The judge overseeing Fulton County, Georgia’s 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump and other defendants called a recess Thursday when District Attorney Fani Willis became testy during questioning on the witness stand.
Willis is accused of personally benefiting financially from hiring her then-boyfriend Nathan Wade in the form of lavish personal trips they took together to such places as Belize, Aruba, and California’s Napa Valley.
The New York Post reported last month that Wade received $250 per hour, and the total payments to his law office in 2022 and 2023 totaled $653,880, according to Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA-TV.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee called for Thursday’s hearing to determine whether Willis and Wade should be disqualified from overseeing the election interference cases against Trump and 14 other defendants.
Willis and Wade both testified during the hearing that they split expenses on the trips and that she paid him back in cash.
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Willis further testified that there would be no records of bank withdrawals prior to her repayments because she kept up to thousands of dollars in cash at her house, which she used to pay Wade.
Both wrote in court filings that their romantic relationship did not begin until 2022, after Willis had hired Wade to serve as special prosecutor in November 2021.
However, Robin Yeartie, a former friend and employee of Fulton County, testified Thursday that the relationship began in 2019.
Reuters reported that Willis was not slated to testify, but after Wade’s testimony, she made a “surprise” appearance in the courtroom and took the witness stand.
Should Willis be removed from the Trump case?
Willis became visibly angry under questioning by Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for one of the defendants, who filed a motion to have the district attorney and Wade disqualified from prosecuting the case.
One of the allegations contained in the court filing is that Wade co-habited with Willis.
When questioned by Merchant whether Wade would ever stay at her condo or visit her there, Willis responded, “So let’s be clear, ’cause you lied in this. Let me tell you which one you lied in. Right here. I think you lied right here,” as she held up three documents.
Someone off-camera began speaking to her.
“No, no, no, this is the truth,” Willis exclaimed in response. “It is a lie! It is a lie!”
CROSS EXAMINER: “Has Nathan Wade ever visited you at a place you laid your head?”
FANI WILLIS: “IT IS A LIE! IT IS A LIE!”🤬
JUDGE: “Let’s take 5.” pic.twitter.com/A5ofvioU68
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 15, 2024
McAfee then intervened, saying, “I think we’re going to take five minutes. Be back in five.”
Willis also became agitated when Merchant asked about obtaining flight records of trips she may have taken with Wade.
“You’re confused. You think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.” — Fani Willis hits back at questioning with Trump case on the line https://t.co/ndYETn2mj4 pic.twitter.com/Jf6lda3LF3
— ABC News (@ABC) February 15, 2024
“I object to you getting records. You’ve been intrusive into people’s personal lives. You’re confused. You think I’m on trial,” Willis asserted.
“These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial,” she said.
The full video is embedded below.
If both Willis and Wade are disqualified from the case, it would at the very least result in a significant delay in the proceedings against Trump and the other defendants.
