Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was defiant on the witness stand Thursday but could face serious consequences for alleged ethics violations in prosecuting former President Donald Trump and 18 other co-defendants. There is sex.
In January, one of his co-defendants, Mike Roman, filed a motion alleging that Willis had an inappropriate relationship with fellow prosecutor Nathan Wade. Willis’ response was to tell the Atlanta church that opponents were “playing the race card.”
But it turned out to be true, as Willis and Wade admitted under oath. The only question is whether their romantic relationship began before Willis brought the marriage up. lack of qualifications Whether she (or he), who joined the prosecution team in late 2021, benefited financially from that relationship, both in the general operation of the prosecutor’s office and in the Trump case in particular.
Wade’s testimony on Thursday was damning and suggested he may have lied under oath. He told the divorce court that he would not have a relationship with anyone outside of his marriage until his marriage ended in 2023, but that was patently false. He claimed Thursday that a relationship with Willis wasn’t actually out of the question, as their marriage broke up in 2015.
When asked if she had receipts for meals with Willis, vacation trips and other purchases, she said she did not. However, he admitted that he paid with a business credit card, meaning he had a “statement.” His lack of integrity with the court is likely a serious ethical violation, since the lawyer is also a court official and cannot intentionally mislead the court, even by omission.
But it was Willis who was in the spotlight – and she threw a tantrum on the witness stand, causing the judge to order a five-minute adjournment to restore order. She corroborated Wade’s claim that she reimbursed her own expenses in cash, but she could not provide receipts for cash withdrawals from banks (Wade also did not provide receipts for cash deposits). ).
Her claim that she developed a romantic relationship with Wade only after he joined the Trump lawsuit appears to hinge on vague definitions of what constitutes a romantic relationship and whether it includes sex. Her former friend Robin Bryant Yearty testified that Willis and Wade were in a relationship in 2019. We both denied it, but of course it would happen.
Ms. Willis also attempted to argue that she was not required to declare on her disclosure form that she received gifts (meals and travel) totaling more than $100 net in a calendar year. For part of his expenses. In one bizarre confession, she seemed to suggest that she personally used cash earned from campaigning for public office. And she had a hard time reconciling her campaign promise not to have sex with her subordinates with the fact that she apparently had sex with Wade. She initially tried to claim that he was an “agent” rather than an “employee,” even though he was still in charge of the work.
Judge Scott McAfee could have removed Willis (and Wade) from the case simply because it was inappropriate. And no reasonable person would look at Willis’ antics on the witness stand and conclude that she is qualified to try such an important case.
But Willis could be disbarred if he lies in court. She could also be charged with perjury. In addition to lying in court, she could also be charged with filing misleading financial disclosures.Ironically, as Jonathan Turley pointing out At Fox, Mr. Wills and Mr. Wade are suing Mr. Trump and his associates for allegedly misleading the court, but the case against Mr. Wills and Mr. Wade is much stronger.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of a new biography, Rhoda: “Comrade Cadderly, you are abnormal.”. He is also the author of a recently published e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
