CNN
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Lawyers for the Fulton County District Attorney's Office say cell phone data suggests a relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the top prosecutor in the Georgia election destruction case, including former President Donald Trump and co-defendants. is strongly pushing back against this claim. That's when the pair testified last week, according to a court filing Friday evening.
In response to an earlier motion filed by President Trump's lead lawyer in the Georgia case, prosecutors said the cited phone records “do not prove any connection” and that the process for determining Willis' disbarment. He said that it should not be considered as evidence.
“The records only prove that Special Counsel Wade's phone call was somewhere within a several-mile radius of a heavily populated area where a variety of residences, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and other businesses are located. ,” prosecutors wrote in a filing Friday night. “The records do not in any way prove the content of any communications between Special Counsel Wade and District Attorney Willis. They do not prove that Special Counsel Wade was at any particular location or address. does not prove that Special Prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis were in the same location at the times listed.”
The prosecutor's office also said there was evidence that Willis and Wade were not in the same location on the dates listed, including that Willis and Wade “work for the Fulton County District Attorney's Office and that they were involved in racially and gender-motivated crimes.” “I witnessed three crime scenes of mass murders.” There was prejudice. ”
At the end of its response, the prosecutor's office questioned whether President Trump legally obtained the cell phone data cited in the initial complaint, noting that obtaining such information typically requires a search warrant. It pointed out.
Earlier Friday, Trump's lawyer Steve Sadow said cell phone data obtained by a private investigator showed Wade made several late-night visits to the area where Willis lived in late 2021. filed a complaint alleging that the relationship began well before the two announced they were in love.
Mr. Wade and Mr. Willis are accused of having an inappropriate romantic relationship before choosing Mr. Wade to lead the 2020 election investigation into Mr. Trump and his allies. Mr. Wade and Mr. Willis asked at a hearing last week whether Mr. Willis and his firm should be disqualified from the case because their relationship began in early 2022, after Mr. Willis was appointed special counsel. I gave testimony regarding the following.
Mr. Sadow's filing Friday included an affidavit from a criminal defense investigator who said he relied on cell phone information and cell tower data obtained from Mr. Wade.
Investigator Charles Mittelstadt said he had prepared a report identifying “all communications” between Mr. Wade and Mr. Willis, including phone calls and text messages. “This report reveals more than 2,000 voice calls and just under 12,000 interactions over an 11-month period in 2021,” he said in a revised filing. (Mr. Trump's lawyers filed a new application Friday afternoon to clarify what communications took place between Mr. Wade and Mr. Willis.)
Mittelstadt said a “conservative analysis” shows that Wade's cell phone was in the vicinity of the condominium address where Willis was staying on at least 35 occasions “for extended periods of time.” Stated. The data does not identify your exact location.
Investigators also said that in September and November 2021, Wade's cell phone made several calls to the condominium area during the evening and early morning hours. Additionally, investigators said, citing cell phone data in Wade's subpoena, Willis and Wade exchanged phone calls late into the night during this time.
Investigators, working with attorneys, asked AT&T earlier this month to turn over Wade's cell phone records, including call and text history and location data.
CNN has reached out to the district attorney's office and Wade's attorney for comment.
The condo where Willis stayed came up several times during last week's hearing, when Wade was specifically asked if he had ever stayed in the condo overnight. “Never,” Wade testified.
Trump's lawyers also pressed Wade about how many times he visited Willis' rented condo before his appointment on November 1, 2021, and even referenced his phone data during questioning.
“And do you think that happened often? When I say frequently, do you think you went to the condo more than 10 times before November 1, 2021?” Sadow asked.
“No, sir,” Wade answered.
“So, if your phone records reflect that you made multiple calls from the same location in your apartment complex before November 1, 2021, does that mean your phone records are incorrect? ?'' Sadow followed.
“They would be wrong,” Wade replied.
A private investigator's affidavit filed Friday states that Wade's cell phone was detected in the area of Willis' apartment at least 35 times between April and November 2021. .
It cites a specific case from September 2021, before Wade was appointed special counsel.
When asked why he visited the condo before November 1, 2021, Mr. Wade testified that it was to discuss documents.
“The Porsche experience is there. The airport is there. Delta Airlines' headquarters is there. There was a restaurant there,” Wade said on the stand, referring to other reasons he would have been in the area surrounding the condo. also mentioned.
Investigators did not say how much of the area around Willis' apartment was searched. His affidavit states that he was using his phone from his two cell phone towers (one 600 feet away from his condo and one 3,000 feet away from him). It just says that the data was extracted.
Willis also testified in sworn testimony on February 15 that they were not romantically involved when he hired Wade to serve as special counsel, but that the two were already “very good friends.”
When asked by Sadow about when their “romantic relationship” began, Willis testified that it did not begin before November 1, 2021.
“Prior to that, I don't consider my relationship with him to be romantic. I'm not a hand-holding person. So, no,” Willis testified. She added that she believes their “romantic relationship” will begin “sometime between February and April” in 2022.
Mr. Trump and several co-defendants have argued that his romantic relationship with Ms. Willis is over, presents a conflict of interest, and that she should be removed from office and the entire case should be dismissed.
The legal battle over whether Willis should be stripped of his job is scheduled to resume on March 1, according to Friday's order from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who said he believes the hearing will help both parties. He said this would be an opportunity to make closing arguments on the issue.
On Friday, Mr. McAfee also said he would prevent divorce attorney and former law partner Terrence Bradley from appearing in court to review privileged communications that Mr. Bradley allegedly had about the relationship between Mr. Wade and Mr. Willis. Mr. Wade's request was also rejected, three people familiar with the matter said. . The order has not yet been published in public records.
Mr. McAfee asked Mr. Bradley and his attorney to appear in Fulton County Court on Monday at 1:30 p.m. ET for a so-called in-camera review, which takes place in the judge's chambers, officials said. .
This heading and article have been updated with additional developments.
