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.
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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.
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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.
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“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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