Fani Willis Testifies in Hearing That Could Disqualify Her from Trump Case
Six months ago, Fani Willis posed one of the greatest threats to Donald Trump. The Fulton County District Attorney indicted Trump in August in a sprawling criminal case alleging he conspired to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. Now, she may have handed the former President a startling campaign gift.
That much was clear during a hearing on Thursday over Willis’s romance with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to oversee the election interference case.
That much was clear during a hearing on Thursday over Willis’s romance with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to oversee the election interference case.
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00:00 Okay, so let's not talk about when you spent the night. When did your romantic relationship with Miss Willis begin?
00:05 2022. When? In 2022.
00:09 Early 2022.
00:12 So you were appointed in November of 2021? Yes, ma'am. And your relationship started early? What's early? January? February?
00:20 Around March. It was a point of contention because she was very emphatic and adamant about this
00:30 independent, strong woman thing. So she demanded that she pay her own way.
00:34 Did you discuss your personal
00:37 relationship, your private personal romantic relationship with Miss Willis in social settings? No, ma'am. You've never discussed it in social settings? No, ma'am.
00:45 Did you ever discuss it in front of Robin Yurdy in a non-social setting? No, ma'am. Miss Willis is a very
00:53 as in my
00:56 private people.
00:58 Not
01:00 our
01:01 relationship wasn't a secret. It was just private.
01:04 Did you listen to any arguments? I did hear the arguments this morning.
01:16 It's ridiculous to me that you lied on Monday and yet here we still are and I did listen to that argument.
01:25 Right, I listened to the argument this morning where Adam Abadi, I thought did an excellent job
01:30 pointing out how dishonest you were with the court on Monday and
01:34 I'm actually surprised that the hearing continued. But since it did, here I am.
01:40 When the state was in the best of all waters.
01:42 When someone lies on you and it's highly offensive when they try to implicate that you slept with somebody the first day you met with
01:47 them and I take exception to it. So your office objected to us getting
01:51 Delta records for flights that you may have taken with Mr. Wade. Well, no, no, no.
01:56 I object to you getting records. You've been
01:59 intrusive into people's personal lives. You're confused. You think I'm on trial.
02:03 These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial
02:07 no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. Mr. Wade visits you at the place you laid your head.
02:12 When? Has he ever visited you at the place you laid your head?
02:16 So let's be clear because you lied in this. Let me tell you which one you lied in. Right here.
02:20 I think you lied right here. No, no, no, no. This is the truth, Judge. It is a lie. It is a lie.
02:26 Ms. Willis? Mr. Saino, thank you. We're going to take five minutes.
02:30 We'll be back in five.
02:32 Before we proceed though,
02:34 I would advise everyone here,
02:36 this being a room mostly full of lawyers
02:40 who have spent their lives in a courtroom. We all know what professionalism looks like, what decorum looks like, and
02:49 devoting ourselves to the rule of law and proper advocacy. I would
02:52 urge everyone to keep those principles in the mind,
02:56 starting with the fact that we won't talk over each other. And from there,
03:03 we'll get through this.
03:06 I want to be clear because my credibility is being evaluated here, right? We were friends. We hung out
03:13 prior to November of 2021. In November of 2021, I hired him.
03:19 I do not consider our relationship to have become romantic until early of 2022. Because I don't know a date and time,
03:26 I'm saying sometime between February and April of 2022 and very early April of 2022.
03:32 Because I know that trip that I discussed with you was like the first week of 2022, that the relationship had become
03:38 romantic. I hope that answered your question. The romantic relationship ended before the indictment was returned. Yes or no?
03:47 To a man, yes.
03:49 Well, to a man, yes. To you, no? She's explained this.
03:53 She's explained this. And did the forthcoming indictment have anything to do with that?
03:59 Or was it just a coincidence?
04:01 Let's go on and have a conversation.
04:05 I'm just asking you whether or not it was a coincidence. It had absolutely nothing to do with this.
04:11 It's interesting that we're here about this money. Mr.
04:15 Wade is used to women that, as he told me one time, the only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich.
04:21 We would have brutal arguments about the fact that I am your equal.
04:26 I don't need anything from a man. A man is not a plan. A man is a companion.
04:31 And so there was tension always in our relationship, which is why I was giving him his money back.
04:38 I don't need anybody to foot my bills. The only man who's ever foot my bills
04:43 completely is my daddy.
04:45 Is there anything else you would like to add to that?
04:49 No. I didn't ask you that. I was going to ask you that. Four thousand is part of your, my words,
04:56 cash hoard that you had collected over time. Cash what? Hoard. H-O-R-D-E.
05:00 Well, I thought you said something different, sir. No, I'm afraid I wouldn't say that.
05:04 Any circumstances to you or in court. All right, back on track. The hoard. Cash hoard.
05:10 Hoard. Debt.
05:12 Anticipated for any defense, sir. All right, I'll show you how to solve this problem.