- Former divorce attorney and partner of Nathan Wade, Terrence Bradley, stumbled through an appearance on the stand Tuesday
- The lawyer was shown direct communications from him confirming that Willis and Wade started dating before she hired him
- Bradley appeared nervous during his testimony, repeatedly telling the court that he “couldn’t remember” key pieces of information
Nathan Wade’s divorce attorney, Terrence Bradley, responded candidly to a piece of evidence presented to him Tuesday while on the stand in the financial corruption trial of prosecutor Fani Willis.
Bradley, the former divorce lawyer and partner of Wade, took the stand on Tuesday, where he was shown a series of text messages in which he discussed the timeline of Willis and Wade’s relationship — one of the central issues of the trial .
In one clip, Bradley is seen muttering “oh dang” to himself as he reviews a series of texts seemingly confirming that Willis and Wade were dating before Willis hired Wade to help prosecute the George case against former President Donald Trump .
Steve Sadow, one of Trump’s lawyers, questioned Bradley about a series of text messages between himself and Ashleigh Merchant – a lawyer for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (left) is on trial for financial corruption in connection with hiring her lover Nathan Wade (right) to prosecute former President Donald Trump in the high-profile election interference case
Sadow pointed to a text conversation in which Merchant wrote to Bradley:
“Just like a date, don’t hire him. Do you think it started before she hired him?’ referring to Willis and Wade’s romantic tryst and the timing of Wade’s hiring.
It’s at this point that Bradley whispered “dang” to himself.
Sadow goes on to read that Bradley responded to Merchant’s question via text message: “Absolutely.”
Bradley then tried to deny that he knew the actual timeline of Willis and Wade’s relationship and that his text had been mere “speculation.”
Sadow then asked him “why the hell” which he would speculate about when they started dating in a text message.
“What you want the court to believe, and you want the rest of us to believe, is that for some unknown reason, when you were asked a direct question about when the relationship began, you decided to speculate on your own and write it down. a text message instead of writing down what you actually knew,” he said.
Bradley responded by saying he had “no answer.” Sadow claimed that Bradley knew when the relationship began, but refused to testify.
Bradley took the stand yesterday after meeting with Judge Scott McAfee, who ruled that certain communications between Wade and Bradley are not protected by attorney-client privilege.
Bradley was shown a text message he sent claiming that Wade and Willis started dating in 2019, but said he “couldn’t remember” his actions and was “speculating” when giving a timeline of the hookup .
Earlier Tuesday, Bradley tied himself in knots on the stand and repeatedly told the court he “couldn’t remember” when asked whether Wade and Willis began their romantic relationship before he was hired to prosecute the former president in Georgia.
Wade’s former law partner used the phrase more than a dozen times while on the witness stand, including once when he told the court, “I don’t remember if I lied,” when asked about previous statements he made had made regarding Wade and Willis’ relationship.
His dramatic appearance followed equally dramatic revelations that Wade visited DA Fani Willis’ Georgia district at least 35 times and stayed overnight before hiring him onto the Trump investigation team.
Willis and Wade stayed true to the story that they began their romantic relationship in 2022, after he was drafted into the team charged with investigating Trump’s attempt to overturn the election in Georgia. But testimony at the hearing and evidence presented in court punched several holes in the claim.
Michael Roman, a political strategist and former Trump campaign official, and several other co-defendants in Trump’s case are trying to kick 53-year-old prosecutor Fanni Willis off the case over what they say was an “inappropriate” relationship.
They cite her alleged financial benefit from a “personal, romantic relationship” with Special Prosecutor Wade, whom she hired – at taxpayer expense – to work on the case.
While Willis and Wade have acknowledged their relationship, they have repeatedly argued that it “does not amount to a disqualifying conflict of interest” and that the relationship “has never directly or indirectly provided any financial benefit to District Attorney Willis.”