Judge Scott McAfee noted that it’s no longer mere speculation that money changed hands between Fani Willis and Nathan Wade during their romantic relationship.

“I think it was conceded that that balance could run in the district attorney’s favor,” McAfee said. “Purchases were made back and forth, that’s the state’s position.”

Prosecutor Adam Abbate acknowledged that money was exchanged between Wade and Willis. But he said whether the district attorney profited off those transactions is speculation.

Abbate said many of the questions defense attorneys had asked Willis were irrelevant and designed only to embarrass her. He said the witnesses that defense counsel presented in support of their bid to disqualify Willis were not credible and included a “disgruntled” former employee of the district attorney’s office.

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurmond spoke to the AJC's Tia Mitchell during a  Politically Georgia forum at The Dogwood at Westside Paper in Atlanta on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Adam Beam/AJC)

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