Aiexpress – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis passionately defended herself against allegations of prosecutorial misconduct amidst her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she appointed to oversee the 2020 presidential election interference case.
In a surprising turn of events, Willis made an unexpected appearance in a Fulton County courtroom. This came after defense attorneys and a witness challenged her previous statements, which claimed that she had only entered into a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade several months after hiring him as a lead special prosecutor. Wade was involved in a high-profile racketeering case that accused individuals, including former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, of attempting to illegally influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and other swing states. The indictment against them was issued by a grand jury in August.
Willis has consistently refuted accusations of misusing public funds for personal gain due to her romantic involvement with Wade. The focus of the motion to disqualify her lies on this matter, rather than the acknowledgment of their romantic relationship.
Willis’ presence also signals the continuation of the judge’s hearing on Friday regarding the defendants’ request for her disqualification.
Last month, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee set a hearing to decide whether Willis should be disqualified from presiding over the election interference case in the future. In a divorce filing in January, Wade’s estranged wife disclosed that airline tickets were bought for both him and Willis in the years 2022 to 2023, using Wade’s name on credit cards, for trips to San Francisco and Miami.
In his criticism on Thursday, Willis directed his strongest remarks towards Ashleigh Merchant, the lawyer representing Michael Roman, a co-defendant of Trump. It was Merchant who publicly revealed the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade in January. Alongside other attorneys, including Trump’s representative Steve Sadow, Merchant raised doubts about Willis repaying Wade in cash for numerous trips they took together during their relationship, which lasted from March 2022 to the summer of 2023.
Merchant kept asking Willis about her tracking of each cash payment and why she didn’t provide any documents that could prove withdrawals from her bank account or other financial transactions to support her testimony.
Merchant questioned Willis about the lack of evidence for any reimbursement, emphasizing that all transactions were done in cash.
Willis found the line of questioning to be insulting, particularly the allegation that she began the affair with Wade soon after meeting her at a conference in 2019. She clarified that she would repay Wade for her portion of the travel expenses using cash she had saved over time. Willis emphasized that the highest reimbursement she provided for a single trip was approximately $2,500.
Willis questioned the implication that he was being dishonest, challenging the notion that his testimony alone was insufficient to establish the truth.
As a district attorney, Willis should be mindful that her utilization of public funds will face careful examination. Since November 2021, Wade’s firm has been the recipient of over $650,000 from Fulton County.
Merchant emphasized the scrutiny individuals face in such situations, highlighting the need for thorough reporting. He pointed out that there is no concrete evidence of the financial support provided to Mr. Wade, except for the individual’s testimony.
Willis dismissed the defense’s inquiry about whether Wade had visited her south Fulton home prior to initiating the investigation into Trump’s involvement in Georgia’s election. She also reiterated her determination to pursue the felony racketeering charges against Trump, his close associates, and other supporters who allegedly sought to unlawfully manipulate the election outcome in his favor.
During the intense questioning, Willis became visibly agitated, and his frustration reached a boiling point when he responded with anger to personal inquiries. This prompted McAfee to take control of the situation and call for a brief five-minute break. Throughout the exchange, Willis vehemently insisted that the allegations against him were false, clutching onto the court documents as evidence of his innocence.
According to Willis, the claim made in the documents that he lived with her in her house during 2019 and 2020 is false. She states, “He never came to my house, let alone live with me.”
Amid mounting pressure in the high-profile case, Willis and Wade made the decision to end their relationship last summer. Despite this, they maintain a strong friendship and continue to work together as professional colleagues.
Willis expressed his gratitude towards Mr. Wade, stating that they have been friends since 2020. Initially, Mr. Wade was a mentor and professional colleague, but their bond grew stronger, and Willis came to greatly respect him. Willis feels a deep sense of indebtedness to Mr. Wade for taking on the responsibility of this job.
Defense attorneys also expressed their criticism towards Willis for failing to include Wade’s travel expenses on financial disclosure reports. These reports are designed to ensure that public officers disclose any gifts exceeding $100 from individuals or entities engaging in contracts with the government.
The district attorney clarified that she never regarded the vacations with Wade as gifts, as she would later contribute her fair share towards the expenses.
Wade preemptively shared his own account before Willis took the stand, challenging the testimony provided by Robin Bryant-Yeartie, a former close friend of Willis. Bryant-Yeartie alleged that Wade and Willis had a romantic relationship prior to Wade’s involvement in the election investigation.
In court, Wade stated that he never talked about his relationship with Bryant-Yeartie or anyone else in social settings. He also mentioned that Willis often reimbursed him with cash for their trips. In an attempt to avoid the attention on Willis, who was gaining fame in Atlanta because of the case, the two occasionally went on one-day trips to Tennessee. Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor for Fulton County, testified on February 15th that his previous romantic involvement with District Attorney Fani Willis did not impact the decision to prosecute Donald Trump and the co-defendants. (Source: Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images)
During his court testimony, he explained that his primary focus over the past couple of years has been on maintaining his health due to a cancer diagnosis in both 2020 and 2021, rather than pursuing romantic relationships.
“It wasn’t a secret, it was simply a matter of privacy,” Wade, a former prosecutor and Cobb County municipal judge, explained. “I never felt the need to publicly discuss my relationship with Ms. Yeartie or anyone else.”
Bryant-Yeartie took the stand on Thursday and revealed that she had sublet her condo to Willis in April 2021. She emphasized that she had been close friends with Willis since the early 1990s until March 2022. According to Bryant-Yeartie, she had personally witnessed Willis and Wade engaging in affectionate behavior such as hugging, kissing, and holding hands on multiple occasions before November 2021.
During the cross examination, she admitted that she had a disagreement with Willis, which eventually resulted in the District Attorney advising her to either resign or face termination due to her unsatisfactory job performance.
Reaction split on Willis sparring with defense counsel
The response to Willis’ testimony divided along partisan lines, with election officials and many online spectators closely monitoring the livestreams. Tens of thousands of people tuned in to witness the tense-filled moments unfold.
During Willis’s testimony, Trump spoke with a defiant tone in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“There’s no case here,” Trump insisted confidently. “It’s terribly tainted. There’s simply no case to be made. The phone call was flawless, absolutely perfect. However, by targeting Trump, she’s managing to secure an unimaginable amount of money for her boyfriend.”
Legal experts had varying opinions on Willis and Wade’s testimony. Some experts found Willis to be overly defensive, but they also questioned whether the defense attorneys had presented sufficient evidence to disqualify her from the election interference case.
A few observations about today’s hearing in Fulton County: Fani Willis is not a great witness but she also didn’t come to participate in an ordinary evidentiary hearing. This was a battle for her integrity and career. Folks’ reactions to it will track their opinions of Willis. — Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) February 15, 2024
According to Norman Eisen, an attorney who previously served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee majority during Trump’s first impeachment and trial, Willis has been effectively defending herself against the allegations.
“The allegations and the behavior of the defendants’ counsel today were quite unappealing,” remarked Eisen, who also held the position of ambassador to the Czech Republic during the Obama administration. “However, it is evident that those attempting to disqualify DA Willis have failed to meet the high threshold set by Georgia law to establish a conflict of interest. On the contrary, the judge has clearly focused on assessing financial gain, and the unchallenged evidence demonstrates that Wade and Willis shared expenses. Consequently, there was no advantage gained by Willis.”
Rep. Shea Roberts, the treasurer of the House Democratic Caucus, characterized Thursday’s hearing as nothing but an exaggerated assault by Trump on Willis for her efforts in pursuing charges against him and other individuals.
“We all listened to the undeniable recording of the phone call where Trump exerted pressure on Secretary (Brad) Raffensperger to manipulate Georgia’s election results, and no matter how much fabricated controversy the Trump team attempts to create, this fact remains unchanged,” Roberts stated.
This report received contributions from Ross Williams, a reporter at the Georgia Recorder. The Georgia Recorder is a member of States Newsroom, which is a network of news bureaus backed by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
