Georgia Judge Overseeing Trump Case Drops Decision That Could Spell Bad News For Fani Willis

A Fulton County judge ruled Monday that the former law partner of Nathan Wade must testify about Wade’s relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ordered Terrence Bradley to testify about the relationship between Wade and Willis, according to the Journal-Constitution. Bradley, who also served as Wade’s divorce lawyer, met with McAfee in a closed-door hearing, after which McAfee determined that some of Wade’s communication with Bradley were not protected by attorney-client privilege despite Bradley’s assertions during a previous appearance in court, ABC News reported.

Attorneys for Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign aide, filed a motion for Willis’ disqualification on Jan. 8 alleging that Willis, who hired Wade as a special prosecutor to help probe and prosecute the former president, was in a romantic relationship with Wade.

Willis and Wade testified during a hearing to gather evidence to determine if Willis should be disqualified Feb. 15 and Feb. 16. Robin Yeartie, a former friend of Willis, testified that her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade began in 2019, not 2022, while Wade admitted he had no receipts to prove that Willis reimbursed him for expensive trips the two of them took to locations including the Bahamas and Belize.

Willis secured an indictment against Trump and other defendants, including Roman, in August over the former president’s efforts to contest the results of the 2020 election in Georgia, which Joe Biden won by less than 12,000 votes. Wade received over $650,000 in fees for his work on the case, according to Fulton County records.

Willis admitted to a relationship with Wade in a 176-page court filing Feb. 2 in response to the motion seeking her disqualification from the case. Roman’s attorneys responded in a 122-page filing submitted Feb. 9 that witnesses could contradict denials by Willis that her relationship with Wade began after she hired him as a special prosecutor.