Attorneys for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis surprisingly announced they would not recall her to take the stand Friday after shocking testimony about her “physical” relationship with a member of her prosecutor’s office, in the latest dose courtroom drama.
The move came hours after the state said in court it planned to bring back the prosecutor for more questioning after she unexpectedly stormed into the courtroom Thursday to tell her side of the story at a hearing.
That led to a series of stunning revelations in court about her “physical” relationship with one of her top accusers in the Donald Trump case and revelations about storing thousands in cash at her home.
“Frankly, your honor, the state has no further questions for Ms. Willis,” Fulton County Special Prosecutor Anna Cross, who is representing the district attorney in the case, said in court Friday.
The comment came as defense lawyers anticipated a second appearance, with one saying moments earlier that those present were still “in the middle of Miss Willis” and her testimony and the judge overseeing the case asking ” if we could get Mrs. Willis back. ‘
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis made a dramatic appearance in court, where she spoke about her “physical” relationship with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade and testified about providing him with cash refunds when they traveled together. Her attorney decided not to call her back for additional testimony
Her surprise appearance Thursday came after her former lover Nathan Wade was questioned about the “romantic” relationship that he testified began in 2022, shortly after she appointed him as special prosecutor.
One disappointed viewer was Trump himself, who was briefly expected to attend court on Thursday but instead chose to travel to New York for an unrelated court appearance in the Stormy Daniels criminal case.
“Does anyone really believe that Fani Willis paid cash to her ‘lover’ when they took expensive ‘trips’ together? Real? Where did she get the money? Pretty weak interrogation yesterday!!! I guess they don’t want to offend her,” he posted on his Truth Social site.
“There is no way she can explain away this corruption!!!”
The prosecutor’s decision not to bring her back for gentler questioning suggests she accomplished some of what she needed to do Thursday, while fending off questions about her finances and romantic life. It also prevents a roomful of lawyers from getting her again on the witness stand, where they would try to poke holes in stories about her romance, office practices, credit card statements and cash refunds.
The stakes are high for Willis, Wade – and Trump – with the prospect that the prosecution could be taken away from Fulton County if there is an improper relationship or conflict of interest that could impact the prosecution. That, in turn, could delay Trump’s trial as he attempts to return to the White House.
There was a series of fireworks in Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s courtroom Thursday. At one point, he called a five-minute recess after Willis’s angry attacks on attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who exposed the affair in a legal filing accusing Willis and Wade of an improper relationship and demanding their disqualification.
Wade was asked by a lawyer for Donald Trump about the source of the cash he said Willis gave him, and whether Willis simply took cash from her wallet. “I didn’t ask her,” he said
Attorney Steve Sadow and attorney Chris Anulewicz, representing defendant Robert Cheeley, speak among themselves during a break in a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia against Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Sadow pressured Willis when the relationship with Wade ended
During her appearance on Thursday, Willis blasted Ashleigh Merchant, a lawyer for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman. Koopman had expected her to return on Friday morning
‘Pretty weak interrogation yesterday!!! I guess they don’t want to offend her,” former President Donald Trump posted in response to the decision not to call Willis, even though his own attorney did some of the questioning Thursday.
“Frankly, your honor, the state has no further questions for Ms. Willis,” Fulton County Special Prosecutor Anna Cross said when she was expected to call Willis.
She angrily denied any conflict or financial benefit from luxury trips she took with Wade. Like Wade, she testified that she paid him back her share in cash, and that they took turns paying some entertainment expenses.
‘I don’t need anyone to pay my bills. The only man who has ever paid my bills in full is my father,” she said at one point.
“I’m not on trial,” she said angrily at one point.
She only hinted at her anger when discussing Merchant’s motion to remove her from the case and whether she had spoken to Wade about it.
‘I don’t know if it was a conversation. As you know, Mr. Wade is a Southern gentleman. Not so much,” she told Merchant, who represents alleged Trump co-conspirator Michael Roman, as she sat on the stand.
‘It is a lie. It’s a lie,” she fumed as she disputed the “offensive” suggestion that she contacted Wade immediately after a 2019 judicial conference where she said she was introduced to him by a fellow judge.
She also dismissed the idea that she had a sexual relationship with him in 2020 or 2021, citing his battle with cancer in 2020.
On Friday, her own lawyer Anna Cross will get a chance to question her, after lawyers for Trump and other alleged co-conspirators in the Georgia election case were given the opportunity to pressure the investigation into her own romantic life, financial dealings and living conditions. arrangements.