The future of Georgia’s election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his supporters could hinge on a hearing that continues today in Fulton County Superior Court.
» Watch today’s hearing by tapping or clicking here.
Judge Scott McAfee is considering whether a personal relationship between Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis and her top Trump prosecutor, Nathan Wade, creates a conflict of interest that should oust the entire office from the case.
How did we get here?
On Jan. 8, Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for Trump codefendant Mike Roman, dropped a bombshell, alleging in a legal motion that Willis and Wade were in a romantic relationship and that Wade had improperly spent thousands of dollars he earned working for Willis to take her on vacations.
Merchant said that created a conflict of interest. She argued the charges against Roman should be dropped and the DA and her staff should be disqualified from the case. Since then, other codefendants, including Trump, have joined Roman.
Nearly a month later, The DA acknowledged in a court filing that she and Wade were in a “personal relationship” but argued they had done nothing wrong. In an affidavit, Wade said his “personal relationship” with Willis began in 2022 – after she had hired him – and that they had roughly split costs on trips.
Merchant has suggested Wade lied in his sworn statement and said she has witnesses who will prove his relationship with Willis began earlier than he said. In a hearing earlier this week, McAfee said he needed to gather facts before determining if a conflict existed.
“Because I think it’s possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations,” McAfee said Monday.
On Thursday, Willis took an extraordinary turn on the witness stand, battling back agains charges that her conduct warranted disqualification. Wade also testified. Their testimony - that their relationship began in 2022 and ended last summer - was contradicted by a former Fulton DA employee, Robin Yeartie, who said the two were romantic earlier than that. Why is the timeline important? Because Willis hired Wade in November 2021.
