Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis could be forced to testify at a hearing later this week about when her relationship with Trump prosecutor Nathan Wade began, a judge said Monday.
The district attorney and Wade, whom Willis named special prosecutor in the Georgia voter fraud case against the former president and more than a dozen others, had been trying not to testify at a court hearing Thursday in which Mike Roman , Trump’s co-defendant, will appear in court. They seek to have the criminal case against them dismissed due to alleged misconduct by prosecutors.
But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said in court Monday that Roman’s attorney had “established a basis of good faith” for the prosecutor duo’s testimony and for the testimony of other office employees. of the district attorney.
He also made it clear that the hearing would focus on Roman’s charges about whether Willis had benefited financially from hiring Wade and when they first became romantically involved.
He warned: “Disqualification may occur if evidence is presented demonstrating a real conflict or the appearance of one.”
Donald Trump himself has raised the possibility of attending Thursday’s hearing, sources told The Washington Post, which would mark his first court appearance in Georgia since he was indicted along with 18 others last August.
But he is required to appear in a Manhattan court at the same time for a hearing in the criminal case that accuses him of ordering “hush money” payments to two women, in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, to support them. . remain silent about his claims that they had affairs with Trump while he was married.
Since then, a source said Trump’s team has decided it is more important for him to attend the Manhattan hearing and that he will not travel to Georgia.
District Attorney Fani Willis and Trump prosecutor Nathan Wade could be forced to testify at a hearing Thursday to answer questions about their affair. REUTERS
Although the hearing is tied to Roman’s case, Trump’s lawyers are also arguing that Willis should be dismissed, saying she has tainted the case by including racial issues with her public comments since her relationship with Wade was discovered.
On Monday, McAfee said he would not hesitate to stop any cross-examination of Merchant that could cause “undue embarrassment” to Willis and other witnesses.
The judge said Roman’s “star witness” Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner and former divorce lawyer, would have to testify first, as Merchant tries to refute claims that a romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began after they Wade will begin working on Trump’s investigation and to disprove that they never lived together.
Roman’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, argued earlier Monday that Bradley would testify that the relationship between Willis and Wade began before he signed his first contract with the district attorney’s office in November 2021, a claim the couple denied to earlier this month, insisting that their relationship was not. Get romantic until 2022.
Willis and Wade, the latter of whom has been embroiled in a contentious divorce since 2021, were forced to clear up the matter after Roman filed explosive documents in January seeking to have criminal charges against him dismissed and for Willis to be disqualified. of the case. alleging that she allegedly benefited from Wade’s lucrative appointment after he paid her to accompany him on vacation.
Willis named Wade special prosecutor in the Georgia voter fraud case against the former president. AP
But Wade and Willis said in court papers filed by the district attorney’s office on Feb. 2 that there was no conflict of interest in them having a romantic relationship.
They stated that they do not live together, they do not share finances and they alternated paying for the vacations they spent together.
Anna Cross, an attorney for the district attorney’s office, argued by video Monday that neither Willis, Wade nor any of the eight other district attorney employees subpoenaed by Roman to testify should be forced to take the witness stand Thursday. .
“There is no way they would support the speculation in this motion,” Cross said. “They would refute the accusations.”
Willis and Wade claim they were not romantically involved until Wade began working on the case. AP
“The defense doesn’t present them with facts, the defense doesn’t present them with laws, the defense presents them with gossip, and the court should not tolerate that practice,” Cross said.
As for Willis and Wade, Merchant said they both have “the most relevant information” about their claims that they began a relationship earlier than they say and about their claim that they actually lived together.
And if Wade or Willis deny any of these facts, Merchant says he has a host of witnesses waiting in the wings, including employees of the district attorney’s office and Willis’s personal security team, to prove otherwise.
Trump’s co-defendant’s lawyer, Mike Roman, claims the two prosecutors actually began their relationship before Wade joined the investigation. AP Willis and Wade also claim that they did not live together and have separate finances, and Willis does not personally benefit from Wade’s earnings. AP
McAfee indicated the hearing could continue until Friday and said it will seek answers to a number of questions because of a “conflict in the evidence” to date.
“The questions raised here are whether a relationship existed; whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature; when it was formed; and if it continues,” McAfee said. “And that is only relevant because it is combined with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefits conveyed as a result of a relationship.”
The hearing will begin at the Atlanta courthouse at 9:30 a.m. and will be streamed live on YouTube.
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