Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the stand Thursday to defend her actions amid questions about her personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade in the election subversion case in Georgia involving former President Donald Trump.
Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade testifies during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. The hearing is to determine whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from the case because of a relationship with Wade, special prosecutor she hired in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump. (Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP)
A defense attorney representing one of the 19 defendants in the case alleges Willis financially benefited from Nathan Wade being appointed as special counsel.
After Wade testified for multiple hours — admitting to having had a romantic relationship with Willis and traveling with her on numerous occasions — Willis dramatically entered the Atlanta courtroom.
As she sat down at the witness stand before taking an oath to be truthful, she asked for copies of multiple documents, apparently to use as a reference before testifying.
A brief recess followed so Willis could obtain those documents before returning to court soon after. Willis sat in the witness chair once again and took the oath, affirming her testimony would be the truth.
When asked how she knew to come to the courtroom, Willis responded by saying, “It only made sense to me that I would be your next witness. And I’ve been very anxious to have this conversation with you today. I ran to the courtroom.”
Willis accused defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant of lying in court documents, emphatically saying that she never lived with Wade.
“So let’s be clear, because you’ve lied in this,” Willis said as she slammed down a stack of court documents.
Willis was repeatedly pressed on payments she made to Wade while they were allegedly dating.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. The hearing is to determine whether Willis should be removed from the case because of a relationship with Nathan Wade, special prosecutor she hired in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump. (Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP)
Giving very pointed answers, Willis attempted to clarify that the money she spent during her time with Wade, whether on vacations or dinners, came from her personal funds.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee estimated the hearing could last at least two days.
At the conclusion of the hearing, McAfee could rule on whether Willis should be disqualified from the case. If that happens, the case against Trump and his co-defendants would likely be delayed. Willis has previously said she wanted to bring the case to a jury before the 2024 presidential election.
Attorneys at the hearing indicated to the judge that they would call at least 6 additional witnesses as the proceedings continue on. The case was adjourned until 9 a.m. on Friday. Scripps News reported that at least 9 people from Willis’ office are expected to testify.
Judge McAfee indicated he didn’t plan to make a ruling by the end of the week.
This story was originally published by Scripps News, an E.W. Scripps Company.
