A judge in Georgia will weigh this week whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump and 14 others accused of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump and several of his co-defendants are hoping to convince a judge that the relationship between Willis and her hired special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, created a conflict of interest that should result in disqualifying Willis’s entire office from handling the case. The core question before the judge is whether Willis financially benefited from hiring Wade, who has been paid more than $650,000 in taxpayer funds for his work on the case.
In sworn testimony during nationally televised hearings on Feb. 15 and 16, Willis and Wade both denied engaging in any wrongdoing that should result in their removal or in the case being dismissed, which Trump and some defendants are also seeking. Defense attorneys argue that the two are lying and that their romantic relationship began before Willis hired Wade, which would contradict claims that prosecutors made under oath.
Trump attorney Steve Sadow on Friday filed an analysis of cellphone records from Wade, which alleged he visited Willis’s apartment 35 times from April 1 to Nov. 30, 2021, including two late-night visits.
In a filing later on Friday, Willis asked the judge to exclude the filing from Sadow, arguing that the records do not prove the content of communications between Wade and Willis and also cannot prove that either person was located at a particular address.
“The records do nothing more than demonstrate that Special Prosecutor Wade’s telephone was located somewhere within a densely populated multiple-mile radius where various residences, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and other businesses are located,” Willis wrote in her response, which also alleged that the data cited by Trump’s attorney may have been obtained illegally.
Trump’s legal team on Monday fired back at Willis’s objections to the cellphone data, calling it a “last-ditch” and “frivolous” effort.
“The State’s last-ditch claim on page 9 of its response that the defense obtained the cell phone records at issue illegally is patently frivolous,” the former president’s legal team wrote. “The records were obtained by valid subpoena issued to AT&T. As the State hopefully knows, defense counsel cannot apply for a search warrant and a subpoena does not require probable cause to be issued.”
If the evidence from Trump’s team is accepted by the court, it could extend the evidentiary hearing for Michael Roman, the co-defendant who filed the initial motion in January accusing Willis and Wade of having an improper relationship and benefiting from the sweeping racketeering indictment.
In the background of the fight over whether to accept Trump’s supplemental evidence, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Monday was scheduled to meet with Wade’s former law partner, Terrence Bradley, to review Bradley’s understanding of attorney-client privilege.
McAfee’s chambers told lawyers in the case via email late Monday that certain communications Bradley had with Wade are not protected by attorney-client privilege, numerous people who read the email told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which reported Bradley could be compelled to testify as soon as Tuesday afternoon. The meeting with the judge reportedly lasted one hour and 20 minutes.
Roman’s attorney Ashleigh Merchant has suggested Bradley is a key witness for the alleged impropriety of Willis and Wade. However, Bradley had refused to answer questions on the stand during the two-day hearing earlier this month, which prompted McAfee to schedule the private meeting on Monday. Wade last week also filed a motion in a bid to block the meeting between the judge and Bradley, but McAfee ruled against it.
The judge is slated to hear additional arguments from both parties over Roman’s motion during a hearing on March 1. He is not expected to rule from the bench and will likely issue a written ruling in the days to follow.