Georgia judge says Willis’s relationship ‘could result’ in disqualification from Trump case 

The judge presiding over former President Trump’s Georgia criminal case will decide Monday whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) should be disqualified because of her relationship with the top prosecutor in the case, which she will consider later this week. The stage was set for a high-stakes fight.

During Monday’s hearing, Judge Scott McAfee vowed to proceed with an evidentiary hearing on Thursday to consider accusations by President Trump and some of his co-defendants that their relationship constituted a conflict of interest.

The judge said, “I think there is a possibility that the facts asserted by the defendant could lead to disqualification.” “I believe an evidentiary hearing will need to occur to establish the record regarding these core allegations.”

The hearing will be a big moment in the case, with Willis, other prosecutors and even Willis’ father expected to testify. Mr. McAfee will sort out a weeks-long dispute between the parties in which each side claims the other continues to make false statements about the relationship between Mr. Willis and special counsel Nathan Wade.

The judge insisted he would keep the proceedings “focused” and indicated he would not hesitate to intervene if the defense sought to “harass or unduly embarrass” the prosecution.

“I think the question here is whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it was formed, and whether it continues or not,” McAfee said. Ta. “And that is meaningful because it is combined with the question of the existence and scope of the personal interests that are conveyed as a result of that relationship.”

The effort to disbar Willis began after Mike Roman, a 2020 Trump campaign operative who was indicted along with Trump, first disclosed the relationship last month. Trump and other co-defendants later joined the effort.

McAfee said Monday that he would postpone a decision on whether Roman can subpoena Willis, Wade and other district attorney officials to testify until Thursday’s hearing.

The district attorney wants to avoid testifying. Willis and Wade acknowledge they have a “personal relationship,” but claim their relationship does not pose a professional conflict and that they were just friends when Wade was first hired to work on the Trump investigation. are doing.

In Monday’s proceedings, Rome’s attorney Ashley Merchant continued to dispute those claims. Merchant told the judge on Monday that Wade’s former law partner, Terrence Bradley, said the personal relationship between Willis and Wade began before he was hired as special counsel in the Trump case. He said he would testify.

Mr Merchant also claimed that Mr Wade had previously stated under oath in divorce papers that he had not had an outside relationship during their marriage, which he filed earlier this month admitting to having an affair with Mr Willis. This is in direct contradiction to the affidavit.

“There are two affidavits filed in two different courts, both sworn, both filed with the court, but they say completely different things,” Merchant said, adding that Wade He later claimed that he altered the affidavit in his divorce case to assert his Fifth Amendment rights against him. -Guilty.

Fulton County prosecutors countered, accusing the defense of making unsubstantiated claims intended to draw negative media attention, and arguing that Merchant’s claim that Willis and Wade lived together was false. None of the district attorney’s office prosecutors appeared in person for Monday’s hearing, a sharp contrast to normal proceedings.

“The defense wasn’t bringing you new facts. The defense wasn’t bringing you the law. The defense was bringing you gossip,” Special Counsel Anna Cross told the judge. .

“And the state cannot condone that behavior, and neither should the courts.”

But Mr. McAfee on Monday rescinded the subpoena for Mr. Wade’s bank accounts and warned that his experience as a prosecutor was not relevant to Thursday’s hearing.

Mr. Trump and some co-defendants have criticized Mr. Wade for his lack of experience handling complex criminal cases, including racketeering charges, and have questioned how Mr. Wade earned hundreds of thousands of dollars for his work. He also touched on whether he had received it.

McAfee said, “In my opinion, as long as the attorney has a heartbeat and a bar card, the appointment of that attorney is a matter “within the district attorney’s discretion.”