In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis spent months crafting a case against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants for racketeering. Now the case is hers to potentially lose: Final arguments in the disqualification hearing played out today centering on whether Willis improperly hired prosecutor Nathan Wade, who was also her boyfriend. Court adjourned late Friday afternoon with no ruling.
Judge Scott McAfee says he now has several legal issues and factual determinations to sort through. An initial ruling is expected within the next two weeks.
Attorneys for Trump and co-defendants said Willis and Wade had lied during testimony about when their relationship started. The attorneys told the judge keeping Willis on the high-profile case threatened to damage public confidence in the outcome.
Willis' office argued that the prosecution had failed to show evidence that she had received financial benefit from her relationship with Wade.
Key witness testifies on Trump prosecutor's affair with Fani Willis
Terrence Bradley, the former divorce attorney of Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, testified about Wade's romance with Fani Willis.
The closing arguments cap days of soap-opera-like proceedings, a detour from the original prosecution that accuses Trump of attempting to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
If Willis is disqualified, a nonpartisan panel in Georgia would be charged with appointing a new prosecuting attorney to the case, who could choose to either continue or drop it.
