according to one legal analyst.
CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig told the network last month that the legal issues surrounding the case boil down to money and a potential conflict of interest.
"[Wade's] primary area of practice is personal injury law, not, in my view, qualified to handle a major, complicated racketeering case," Honig said.
Wade was allegedly paid over $650,000 so far in the case. In comparison, two other prosecutors hired to work on the case only received around $70,000 and $90,000, respectively.
"There's a question of—is he working nine times as much as the other folks," Honig said. "The other big problem, though, is there is clearly a relationship of some nature, we don't know exactly between the DA and Mr. Wade and some of that money is being used on travel that the DA is accompanying him on."
He suggested that the money was being used for "personal purposes" and posed a real "conflict of interest."
"At a minimum, it looks terrible, and it raises legitimate questions about the DA," Honig added.
Fox News Digital's Nikolas Lanum contributed to this update.
{{#rendered}}Embattled Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis called her former lover, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a "southern gentleman" when she took the stand Thursday in a court hearing.
As Willis took the stand, she appeared to wink at the audience and smirked at the lawyers and spectators in the room.
Willis, who was notably adverse to defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, said she "had some choice words about some of the things" Merchant and her client, Michael Roman, said in their motion, calling it "dishonest." Roman alleged in court filings last month that Willis should be disqualified from the case, claiming that she financially benefited from hiring Wade because of their personal relationship.
Willis, in describing her discussions with Wade about the motion, called him a "southern gentleman."
"I don't know that it was a conversation. As you know, Mr. Wade is a Southern gentleman. Me, not so much," she said.
A former Atlanta prosecutor says embattled District Attorney Fani Willis was "belligerent" in her testimony Thursday against allegations she had an "improper" affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
John Malcolm, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Atlanta, told Fox News Digital in a statement the "highlight" of the "wild" evidentiary hearing on Thursday was Willis' testimony.
"She has been belligerent and argumentative. It is hard to tell what impact this will have on Judge McAfee as he evaluates her credibility," Malcolm said.
Malcolm also said Wills' claim she reimbursed Wade in cash for their shared vacations was "difficult to swallow."
"One thing that seems difficult to swallow is her claim that she paid her paramour — Nathan Wade — in cash to reimburse him for expenses related to luxury trips they took together. Her testimony that she kept large amounts of cash in her house as a matter of practice and has no written record to back up her testimony seems hard to believe," Malcolm said.
In another brewing legal headache for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Georgia state lawmakers last week officially kicked off their investigation into allegations of misconduct by her office.
Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert opened a Feb. 9 meeting of the state Senate Special Committee on investigations with a bombshell revelation that multiple whistleblowers from the Fulton County DA's office have come forward to testify against their boss. He said they allege Willis misused state and federal funds — allegations that come after the embattled DA admitted to having a relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade that critics have called "improper."
"This is not a political witch hunt; this is a quest for the truth," Cowsert said at Friday's meeting, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
House Republicans have also subpoenaed Willis to testify on separate allegations that she misused federal funds and fired a whistleblower in her office. Responding, her office said, "These false allegations are included in baseless litigation filed by a holdover employee from the previous administration who was terminated for cause. The courts that have ruled found no merit in these claims. We expect the same result in any pending litigation."
Georgia Republicans are leading their own investigation over the objections of Democrats who say Willis' critics are politically motivated.
"I think a political witch hunt or show trial would damage Georgians' faith in both our political and legal system," Democratic state Sen. Gloria Butler said, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
But Republicans have plowed ahead. "You lose the confidence of the public and the fairness of the criminal justice system if they think prosecutors are engaged in prosecution so their lovers can get rich," Cowsert said.
Fox News Digital's Lawrence Richard and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this update.
{{#rendered}}Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn said on "Outnumbered" Thursday that Fulton County DA Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade are facing a "legal problem" in addition to potential disqualification from their case against former President Trump due to allegedly having an "improper" affair.
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the sweeping racketeering case against Trump, heard evidence on Thursday related to the allegations.
A former "good friend" of Willis testified Thursday that she has "no doubt" the district attorney and Wade had a "romantic" relationship starting in 2019, contradicting Willis’ prior statements to the court. Willis claimed in court that she and Wade "have been professional associates and friends since 2019," and "there was no personal relationship" between her and Wade in November 2021 at the time of Wade’s appointment.
Civil rights attorney and Fox News Media contributor Leo Terrell said this "bombshell" witness testimony points to disqualification.
Urbahn concurred and went further, "I completely agree with Leo Terrell that the witness testimony this morning, saying that their relationship began long before they said it did in a court filing, would be grounds for disqualification if it's true. And not only disqualification, Emily, but also it's a legal problem for them, as you just mentioned, you know, to lie in a court filing. That's a crime."
She added that Republican state lawmakers in Georgia "have a number of people who are willing to come forward to testify against" Wade in this case.
"If you have a witness testifying that a relationship began long before when they said it did in a court filing, it's a big problem," Urbahn said. "I just think this is, at a minimum, this is a bad day for the Democrats' lawfare campaign against Donald Trump."
Fox News Digital's Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this update.
Much of Fulton County District Attorney's testimony on Thursday focused on vacations she took with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, including Caribbean cruises and visiting wine country in California.
Both testified that Wade routinely paid for the trips and Willis would reimburse him with cash. When repeatedly pressed about whether any records existed for her withdrawals of the funds, Willis said she was accustomed and taught by her father to keep 6 months of regular expenses on hand in cash.
Wade took the stand earlier in the hearing. Craig Gillen, attorney for Trump co-defendant David Shafer who also asked the court to disqualify Willis, questioned Wade earlier about Willis' repayments to him for vacations that were made in cash.
Wade admitted that he did not have deposit slips or receipts to support his claims.
"You don’t have a single solitary deposit slip to corroborate or support any of your allegations that you were paid by Ms. Willis in cash, do you?" Gillen asked.
"No, sir," Wade said.
"Not a single solitary one," Gillen pressed.
"Not a one."
The defense is trying to prove the existence and extent of any financial benefit to Willis from Wade from their relationship, which is the crux of their argument that Willis should be disqualified.
Wade also testified that he was not paid by Fulton County as much as the defense claims. In 2022 specifically, Fulton County paid roughly $300,000 to his law firm. But Wade said he received roughly $100,000 because the payments were dispersed between the three people who worked at the firm, all of whom had contracts with the Fulton County DA's office for various reasons.
Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, who is prosecuting former President Donald Trump on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, verbally sparred with lawyers for hours at an evidentiary hearing regarding her relationship with the lead prosecutor who she hired to bring the case against Trump.
At one point, presiding Judge Scott McAfee called a five-minute recess to apparently let tempers cool down.
When court was back in session, he told lawyers to stop "talking over each other" and cautioned Willis, saying, "we have to listen to the questions as asked. And if this happens again and again, I'm going to have no choice but to strike your testimony."
Willis, who was notably adverse to defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, said she "had some choice words about some of the things" Merchant and her client Michael Roman — Trump's codefendant in the case — said in the motion. Willis called the motion "dishonest" and "extremely offensive."
At one point, she held up a printed copy of the allegations against her in both hands and turned to the judge yelling, "this is a lie!"
Willis also called defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant's interests "contrary to democracy."
Willis appeared flustered throughout the hearing, mentioned rushing to take the stand when she was called, and according to some who watched the hearing online, appeared to be wearing her dress backwards.
{{#rendered}}Former Assistant District Attorney Phil Holloway joined "Outnumbered" on Thursday to weigh in on the evidentiary hearing on the misconduct allegations against District Attorney Fani Willis.
Holloway said that the argument laid out by attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, would be sufficient grounds to disqualify Willis from prosecuting the Georgia election interference case if proven.
"Not only Fani Willis, but everyone who works for her," Holloway said. "We know there was a relationship. What we also have heard, at least from a former employee under oath, is that the people who are talking about this relationship are lying about it — they're saying that it started much earlier than Nathan Wade has said in his affidavit file. So that raises a big question."
The next big question for Merchant to prove is "whether or not there was a solid proof of financial gain by District Attorney Willis as a result of her steering taxpayer money through a no-bid contract to her boyfriend Nathan Wade. That's what this is all really about."
The allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis are that she and her lover, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, reaped financial benefits from their relationship.
In legal filings last month, Michael Roman alleged that Wade billed Fulton County for 24 hours of work on a single day in November 2021, shortly after being appointed as a special prosecutor, and that Willis financially benefited from her alleged lover’s padded taxpayer-funded salary by taking lavish vacations together on his dime.
According to the court documents, Wade, who has no RICO and felony prosecution experience, billed taxpayers $654,000 since January 2022.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said Monday that "the particulars" of Wade’s experience will not be relevant in the evidentiary hearing, which began on Thursday, Feb. 15, adding, "in my mind as long as a lawyer has a heartbeat and a bar card that lawyer’s appointment standing alone is a matter within the District Attorney’s discretion."
McAfee said the issues "at point" here are "whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues. And that's only relevant because it's in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of their relationship."
Willis responded to the allegations in a court filing and admitted to having a "personal" relationship with Wade but denied any conflict of interest. She told the Superior Court that while the allegations against her are "salacious," they have no "merit."
Fox News Digital's Brianna Herlihy contributed to this update.
Four co-defendants in the sprawling case against former President Trump for alleged election interference filed motions earlier this year moving for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her team to be disqualified.
Judge Scott McAfee said that "it's clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one."
"The state has admitted a relationship existed. And so, what remains to be proven is the existence and extent of any financial benefit," the judge said to table-set Thursday and Friday's hearings.
Willis has admitted to having a "personal" relationship with Wade but has denied any conflict of interest. She also argued that according to Georgia law, in order for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest has to be harmful to a defendant's case.
The defense team say they have two more witnesses to call up Friday. Judge McAfee indicated he would not rule from the bench after what is expected to be at least five hours of testimony.
{{#rendered}}On Thursday, Willis' former friend and colleague at the district attorney’s office Robin Yeartie dropped a bombshell when testified that she had "no doubt" Willis and Wade had a "romantic" relationship starting in 2019, contradicting Willis’ prior statements to the court that their relationship began in 2022. Wade was hired in 2021.
Nathan Wade, who took to the witness stand for hours on Thursday, revealed that he was battling cancer in 2020 and a portion of 2021, and told the court he wasn’t dating anyone in 2021.
Defense lawyers Ashleigh Merchant, Craig Gillen, Steve Stadow, who led the bulk of the questioning Thursday are trying to prove the existence and extent of any financial benefit to Willis from Wade from their relationship, which is the crux of their argument that Willis should be disqualified.
Much of Willis' testimony focused on vacations she took with Wade, including Caribbean cruises and visiting wine country California.
Both testified that Wade would routinely paid for the trips and Willis would reimburse him with cash. When repeatedly pressed about whether any records existed for her withdrawals of the funds, she said she was accustomed and taught by her father to keep 6 months of regular expenses on hand in cash.
Wade admitted that he did not have deposit slips or receipts to support his claims that Willis reimbursed him with cash.
A hearing to hash out evidence in allegations that Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis had an "improper" affair with a colleague prosecuting the case against former President Donald Trump will move into the second day of witness testimony on Friday.
On Thursday, Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee presided over a marathon, and at some points contentious, day of testimony in which lawyers for defendants in the case grilled witnesses in an attempt to show that Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade were romantically involved when Willis hired him, and that she financially benefitted from the relationship.
The courtroom hit a boiling point Thursday afternoon when Willis herself took the witness stand, after several attempts to avoid it, and was so combative that the judge had to step in multiple times to cool tensions.
Willis is expected to take the stand again Friday morning at 9:00 a.m.
Coverage for this event has ended.