Georgia DA Fani Willis will not testify for second day on 'improper' affair with Nathan Wade

Judge Scott McAfee adjourned the hearing after two days of testimony in the allegations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had an "improper" affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

The judge said he would hold an in-camera meeting with Terrence Bradley to discuss his testimony, some of which that the state argued was attorney client privileged.

Bradley revealed he was accused of sexual assault by an employee of the firm at which he was once partner at with Nathan Wade.

The state attempted to call a woman to the witness stand they said would testify to the allegations of assault - which Bradley denied - but the judge said that testimony was outside the scope of the rules of evidence for the hearing.

The state said the woman's testimony would impeach Bradley's credibility.

Judge McAfee said he would hold a summation hearing of all the evidence presented in the next week or two.

Judge Scott McAfee said he will hold an in-camera meeting with star witness Terrence Bradley and defense lawyers but keep it under seal of the court, after roughly an hour of debate of attorney client privilege.  

Defense lawyers are pushing Bradley, special prosecutor Nathan Wade’s former law partner, about when he knew Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis and Wade first began a romantic relationship – and if his knowledge of the relationship corroborates their testimony.  

Bradley served as Wade’s divorce attorney for a time, which lawyers for the state keep invoking as a matter of privilege. 

At an undetermined time after Friday’s hearing, Judge McAfee will be able to hear all the answers from the witness and then decide how much weight he will give to that testimony after he decides whether it is admissible or not based on privilege. 

Fox News’ Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this report

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal seen partying with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (Getty Images)

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal attended the inauguration for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a witness said Friday.

Terrence Bradley, the former law partner for Nathan Wade who also served as his divorce attorney, was being grilled on the stand by Trump's lawyer, Steve Sadow, about whether he ever socialized with Wade or Willis before Nov. 1 , 2021.

Bradley said he recalled being at Willis' inauguration in January 2021 where O'Neal was present.

"Out to eat with both of them before When was she sworn in?" Bradley asked. "I’m sorry. When was she sworn in? There was a dinner. There was a dinner before. I mean, when she was sworn in that I attended, Shaquille O’Neal was there. So it was like her inauguration."

"So I’m thinking that’s before 2021. So I would say yes. In early January of 2021," he added.

Bradley said he didn't recall socializing with Wade or Willis after that or before Nov. 1, 2021.

Former assistant district attorney Phil Holloway joined "The Faulkner Focus" to discuss Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' testimony Thursday, and said she could be in "very big trouble." 

Holloway told host Harris Faulkner that it appeared as if Willis was furious at the proceedings so far and went on the witness stand "to vent." 

"To be honest with you, and this is just my opinion, I though and it still seems like she was watching the witnesses' testimony yesterday — which you're not supposed to do," Holloway said. 

"That's not allowed," Faulkner affirmed.

"It appears that she was mad because she watched the testimony and the cross-examination of Nathan Wade and it looks like it upset her. But this whole thing is evolving into an ethical dumpster fire," Holloway continued.

He suggested that if the defense can prove that either Willis or special prosecutor Nathan Wade have made "material misrepresentations" in their affidavits, they could be disbarred. 

The Fulton County Superior Court will reconvene at 1:00 p.m. on Friday after a brief break. The defense team will continue to press witnesses for evidence that Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis engaged in an "improper" affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Co-defendants in the sprawling political corruption case against former president Donald Trump have been trying to show Judge Scott McAfee evidence that Willis financially benefitted from hiring Wade through their lavish vacations together as a romantic couple.

On Friday, Willis' father, John C. Floyd III, took the stand and confirmed what Willis testified to on Thursday - that her father taught her to keep large amounts of cash on hand at all times.

Willis said Thursday that since she reimbursed Wade for her share of vacation expenses in cash.

Both she and Wade testified there are no receipts for those transactions.

The crux of the defenses' case is whether they can prove with a money trail that Willis has a conflict of interest in the case against Trump and should be disqualified.

When the hearing resumes, the defense is expected to call Terrence Bradley -- Wade's former law firm partner -- to the stand.

Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy questioned whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is fit to serve in office after her "train wreck" testimony on Thursday.

Georgia prosecutor Anna Cross said Friday they will not recall Willis to testify because they had no questions for her. 

"Her testimony yesterday was kind of a train wreck," said McCarthy, a former assistant U.S. attorney. "It goes to some broader issues about, number one, her fitness to be district attorney, not just her fitness to run this case."

Prosecutors had initially sought to block a subpoena for Willis to testify on allegations that she had an "improper" romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired to lead the 2020 election interference case against Trump. But Willis flew into court Thursday to tell her side of the story.

Willis appeared flustered throughout the hearing, mentioned rushing to take the stand when she was called, and according to some who watched the hearing online, appeared to be wearing her dress backwards.

The fact that prosecutors won't call Willis to testify again "makes you think that they prepared for this hearing, which is a very important hearing for them, under circumstances where they thought she was not going to be on the stand," McCarthy said.

"And then she came in and kind of blew it up." 

Sparks flew in a Fulton County, Georgia, courtroom Thursday afternoon when embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the stand to testify against allegations she had an "improper" affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which could derail her case against former President Trump.

At one point, Willis was asked by a Trump lawyer, Ashley Merchant, in a heated moment if she had any "proof" that she reimbursed Wade for vacations because the payments were in cash.

"The testimony of one witness is enough to prove a fact," Willis responded. "Are you telling me I'm lying?"

"I'm asking if you have any proof," the lawyer responded. And Willis shot back, "The proof is what I just told you."

"Has Nathan Wade ever visited you at the place you laid your head?" Merchant asked Willis in another question related to the timeline of her relationship with Wade. 

"When?" an exasperated Willis responded.

"Has he ever visited you at the place you lay your head," the lawyer repeated.

"So let’s be clear because you lied," Willis said before picking up various piles of paper.

"Right here, you lied right here," Willis said, before shouting "No, no, no" when the lawyer interjected.

"It is a lie," Willis said while holding two piles of papers above her head. "It is a lie."

After that confrontation, a five-minute recess was called.

Check out the video above to see more explosive moments from yesterday's testimony.

Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller, Brianna Herlihy and Matteo Cina contributed to this update.

Nathan Wade, the Georgia special prosecutor accused of having an inappropriate romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, is not "qualified" to handle the Trump Georgia election case, according to one legal analyst. 

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig told the network last month that the legal issues surrounding the case boil down to money and a potential conflict of interest.

"[Wade's] primary area of practice is personal injury law, not, in my view, qualified to handle a major, complicated racketeering case," Honig said.

Wade was allegedly paid over $650,000 so far in the case. In comparison, two other prosecutors hired to work on the case only received around $70,000 and $90,000, respectively. 

"There's a question of—is he working nine times as much as the other folks," Honig said. "The other big problem, though, is there is clearly a relationship of some nature, we don't know exactly between the DA and Mr. Wade and some of that money is being used on travel that the DA is accompanying him on."

He suggested that the money was being used for "personal purposes" and posed a real "conflict of interest."

"At a minimum, it looks terrible, and it raises legitimate questions about the DA," Honig added.

Fox News Digital's Nikolas Lanum contributed to this update.

Embattled Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis called her former lover, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a "southern gentleman" when she took the stand Thursday in a court hearing.

As Willis took the stand, she appeared to wink at the audience and smirked at the lawyers and spectators in the room.

Willis, who was notably adverse to defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, said she "had some choice words about some of the things" Merchant and her client, Michael Roman, said in their motion, calling it "dishonest." Roman alleged in court filings last month that Willis should be disqualified from the case, claiming that she financially benefited from hiring Wade because of their personal relationship.

Willis, in describing her discussions with Wade about the motion, called him a "southern gentleman."

"I don't know that it was a conversation. As you know, Mr. Wade is a Southern gentleman. Me, not so much," she said. 

A former Atlanta prosecutor says embattled District Attorney Fani Willis was "belligerent" in her testimony Thursday against allegations she had an "improper" affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. 

John Malcolm, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Atlanta, told Fox News Digital in a statement the "highlight" of the "wild" evidentiary hearing on Thursday was Willis' testimony.

"She has been belligerent and argumentative. It is hard to tell what impact this will have on Judge McAfee as he evaluates her credibility," Malcolm said.

Malcolm also said Wills' claim she reimbursed Wade in cash for their shared vacations was "difficult to swallow." 

"One thing that seems difficult to swallow is her claim that she paid her paramour — Nathan Wade — in cash to reimburse him for expenses related to luxury trips they took together. Her testimony that she kept large amounts of cash in her house as a matter of practice and has no written record to back up her testimony seems hard to believe," Malcolm said. 

In another brewing legal headache for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Georgia state lawmakers last week officially kicked off their investigation into allegations of misconduct by her office. 

Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert opened a Feb. 9 meeting of the state Senate Special Committee on investigations with a bombshell revelation that multiple whistleblowers from the Fulton County DA's office have come forward to testify against their boss. He said they allege Willis misused state and federal funds — allegations that come after the embattled DA admitted to having a relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade that critics have called "improper." 

"This is not a political witch hunt; this is a quest for the truth," Cowsert said at Friday's meeting, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.

House Republicans have also subpoenaed Willis to testify on separate allegations that she misused federal funds and fired a whistleblower in her office. Responding, her office said, "These false allegations are included in baseless litigation filed by a holdover employee from the previous administration who was terminated for cause. The courts that have ruled found no merit in these claims. We expect the same result in any pending litigation."

Georgia Republicans are leading their own investigation over the objections of Democrats who say Willis' critics are politically motivated. 

"I think a political witch hunt or show trial would damage Georgians' faith in both our political and legal system," Democratic state Sen. Gloria Butler said, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.

But Republicans have plowed ahead. "You lose the confidence of the public and the fairness of the criminal justice system if they think prosecutors are engaged in prosecution so their lovers can get rich," Cowsert said. 

Fox News Digital's Lawrence Richard and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this update.

Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn said on "Outnumbered" Thursday that Fulton County DA Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade are facing a "legal problem" in addition to potential disqualification from their case against former President Trump due to allegedly having an "improper" affair.

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the sweeping racketeering case against Trump, heard evidence on Thursday related to the allegations. 

A former "good friend" of Willis testified Thursday that she has "no doubt" the district attorney and Wade had a "romantic" relationship starting in 2019, contradicting Willis’ prior statements to the court. Willis claimed in court that she and Wade "have been professional associates and friends since 2019," and "there was no personal relationship" between her and Wade in November 2021 at the time of Wade’s appointment. 

Civil rights attorney and Fox News Media contributor Leo Terrell said this "bombshell" witness testimony points to disqualification. 

Urbahn concurred and went further, "I completely agree with Leo Terrell that the witness testimony this morning, saying that their relationship began long before they said it did in a court filing, would be grounds for disqualification if it's true. And not only disqualification, Emily, but also it's a legal problem for them, as you just mentioned, you know, to lie in a court filing. That's a crime."

She added that Republican state lawmakers in Georgia "have a number of people who are willing to come forward to testify against" Wade in this case.

"If you have a witness testifying that a relationship began long before when they said it did in a court filing, it's a big problem," Urbahn said. "I just think this is, at a minimum, this is a bad day for the Democrats' lawfare campaign against Donald Trump."

Fox News Digital's Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this update.

Much of Fulton County District Attorney's testimony on Thursday focused on vacations she took with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, including Caribbean cruises and visiting wine country in California.

Both testified that Wade routinely paid for the trips and Willis would reimburse him with cash. When repeatedly pressed about whether any records existed for her withdrawals of the funds, Willis said she was accustomed and taught by her father to keep 6 months of regular expenses on hand in cash.

Wade took the stand earlier in the hearing. Craig Gillen, attorney for Trump co-defendant David Shafer who also asked the court to disqualify Willis, questioned Wade earlier about Willis' repayments to him for vacations that were made in cash. 

Wade admitted that he did not have deposit slips or receipts to support his claims.

"You don’t have a single solitary deposit slip to corroborate or support any of your allegations that you were paid by Ms. Willis in cash, do you?" Gillen asked. 

"No, sir," Wade said.

"Not a single solitary one," Gillen pressed.

"Not a one."

The defense is trying to prove the existence and extent of any financial benefit to Willis from Wade from their relationship, which is the crux of their argument that Willis should be disqualified. 

Wade also testified that he was not paid by Fulton County as much as the defense claims. In 2022 specifically, Fulton County paid roughly $300,000 to his law firm. But Wade said he received roughly $100,000 because the payments were dispersed between the three people who worked at the firm, all of whom had contracts with the Fulton County DA's office for various reasons. 

Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, who is prosecuting former President Donald Trump on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, verbally sparred with lawyers for hours at an evidentiary hearing regarding her relationship with the lead prosecutor who she hired to bring the case against Trump. 

At one point, presiding Judge Scott McAfee called a five-minute recess to apparently let tempers cool down. 

When court was back in session, he told lawyers to stop "talking over each other" and cautioned Willis, saying, "we have to listen to the questions as asked. And if this happens again and again, I'm going to have no choice but to strike your testimony."

Willis, who was notably adverse to defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, said she "had some choice words about some of the things" Merchant and her client Michael Roman — Trump's codefendant in the case — said in the motion. Willis called the motion "dishonest" and "extremely offensive." 

At one point, she held up a printed copy of the allegations against her in both hands and turned to the judge yelling, "this is a lie!"

Willis also called defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant's interests "contrary to democracy."

Willis appeared flustered throughout the hearing, mentioned rushing to take the stand when she was called, and according to some who watched the hearing online, appeared to be wearing her dress backwards.

Former Assistant District Attorney Phil Holloway joined "Outnumbered" on Thursday to weigh in on the evidentiary hearing on the misconduct allegations against District Attorney Fani Willis. 

Holloway said that the argument laid out by attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, would be sufficient grounds to disqualify Willis from prosecuting the Georgia election interference case if proven. 

"Not only Fani Willis, but everyone who works for her," Holloway said. "We know there was a relationship. What we also have heard, at least from a former employee under oath, is that the people who are talking about this relationship are lying about it — they're saying that it started much earlier than Nathan Wade has said in his affidavit file. So that raises a big question." 

The next big question for Merchant to prove is "whether or not there was a solid proof of financial gain by District Attorney Willis as a result of her steering taxpayer money through a no-bid contract to her boyfriend Nathan Wade. That's what this is all really about." 

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Wade Wade has reached a temporary divorce settlement with his estranged wife. (Getty Images)

The allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis are that she and her lover, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, reaped financial benefits from their relationship. 

In legal filings last month, Michael Roman alleged that Wade billed Fulton County for 24 hours of work on a single day in November 2021, shortly after being appointed as a special prosecutor, and that Willis financially benefited from her alleged lover’s padded taxpayer-funded salary by taking lavish vacations together on his dime. 

According to the court documents, Wade, who has no RICO and felony prosecution experience, billed taxpayers $654,000 since January 2022.  

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said Monday that "the particulars" of Wade’s experience will not be relevant in the evidentiary hearing, which began on Thursday, Feb. 15, adding, "in my mind as long as a lawyer has a heartbeat and a bar card that lawyer’s appointment standing alone is a matter within the District Attorney’s discretion."

McAfee said the issues "at point" here are "whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues. And that's only relevant because it's in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of their relationship." 

Willis responded to the allegations in a court filing and admitted to having a "personal" relationship with Wade but denied any conflict of interest. She told the Superior Court that while the allegations against her are "salacious," they have no "merit."

Fox News Digital's Brianna Herlihy contributed to this update.

ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images)

Four co-defendants in the sprawling case against former President Trump for alleged election interference filed motions earlier this year moving for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her team to be disqualified. 

Judge Scott McAfee said that "it's clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one." 

"The state has admitted a relationship existed. And so, what remains to be proven is the existence and extent of any financial benefit," the judge said to table-set Thursday and Friday's hearings.

Willis has admitted to having a "personal" relationship with Wade but has denied any conflict of interest. She also argued that according to Georgia law, in order for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest has to be harmful to a defendant's case. 

The defense team say they have two more witnesses to call up Friday. Judge McAfee indicated he would not rule from the bench after what is expected to be at least five hours of testimony. 

On Thursday, Willis' former friend and colleague at the district attorney’s office Robin Yeartie dropped a bombshell when testified that she had "no doubt" Willis and Wade had a "romantic" relationship starting in 2019, contradicting Willis’ prior statements to the court that their relationship began in 2022. Wade was hired in 2021. 

Nathan Wade, who took to the witness stand for hours on Thursday, revealed that he was battling cancer in 2020 and a portion of 2021, and told the court he wasn’t dating anyone in 2021. 

Defense lawyers Ashleigh Merchant, Craig Gillen, Steve Stadow, who led the bulk of the questioning Thursday are trying to prove the existence and extent of any financial benefit to Willis from Wade from their relationship, which is the crux of their argument that Willis should be disqualified. 

Much of Willis' testimony focused on vacations she took with Wade, including Caribbean cruises and visiting wine country California. 

Both testified that Wade would routinely paid for the trips and Willis would reimburse him with cash. When repeatedly pressed about whether any records existed for her withdrawals of the funds, she said she was accustomed and taught by her father to keep 6 months of regular expenses on hand in cash.

Wade admitted that he did not have deposit slips or receipts to support his claims that Willis reimbursed him with cash.