"It's interesting that we're here about this money," she said. Willis provided more details about when and why the relationship ended, insinuating there had been some tension between her and Wade about how he viewed a woman's role in a relationship. "It's like a woman doesn't have the right to keep her private life private." "That I kept something private that's my private life is not any mystery to anyone," she said. Willis, too, said she did not share her relationship with Wade with other prosecutors working on the racketeering case involving Trump and did not consider it to be romantic until early 2022. Our relationship wasn't a secret it was just private," Wade said, adding that he would not have discussed it publicly. "Miss Willis, as am I, we're private people. Wade said the relationship ended around June, while Willis said they had a "tough conversation" in August, but also said she thought it was likely he had said it was over earlier. He described their first meeting at a judicial conference in 2019 and testified about the "personal relationship" that he said began in early 2022, after Willis appointed him to be a special prosecutor in November 2021. Willis took the stand after Wade answered questions under oath for several hours about his marriage and how his association with Willis developed. The timing of their relationship and who knew about it Willis was expected return for further questioning Friday, but when court resumed in the morning prosecutors declined to call her back to the stand. The hearing arose from a bid by Roman, a former Republican National Committee staffer, to disqualify Willis and her office and dismiss the indictment on the grounds it is invalid and unconstitutional. Willis called some of the implications in Merchant's court filings about the origins of her relationship with Wade "highly offensive" and said her interests were "contrary to democracy." I object to you getting any personal records of mine." I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. "You've been intrusive into people's personal lives," Willis said. The testimony before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee was contentious from the outset, as Willis forcefully defended herself and accused Merchant of being "dishonest" in the claims she made in filings seeking to disqualify Willis. During the hearing, she held up each of the copies and called the assertions contained within them "lies."ĭuring two hours of testimony, Willis offered a blistering rebuke against accusations she had an improper romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in her office. Before she took the stand, she asked for copies of the three filings from the motion submitted by Ashleigh Merchant, the attorney for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman. The D.A.'s lawyers tried to quash the subpoena for her to testify, but Willis was intent on defending her reputation and making it clear that the allegations against her are bogus. In testimony, Fulton County DA Fani Willis denies conflict of interest in election case 02:33įulton County District Attorney Fani Willis defied the wishes of the lawyers in her office and demanded to testify at an evidentiary hearing Thursday involving a motion to disqualify her from prosecuting the Georgia 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump, according to a source close to Willis.
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