Three Key Takeaways From Fani Willis’ Hearing Donald Trump Will Love

Former President Donald Trump received good news from Thursday’s hearing into whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from his election interference case.

Judge Scott McAfee presided over the disqualification hearing for Willis, who has charged Trump in connection to alleged election interference efforts after the 2020 presidential election. The hearing presided over whether Willis’ alleged romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the case, should result in her removal from the case, an argument pushed by Trump’s legal team.

During the hearing, attorney Ashleigh Merchant—who represents Trump co-defendant Michael Roman and has raised the concerns about the relationship—sought to prove that Willis and Wade benefitted financially from taxpayers’ money, and that she should therefore be removed from the case.

Willis has denied all allegations of misconduct.

Her investigation focused on Trump’s call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the former president asked him to find enough votes to tilt the election in his favor, as well as an alleged plot to submit a false slate of pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintains his innocence in the case. He has accused Willis of targeting him for political purposes.

While it remained unclear whether McAfee would ultimately rule to disqualify Willis, there were several moments that Trump may have loved.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that the hearing has been “damaging for both Willis and Wade, personally and professionally,” adding that Willis’ handling of the allegations has been an “unmitigated disaster.”

“Even though it shouldn’t affect the legal merits of the case, the optics are bad. She should cut her losses, step down, and have someone else take over this prosecution,” he said.

Willis’ Former Friend Alleges Relationship Started Earlier Than Disclosed

McAfee heard testimony from a former friend of Willis, DA’s office employee Robin Bryant-Yeartie, who testified that the pair began dating shortly after meeting at a conference in late 2019. This, however, would contradict their assertion that the relationship did not begin until after Wade was hired to work on the case in 2021.

Bryant-Yeartie said she has “no doubt” that the romantic relationship began before Wade was hired by Willis’ office.

Former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi told Newsweek in a phone call Thursday afternoon that it would be a “very bad look” for Willis if McAfee finds that the relationship began earlier than initially disclosed. He said McAfee will look at the credibility of Wade, Willis and Bryant-Yeartie to make that decision.

“That suggests that the judge feels that the affidavit was not truthful. As a prosecutor, the last thing you need is a judge who does not feel that you’re fully candid and truthful,” he said.

Rahmani said her testimony was “particularly harmful and raises the possibility that Willis perjured herself when she declared under oath that their relationship started after Wade was hired.”

James Hohmann, a columnist for The Washington Post, wrote that Bryant-Yeartie’s testimony was “devastating” for Willis in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Trump supporters quickly pounced on her testimony to claim it shows Willis and Wade lied about when their relationship began, though McAfee has not made a ruling on this.

Wade Says Willis Reimbursed Him for Trips Using Cash

Wade, during his testimony, said that Willis reimbursed him for trips the pair took together using cash. When answering questions about the trips, he said that trip expenses were roughly even between the two and that any reimbursements Willis made were using cash. This means there were no credit card statements reflecting these finances.

Dave Aronberg, the state attorney in Florida’s Palm Beach County, told Newsweek via X message on Thursday that it is “hard to believe that Willis always reimbursed Wade in cash.”

“A consensual relationship among peers is not normally a problem. But if you lie to a court about when the relationship started and whether reimbursements were made, that’s game over. The question for Judge McAfee is whether they are lying. Simple as that,” he said.

Legal analyst Danny Cevallos wrote in a post to X, “Does anyone really believe that Fani Willis paid Nathan Wade back in cash for all travel expenses after they got back from these vacations?”

Wade Pressed on His Answers to Interrogatories

Attorney Craig Gillen pressed Wade about interrogatories filed as part of his divorce, on May 30, 2023. While filling out the interrogatories, he answered “no” to questions including whether he “had sexual relations with a person other than your spouse,” or whether he “entertained” or “was entertained by” someone of the opposite sex.

Wade said the interrogatory asked about “during the marriage,” which was “irretrievably broken in 2015,” and that his relationship with Willis did not begin until much later.

However, Gillen responded by saying the interrogatory’s timeline spanned “from the date of marriage to the present,” referring to the date of the May 2023 filing.

Attorney and conservative legal commentator Jonathan Turley laid out why this could be problematic for Wade.

“Craig Gillen is asking Wade about his answers in an interrogatory in the prior divorce proceeding. He is showing that his answers on the document [appear] clearly false,” he wrote. “That is significant since he and Wade are prosecuting defendants in this case for making false statements and filing false material with courts.”