Judge in Trump Georgia case says DA Fani Willis' alleged 'improper' affair 'could result in disqualification'

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judge-in-trump-georgia-case-says-da-fani-
willis-alleged-improper-affair-could-result-in-disqualification

A Georgia state judge on Monday confirmed that he will hold an evidentiary
hearing on Thursday over allegations that embattled District Attorney Fani
Willis engaged in an "improper" affair.

Willis was accused of having an "improper" affair with special prosecutor
Nathan Wade, whom she hired to help prosecute former President Donald
Trump in a sweeping racketeering case related to the 2020 election. Those
allegations were first made by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, who is
arguing that Willis’ alleged conduct should disqualify her and her team
from the case.

Willis, who admitted to a personal relationship with Wade but denied any
conflict of interest, asked the court to cancel the evidentiary hearing
slated for later this week.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said in a hearing Monday
considering those motions, "in studying the law that's been filed up to
this point, I think it's clear that disqualification can occur if evidence
is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one. And
the filing submitted on this issue so far have presented a conflict in the
evidence that can't be resolved as a matter of law."

FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ADMITS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PROSECUTOR
BUT DENIES CONFLICT OF INTEREST

"Specifically looking at defendant Roman’s motion, it alleges a personal
relationship that resulted in a financial benefit to the district
attorney. And that is no longer a matter of complete speculation. 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.

"So, because I think it's possible that the facts alleged by the defendant
could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must
occur to establish the record on those core allegations," he said.

In legal filings last month, 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.

Judge McAfee said Monday that "the particulars" of Wade’s experience will
not be relevant in the evidentiary hearing, which will take place 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 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.

FANI WILLIS WHO 'RELISHED IN' DONALD TRUMP PROSECUTION SHOULD BE REMOVED
FROM CASE FOR ILLICIT AFFAIR: EXPERTS

Willis told the Superior Court that while the allegations against her are
"salacious," they have no "merit."

Willis claims that while she and Wade "have been professional associates
and friends since 2019," there was "no personal relationship" between her
and Wade in November 2021 at the time of Wade’s appointment, and that
Roman and his lawyers "offer no support for their insistence that the
exercise of any prosecutorial discretion (i.e., any charging decision or
plea recommendation) in this case was impacted by any personal
relationship."

Willis' filing said Roman's motions "attempt to cobble together entirely
unremarkable circumstances of Special Prosecutor Wade’s appointment with
completely irrelevant allegations about his personal family life into a
manufactured conflict of interest on the part of the District Attorney."

Judge McAfee determined that Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner,
will testify first on Thursday and that his testimony will determine
whether others will be required to testify.

The state has also revealed that DA Willis’ father will be testifying on
Thursday, remotely from California.

The court has set aside all day Thursday and Friday for this hearing, and
potentially more time if needed.


--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.

No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.