Will Fani Willis be Disqualified?

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Misleading Headline:

Georgia judge rules evidence exists to possibly disqualify DA Fani Willis in Trump election case​

A Georgia judge ruled Monday that he will hold at least two days of potentially explosive hearings later this week on whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump because of her romantic affair with the special prosecutor she hired to oversee it. But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee also cautioned lawyers seeking to have Willis and Nathan Wade dismissed − and the case thrown out entirely − that he will not tolerate attempts to smear their reputations through unproven allegations. IIf there's anything that is referring to ... harassment or undue embarrassment, I'm not going to feel inhibited from stepping in, even without an objection from counsel, to move this along and keep it focused on the issues at hand," McAfee said during a nearly two-hour emergency hearing Monday.

McAfee held the emergency hearing to allow attorneys for Wade, Willis and other potential witnesses to try and quash subpoenas ordering their clients to testify at the evidentiary hearing, scheduled for Thursday. Wade and Willis in particular have already made their case that they did nothing wrong and that the high-profile prosecution of Trump and 14 co-defendants should be allowed to proceed. Both admitted in a recent court filing that they have been engaged in a "personal relationship," or romantic affair, but they said it began after Willis hired the little-known private attorney to join the DA's office to helm the high-profile case back in November 2021. Given that both Willis and Wade have acknowledged their relationship, McAfee said, what "remains to be proven" is whether Willis derived any financial benefit from it, as alleged last month by Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official also charged in the alleged effort to illegally overturn Trump's 2020 Georgia loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

"So because I think it's possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations," McAfee said. McAfee suggested that both Willis and Wade are likely to testify at the hearing, and that all of the procedural wrangling and attempts to introduce − and refute − allegations could prolong the hearing throug Friday and possibly longer.

 

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Trump Attorney Accuses Prosecutor of Perjury During Disqualification Hearing​

There has been an ongoing legal battle surrounding ex-president Donald Trump and his alleged interference in the Georgia election. However, the drama has intensified as Judge Scott McAfee presides over motions to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.


Willis had initially initiated investigations into the alleged election misconduct, including Trump’s phone call to Georgia officials seeking to overturn the election results. The motion, filed by Trump’s codefendant Micheal Roman, accused Wilis of benefiting financially from her “personal, romantic relationship” with prosecutor Nathan Wade.

The motion contended that Willis’ decision to appoint Wade was influenced by a personal connection rather than professional merit. However, in a court filing, Willis and Wade admitted to their relationship but emphasized that it “does not constitute a disqualifying conflict of interest.”

They further argued that it “has never involved any direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis.” To counter their motion, Roman’s defense Attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, summoned Terrence Bradley as a critical witness to testify.

Bradley had claimed to be privy to all the incriminating details of the “secret” relationship between Willis and Wade. Bradley co-owned a law firm with Wade and was his divorce attorney during his battle with his estranged wife.

During cross-examination, Anna Cross, a top prosecutor in Willis’ office, got Bradley to make some admissions. He was to admit that he was forced to resign from the law firm due to sexual assault accusations made by an employee. Bradley, however, denied the allegations.

Cross further argued that it was essential to raise the issue because it spoke to Bradley’s credibility as a witness. Given their fallout, she suggested that his grievances might have motivated him to fabricate details about Wade and Willis’ affair.

Even when defense attorneys questioned Bradley, Bradley kept saying he couldn’t disclose what Wade told him due to lawyer-client privilege. Prosecutors and Wade’s lawyer also fought to ensure that Bradley didn’t discuss what Wade shared about Willis.

But the defense attorneys argued that if the sexual assault accusation wasn’t protected by attorney-client privilege, then neither should Bradley’s discussions with Wade regarding his relationship with Willis. The defense was pushing to force Bradley to disclose his conversations with Wade.

Bradley had testified with certainty that prosecutor Wade had informed him about “socializing” with Willis before November 2021.

“Did Mr. Wade ever tell you before November 1, 2021, that he had socialized or gone out to eat with Miss Willis in anything other than a professional setting?” asked Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow.

“I’m sure he did,” Bradley replied. Before that, Bradley had testified that he couldn’t recall if Wade and Willis met privately in Wade’s office. “Did Miss Willis meet privately with Mr. Wade in his office that you observed?” Sadow asked. “I can’t recall,” Bradley replied.

Unfortunately, the defense suffered a setback when the judge rejected their argument for the crime-fraud exception earlier. This exception would have compelled texts between Bradley and Wade discussing Wade’s relationship with Willis to be disclosed despite claims of attorney-client privilege.

Now, the rejection has limited the defense’s ability to introduce any evidence they believed could undermine the credibility of Wade’s testimony. Trump’s attorney argued that these messages could show Wade’s perjury regarding when their relationship started.

“Mr. Wade committed perjury on the witness stand, “Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow, declared in court. He continued to argue for the relevance of Bradley’s testimony concerning his texts and awareness of Wade and Willis’ relationship.

 

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Trump submits cellphone records allegedly showing Nathan Wade and Fani Willis' interactions before hiring​

Former President Donald Trump on Friday submitted a request to enter new evidence in his Georgia election interference case based off Fulton County prosecutor Nathan Wade's cellphone records, which the filing claims show that Wade visited the area of the home of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis approximately 35 times during an 11-month period in 2021.

The records could be used to dispute Willis and Wade's claims about their relationship timeline.

The Fulton County DA's office pushed back on Trump's filing Friday night and urged the judge not to admit the phone records or analysis into evidence, saying they were improperly introduced and "simply do not prove anything relevant."

The filings come in the wake of an evidentiary hearing over efforts to disqualify Willis and Wade from the case, during which both Willis and Wade testified under oath last week that their romantic relationship did not begin until after Wade was officially hired in November 2021, and that the relationship started in 2022.

"I don't consider my relationship to be romantic with him before that," Willis testified regarding Wade's hiring.

On Friday, Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee scheduled a March 1 hearing on the disqualification matter.

Trump co-defendant Michael Roman and several other co-defendants are seeking Willis' disqualification from the election case on the grounds that she benefited financially from a "personal, romantic relationship" with Wade, who she hired for the case.

Willis and Wade have admitted to the relationship, but in a court filing said it "does not amount to a disqualifying conflict of interest" and that the relationship "has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis." Willis testified she paid Wade back in cash for trips they took, which were often booked on his credit card.

According to Trump's filing, the cellphone records also show that Wade exchanged thousands of calls and text messages with Willis in 2021.

Trump's filing on Friday was based on an affidavit from a criminal investigator who said he conducted the analysis on Wade's subpoenaed AT&T phone records spanning from January through November of 2021.

The investigator, Charles Mittelstadt, claimed he analyzed "all interactions" between Wade and Willis' phone during this time, which he initially said revealed over 2,000 calls and nearly 12,000 texts messages during that 11-month period -- most of which would likely have been before Wade was hired. In an updated affidavit submitted to the court by Trump's team, the language was changed to say the analysis revealed "just under 12,000 interactions exchanged" -- not text messages, as was previously indicated.

Mittlestadt said he also looked at "geolocation activity" of Wade's phone, which he said revealed "a minimum" of 35 instances in which Wade's phone connected "for an extended period" to the towers near a home in Hapeville, Georgia, where Willis was allegedly living at the time.

"The data reveals he is stationary and not in transit," the affidavit states.

In its 48-page filing Friday night, the DA's office said the records "do nothing more" than show that Wade's phone "was located somewhere within a densely populated multiple-mile radius." They suggest he could have been in that area for other reasons, noting it's an area "where various residences, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and other businesses are located."

"The records do not prove, in any way, the content of the communications between Special Prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis; they do not prove that Special Prosecutor Wade was ever at any particular location or address; they do not prove that Special Prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis were ever in the same place during any of the times listed," the filing stated.

 

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If this piece of shit gets re-elected, this is what you can expect him to do with anyone he doesn't like.

Fani Willis May Be Facing Perjury Charges​

Fani Willis, Atlanta district attorney, could be facing perjury charges for her testimony about a relationship with a prosecutor, several legal analysts have told Newsweek. Willis said under oath that she and Nathan Wade began their relationship only after the indictment of Donald Trump, something the former president's lawyers say they can disprove using phone records. Newsweek reached out to Trump's lawyers and Willis' office via email for comment on Tuesday. The frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination and 18 co-defendants have been accused of conspiring to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 election win in Georgia. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and repeatedly said that the case was politically motivated as he is the likely GOP nominee for the White House.

Eric Anderson, counsel at Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae in Los Angeles, California, told Newsweek that Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr may pursue perjury charges against Willis, a Democrat. "Given the political climate, I would not be completely surprised if the attorney general, a Republican, acts. Attorney General Carr has shown a willingness to take on elected officials in criminal proceedings before," Anderson said. "When it comes to politics, anything is possible. Unless the alleged perjury is about a fact material to the matter at hand, perjury charges are not likely for a regular witness," Anderson added.

Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University, told Newsweek that Trump's lawyers want "to shift the question before the court from disqualification to perjury." They aim to move from Willis' relationship with Wade to her alleged lie on the witness stand. "The judge should focus on the real disqualification question here. Is there any basis to find that Willis chose to pursue the case to generate income for Wade, which he would then use to take her on luxury trips?" Gillers added. "The answer is no. Willis started her investigation in February 2021 and did not hire Wade, who was not her first choice, until nine months later. She got an indictment and four guilty pleas," Gillers said. "Her successes so far rebut any suggestion that she brought or continued the case to generate fees for Wade. To the contrary, her successes so far tell us she did so because in fact it is a meritorious case."

Willis testified under oath that her relationship with Wade only began after she appointed him to the Trump case. However, the former president has subpoenaed Wade's phone records and hired a tech expert to show allegedly that he stayed over in Willis' house long before the election-fraud case began. Trump's lawyers are also seeking additional information about luxury trips that Wade and Willis took together. The judge in Trump's election-fraud case now has to decide whether Willis and Wade can stay on the case.

Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University in New York, told Newsweek that the district attorney faces possible perjury charges. "Willis could certainly be charged with perjury if a prosecutor can prove that Willis knowingly lied under oath," Germain said. "The matter would have to be referred to a prosecutor, presumably from another DA office, or state or federal prosecutor, to bring the charges."

 

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She belongs in prison but Democrats never hold their own accountable. At least she will probably get disbarred.

 

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Attorney pushing to disqualify DA Fani Willis testifies before Georgia Senate panel​

Ashleigh Merchant, the lead attorney pushing for the disqualification of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and 18 others, provided new testimony to a Georgia Senate panel Wednesday about how she says she uncovered the romantic relationship between Willis and prosecutor Nathan Wade that sits at the heart of the misconduct allegations. Merchant told the Republican-led committee that she was looking into possible "financial irregularities" in the election case when Wade's former law partner and divorce attorney, Terrence Bradley, reached out to her, eventually sharing his belief that Wade and Willis had begun dating "before she became DA."

The judge in the election interference case, Scott McAfee, is currently weighing motions to disqualify Willis, primarily over accusations from Merchant's client, Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, that Willis benefited financially from a "personal, romantic relationship" with Wade, who she hired for the case, through Wade's "paying for vacations across the world with money he is being paid by the Fulton County taxpayers and authorized solely by Willis." Willis and Wade have admitted to a relationship but said it "does not amount to a disqualifying conflict of interest" and that it "has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis."

Merchant, Roman's attorney, testified Wednesday before the Georgia Senate's Special Committee on Investigations as part of its probe into the district attorney's office. While the panel does not have the authority to bring charges against Willis or remove her from the case, officials say their findings could lead to changes in some of the statutes governing the operations of the DA's office.

Merchant, who testified for over three hours, said there was an immediate response when she filed her motion seeking Willis' dismissal based on her relationship with Wade. "I file it and at that point, the world is shocked," she said. "I mean, shocked because nobody had any idea this had been hidden." Regarding Wade's former attorney, Merchant told legislators that "Mr. Bradley essentially went through the whole thing and said, 'Well, this is what's really happening.' He was very specific that it was before she became DA." But when Bradley was called as a witness during last week's disqualification hearing, he reversed course, saying under oath that his remarks to Merchant were "speculation" made without personal knowledge of the matter. Willis and Wade both testified they didn't consider their relationship to have become romantic until after Wade was hired.

Attorneys for Trump are accusing Willis of committing "appalling and unforgivable" forms of forensic misconduct through what they allege is her "testifying falsely" about the timeline of the relationship.

Willis has pushed back on any allegations of misconduct. In a filing this week, she urged the judge to reject the motion to disqualify her, saying that in order to disqualify an elected district attorney, "an actual conflict of interest must be proven" -- which she says the defendants have not done.

Merchant, in her testimony Wednesday, also offered details about her conversations with Bradley and what she described as his motives. She said that Bradley was personally "upset" with Wade about the way Wade handled his divorce. During Bradley's testimony at the disqualification hearing, the state questioned him about a potential different motive for coming forward -- saying he left the firm with Wade over a "disagreement" when he was accused by an employee of sexual assault. Bradley said he "didn't sexually assault anybody." Merchant told the committee that it was Bradley who suggested Merchant track down Robin Yeartie, Willis' former friend and one-time Fulton County DA employee who testified last month that Wade and Willis' relationship predated Wade's employment.

Before Merchant filed her initial motion for disqualification, she said that Bradley personally reviewed her filing and suggested changes so as not to "tip off" to others that he was her source. "He did not want anybody to know that he was talking. He was very concerned," Merchant said. After filing her disqualification motion in January, Merchant claimed that Bradley received a phone call from another lawyer to probe his role in Merchant's filing. "He took it as what he described to me as the 'first shot against the bow' -- you know, that they were trying to figure out if it was him, and they were trying to silence them," Merchant said. According to Merchant, Wade also called Bradley's best friend -- who she did not name -- to request he "call Mr. Bradley and remind him of his privilege" as Wade's former divorce attorney. "It just seemed like tampering," she said, adding, "He took it as intimidation, yes."

Willis, responding to the committee hearing, told Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB-TV that it was political in nature. "I think it's all just a political quest," she told WSB. "I think that people are angry because I'm going to do the right thing and I'm going to stand up for justice." Much of Wednesday's testimony rehashed the allegations from the earlier evidentiary hearings, with the committee chairman Bill Cowsert peppering Merchant with questions about Willis' office and the standards in the law.

You're a good investigative reporter here," Cowsert told Merchant at one point.

However, Georgia Sen. Harold Jones, asking questions on behalf of the committee's Democratic minority, raised concerns about the legitimacy of Merchant's disqualification effort, including the idea that a few vacations were a financial incentive for Willis. "So your argument is that a person who makes $200,000 a year is actually setting up prosecutions to go on a trip that costs $3,500?" Jones asked. Cowsert said the committee is tasked with, if necessary, "amending existing statutes or creating new statutes to build guardrails ... to essentially restore public faith in our criminal justice system in its impartiality and its fairness."

 

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I'd just like to be part of the hearing, so when she is forced to reveal some particularly scandalous tidbit I could go "WHATCHU TALKIN' 'BOUT, WILLIS!?"

I do like that that New York Attorney General got heckled down at an event recently.

 

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Six of Fanni's charges got tossed out by the judge.

 

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Guess you didn't read the article correctly. They can be re-charged. Strictly procedural and doesn't change the RICO charges one bit.

Try this, you feckless fuck:

McAfee ruled that the indictment failed to provide enough detail about the underlying felonies in the requests that co-defendants were making in their meetings with lawmakers or a call to a state official. “They do not give the Defendants enough information to prepare their defenses intelligently, as the Defendants could have violated the Constitutions and thus the statute in dozens, if not hundreds, of distinct ways,” McAfee ruled.

But McAfee said the problem could be "easily remedied." He left in place acts described in the indictment, such as Trump's call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he asked Raffensperger to "find" the votes needed to hand him victory in the state. McAfee said the acts could still be alleged as part of the conspiracy. He left in place 35 charges in the Indictment.
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Of course, far right self-righteous know-nothing assholes such as yourself only see what you want to see, so I'm not surprised by your ignorance and inaccuracies.

We moderates and liberals will be taking out the trash this November. We've all had quite enough of y'all, your lies and your bullshit, as you shall see.

Count on that.

 

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I love it when far rightie MAGATS (pronounced "maggot" and rhymes with FAGGOT) talk about bias in liberal media...all the while their side posts bullshit like this...

Fani Willis Could Face Criminal Perjury Inquiry in Georgia (read the article, probably not)​

The district attorney in Donald Trump's election fraud case in Georgia could be facing perjury charges this week.

Judge Scott McAfee is expected to rule by the end of this week on whether Fani Willis should be removed from the Trump trial, or even face perjury charges, as a result of her relationship with Nathan Wade, the chief prosecutor in the Trump case. Trump and his co-accused claim that Willis only appointed Wade to the case because they were in a relationship.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges against him and has said the case is politically motivated because he is the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination.

Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, gave evidence last month in a two-day hearing following allegations that she was in a relationship with Wade. The timeline of their relationship has emerged as a key point of contention. Trump's lawyers examined phone records alleging the pair were in a relationship before the Georgia election fraud case began. Willis and Wade contest that and have said under oath that their relationship began after the indictment of Trump and 18 other defendants for allegedly trying to overthrow the result of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Trump's team presented evidence from a technical expert that allegedly shows that Wade made late night trips to Willis' home long before the Trump case began.

However, several legal experts told Newsweek that they don't believe she will face perjury charges, even if the judge believes their relationship began before the indictments.

Newsweek sought email comment from Fani Willis' office and from Donald Trump's attorney on Thursday.

New York-based attorney Colleen Kerwick told Newsweek that Georgia's burden of proof for perjury would be difficult to overcome.

"One can be convicted of perjury in Georgia for knowingly making a materially false statement under oath. However, in order to convict for perjury, there must be more than one witness. I doubt there was more than one witness to her alleged affair at that time," she said.

Kerwick also said that while McAfee's hearings may bring Willis' credibility into question, it might not have established a completely different set of facts to those outlined by Willis in her testimony.

"I believe that a distinction should be drawn between evidence which impeaches a witness, in the sense that it affects the witness's credibility, and evidence which has probative force, in that it shows a state of facts which differs from that to which the witness testified," she said.

Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University in New York, agreed that Willis is unlikely to face perjury charges.

"I guess anyone who testifies about anything 'could' face perjury charges, but perjury charges are quite rare. A prosecutor has to show that the person knowingly and intentionally lied, not that they were mistaken about timing or something like that," Germain told Newsweek.

"Even with strong evidence, lying about a collateral personal matter is not usually prosecuted, although it has happened in high-profile cases like Bill Clinton."

Germain said perjury charges would have to be heard by a different judge.

"Perjury would have to be brought and decided in another court. The issue for Judge McAfee is whether to remove Fani Willis from the case, because of an appearance of impropriety," he said.

 

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‘Appearance of impropriety’: Trump RICO judge finds Fani Willis relationship with prosecutor means one of them has to go if case is to continue​

A Georgia judge has partially granted a defense motion to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the racketeering (RICO) and election subversion case against Donald Trump and others.

“”[T]he Court finds that the Defendants failed to meet their burden of proving that the District Attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest in this case through her personal relationship and recurring travels with her lead prosecutor,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in the order, issued Friday morning. “[T]he established record now highlights a significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team — an appearance that must be removed through the State’s selection of one of two options. The Defendants’ motions are therefore granted in part.”

McAfee denied “other alleged grounds for disqualification, including forensic misconduct.” The ruling caps a three-month effort by the defense to have the district attorney and her office removed from the case over various misconduct allegations. The court’s order will allow the case to move forward but the length of time spent dealing with the disqualification motion has been a substantial boon to the 45th president amid his multiple legal battles and the looming election rematch with President Joe Biden. A trial date in the matter is still possible but unlikely before November.

In the Jan. 8 motion to disqualify, co-defendant Michael Roman and his attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, alerted the world to the romance between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade — along with allegations of nepotism and self-dealing. Roman was a senior staffer in Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign. Prosecutors allege he was part of the plot to send a slate of fake electors to vote for Trump.

The court’s decision hinged upon the legal standard of review applicable to disqualifying a prosecutor in Georgia. McAfee, during closing arguments, signaled the standard was likely to be dispositive.

In motions, Trump’s lead attorney in Atlanta, Steve Sadow, accused the district attorney of using the lengthy speech to make “inflammatory extrajudicial racial comments” and accused her of improperly stoking “racial animus” to influence would-be jurors. During closing arguments, the defense accused Willis of using the church speech to deflect attention away from the scandal over her relationship with Wade.

 

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The trial will be held before the election, whether magats like it or agree with it or not. He's still fucking toast. JAIL TIME

Oh and Wade will be off the case before you can say "A MAGAT ate my baby"

 

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Fani Willis accepts resignation of deputy Nathan Wade in Trump Georgia case​

The Fulton county district attorney on Friday formally accepted the resignation of her top deputy with whom she had a romantic relationship, ensuring she would continue to prosecute the criminal case against Donald Trump over the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. The move by Fani Willis came shortly after the judge overseeing the case ruled that the relationship had created enough of a distraction that either Willis or the deputy, Nathan Wade, needed to step down. The choice to step down was straightforward and expected, and Wade submitted his resignation to allow Willis to stay on as lead prosecutor against Trump and dozens of allies indicted on charges of violating Georgia’s state racketeering statute.

“You led a team that secured a true bill of indictment against nineteen individuals who are accused of violating Georgia law to undermine the 2020 election for the former President of the United States,” Willis wrote in a letter obtained by the Guardian. “Please accept my sincere gratitude on behalf of the citizens of Fulton county, Georgia, for your patriotism, courage, and dedication to justice. I wish you the best in your future endeavors.”

The ruling by the Fulton county superior court judge Scott McAfee stopped short of disqualifying Willis, which Trump and his co-defendants had sought over allegations that the relationship was a conflict of interest. The decision avoided catastrophe for Willis. An order removing her and her office from the case would have almost certainly delayed the prosecution significantly during reassignment to another prosecutor in Georgia, who might have opted to toss the charges altogether. Although the judge found the evidence insufficient to disqualify her from bringing the case, he was unsparing in his criticism of the way Willis so casually handled the relationship and the manner of her testimony on the witness stand during a series of hearings on the matter. The Wade-Willis relationship amounted to such a fatal appearance of impropriety that one of the pair needed to resign even if no actual conflict of interest existed, the judge wrote, making clear that the commingling of personal and professional relations was untenable.

The Trump co-defendant Michael Roman in January moved to disqualify Willis because of her relationship with Wade, which at the time was not publicly known. Willis and Wade admitted to having a relationship but said it did not begin until after Wade had been hired to work on the Trump case in 2022.

The case being led by Willis’s office contains only some of the dozens of criminal charges against Trump for subversion of his failed 2020 re-election run, retention of classified documents and hush-money payments. In civil litigation, Trump has been found liable of sexual abuse of writer E Jean Carroll and has been adjudicated as having committed business fraud.

Trump nonetheless has secured the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic incumbent Joe Biden for a second presidency in November.

 

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