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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the State of Georgia v. Donald Trump case at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on February 15, 2024.
CNN
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Lawyers in the massive Georgia election destruction and extortion case against Donald Trump and his allies are seeking additional evidence to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office from prosecuting the case. I'm asking the judge for permission.
Judge Scott McAfee said he expected to rule on whether to remove Willis from the case within two weeks, after hearing from various witnesses during three days of testimony last month.
But defense attorneys now say a judge can testify about what Terrence Bradley told Willis when his former law partner and client, Nathan Wade, began a romantic relationship with Willis. They argue that they should consider hearing from two more potential witnesses. The timeline of Willis and Wade's relationship has been a sticking point in the disqualification hearing.
Bradley, who represented Wade in her divorce case, was touted as a “star witness” to derail Willis and her case, but under oath she would not reveal specific details about how their relationship began, and how many He said he did not remember the key moment.
After the testimony, Cindy Lee Yeager, a deputy district attorney from a neighboring county in Georgia, contacted a lawyer for one of Mr. Trump's co-defendants to confirm that Mr. Bradley had been on the stand and that Mr. told her that he had told her a different story earlier. in person, according to court filings from defense attorneys.
According to the filing, Ms. Jaeger told Ms. Bradley that Wade and Willis met at a law conference in 2019, and that's when their romantic relationship began. Willis and Wade have both testified that their personal relationship began in 2022, after Willis hired Wade to lead the Trump case.
Yeager declined to comment when asked by CNN about the court filing.
At a court hearing last Friday, McAfee indicated he had no interest in formally restarting evidence gathering. McAfee said he is “sorting out” various legal issues and “factual decisions” after hearings and filing lawsuits, and hopes to make a decision on Willis' fate by March 15. .
Manny Arora, a Georgia lawyer who represented Mr. Trump ally Kenneth Chesebro, also said Mr. Willis ran for district attorney in 2019 and 2020, according to a separate court filing. Mr. Bradley may testify that the relationship began when they were together.
Chesebro, who helped orchestrate the Trump campaign's 2020 fake electorate scheme, has pleaded guilty in the Georgia case. Trump and the remaining co-defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Asked about going to court in the Willis matter, Arora told CNN, “I intend to testify if a subpoena is issued.”
CNN has reached out to Bradley and the Fulton County District Attorney's Office for comment.
If allowed to testify, these additional witnesses will confirm what Bradley told defense attorney Ashley Merchant in a text message before taking the stand: The relationship “definitely” began before Wade's employment. There is a possibility that it will happen again. However, the information they may have obtained still appears to have been passed off from the conversation with Bradley.
The defense has argued that Willis' office remains in charge of the prosecution, citing a conflict of interest arising from the fact that Willis employs Wade and receives financial benefits from vacations and dinners paid for with money earned on the case. He argued that this should not be allowed.
Also Tuesday, lawyers representing Mr. Willis argued in a new court filing that Mr. Trump and his co-defendants have failed to prove that an actual conflict of interest exists.
“The court should not disqualify the Fulton County District Attorney's Office from prosecuting this case if the evidence in court fails to demonstrate, to a 'high evidentiary standard', an actual conflict of interest or forensic misconduct on the part of the district attorney.” wrote a lawyer for the public prosecutor's office.
“Defendants assert that the District Attorney has an undue, direct, and material personal interest or interest in this case, to the extent that the District Attorney claims to have benefited from this prosecution.'' “The results of these proceedings are sufficient to warrant disqualification,” they added.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
