Fulton County prosecutors will not call District Attorney Fani Willis to the witness stand for additional questioning Friday, after she forcefully defended herself and accused defense attorneys of lying as part of a bid to disqualify her and her office from prosecuting the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump.
Willis testified for roughly two hours Thursday in the evidentiary hearing held before Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee, during which she fiercely pushed back on claims from lawyers representing Trump and several of his co-defendants that she engaged in an improper relationship with Wade, whom she hired to work on the case, and financially benefited from it.
A lawyer for Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official, first raised the allegations about Willis and Wade last month and is seeking to have prosecutors involved in the case disqualified and the indictment dismissed. Trump and his allies are accused of orchestrating a scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. They have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Both Wade and Willis testified Thursday, providing details about the origins of their relationship, trips they took together, their finances and other aspects of their relationship. They confirmed in a court filing earlier this month that they began a romantic relationship in early 2022, months after Willis appointed Wade special prosecutor to work on the sprawling racketeering case involving Trump. But the district attorney has called the allegations “salacious” and rejected the claims that she benefited financially from the relationship.
“You’ve been intrusive into people’s personal lives,” Willis told Ashleigh Merchant, who is representing Roman. “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. I object to you getting any personal records of mine.”
She called implications made by Merchant in court filings about the start of her relationship with Wade “highly offensive” and said her interests were “contrary to democracy.”
Prosecutors in her office still plan to call at least three witnesses to answer questions Friday, including her father.
Proceedings kicked off Friday morning with testimony from former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat. Barnes was Willis’ first choice to serve as special prosecutor, and he said he often consults to help on major cases.
“I had mouths to feed at a law office and that I could not, I would not do that,” Barnes said of his conversation with Willis about assisting with the case, adding “I told D.A. Willis I lived with bodyguards for four years, and I didn’t like it, and I wasn’t going to live with bodyguards for the rest of my life.”
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens briefly attended the proceedings, watching Barnes’ testimony.
Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner and divorce attorney, arrived at the court to provide testimony after a doctor’s appointment delayed his appearance. McAfee warned that Bradley, who also appeared Thursday, may be in violation of a subpoena as a result of his conflict.
Bradley testified that he had “no personal knowledge of” when the pair’s relationship began, and said any information he learned about it was in his capacity as Wade’s lawyer.
During his exchange with Merchant, Bradley read aloud text messages he exchanged with her, including one sent in January after Merchant learned that Wade took Willis to Napa, California, and paid for it using his business credit card.
“Is he that dumb?” Merchant texted Bradley, according to the message he read aloud from the witness stand.
Willis and Wade both acknowledged Thursday that they visited California together last year and split the costs associated with the trip.
Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner and divorce attorney, was expected to testify, but he is at a doctor’s appointment. McAfee warned that Bradley, who appeared Thursday, may be in violation of his subpoena.
Prosecutors questioned John Clifford Floyd III, Willis’ father, about his time living at his daughter’s home in Fulton County and whether he had ever met Wade. Floyd, a criminal defense attorney and former Black Panther, testified that Willis moved out of her home in early 2021 after several incidents that prompted concerns for her safety.
Floyd recalled death threats targeting him, his daughter and grandchildren, and strangers coming to Willis’ house. He said on one occasion, derogatory and racist words were spray-painted on the home.
“I was concerned for her safety,” he said, adding that he remained in the house to protect it.
Willis moved from her house in Fulton County into a condo owned by a former longtime friend, Robin Bryant-Yeartie, who delivered damaging testimony Thursday that claimed Wade and Willis’ relationship pre-dated his hiring in November 2021.
Appearing via Zoom, Yeartie said Willis also told her she was engaged in a romantic relationship with Wade in 2020 and 2021, and said she witnessed “hugging, kissing,” and “just affection” between the two.
During his testimony, Floyd said he met a former boyfriend of Willis’ in 2019 and 2020 — a DJ he called “Deuce” — but was not introduced to Wade until 2023, when he was participating in an interview with journalist Michael Isikoff at the district attorney’s office. He didn’t learn about their personal relationship until it became public earlier this year, Floyd said.
“She kept that a secret from you, correct?” Steven Sadow, who is representing Trump, asked Floyd. “Correct,” he replied.
Floyd said he also did not know that Wade was accompanying Willis on trips to the Bahamas, Aruba, Belize and California, taken in 2022 and 2023.
“I knew that my daughter had gone, but I did not know who she went with or what the circumstances were,” he said.