After her intense testimony on the witness stand yesterday, the Fulton County district attorney’s office has decided not to put Fani Willis back on the witness stand Friday. Willis is fighting efforts from Donald Trump and his legal team to derail his 2020 Georgia election interference case.
Judge Scott McAfee has been hearing testimony to determine whether Willis should be removed from the case because of her romantic relationship with a prosecutor on the case, Nathan Wade.
Willis hit the stand to rebut the district attorney’s testimony about her romantic relationship with Wade, where she was pressed on details regarding the nature of their relationship, monetary exchanges, and alleged secret trips. While being questioned, Willis fought back against any and all allegations of impropriety.
Kudos to Fani Willis! Her transparency and her posture was appropriate. She sent a message that she is NOT on trial ! While some sometimes criticize her “attitude” I think it was smart to delegitimize this attack. She gave some “Trump energy” back to them. pic.twitter.com/Utr4v2zgSl
— LaTosha Brown (@MsLaToshaBrown) February 16, 2024
“You’re confused,” Willis said in a heated exchange with defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant. “You think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.”
Willis charged Trump and 18 individuals in August with conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump pleaded not guilty to the 13 counts, while four of his co-defendants have pleaded guilty to the charges.
Her testimony went viral, with much of social media applauding her refusal to cower, even accusing her accusers of outright lying under oath.
The district attorney’s office is expected to call at least three new witnesses to the stand, including Willis’ father. They are also hoping to obtain Willis’ airline records, as the lead prosecutor aims to prove that contrary to her statements in court, she took undisclosed trips with Wade.
Willis gave hours of testimony in the hearing Thursday and admitted to reimbursing Wade thousands of dollars in cash for personal trips. Willis’ college friend, Robin Yeartie, who worked in the district attorney’s office until 2022, claimed that Wade and Willis may have been romantically involved as early as November 2021.
Willis and Wade claim their relationship began the following year and ended early 2023.
