Trump’s lawyers accused of ‘speculation, gossip and innuendo’ attacking Fani Willis during high-stakes hearing

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Lawyers for Donald Trump and his co-defendants in Georgia’s massive election interference case use salacious rumors and gossip to “embarrass and harass” prosecutors overseeing the case against them. , is accused of relying on innuendo.

Friday in a series of high-stakes hearings to determine whether Fani Willis should be barred from criminal prosecution of the former president and his allies who plotted to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. The final argument has concluded.

The decision hinges on allegations that the Fulton County district attorney benefited financially from a previous relationship with a prosecutor he hired to lead the case against the former president.

Lawyers for the former president and his co-defendants say Willis improperly benefited from a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade when he hired him on the case and made him pay for vacations they took together. claims to have obtained.

Willis and Wade have admitted to dating, but have repeatedly testified that they began dating after Wade was hired, split the cost of transportation, and ended their relationship last summer before the indictment.

If lawyers can substantiate these allegations and prove that the former couple was involved before Willis hired Wade, Willis’ entire firm would be at risk of being disqualified and the lawsuit against Trump would be at risk. may be at risk.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said he expects an answer within the next two weeks.

Lawyers representing the district attorney say the case is based on an attempt by the defense to publicly “denigrate” and smear the prosecutor as political payback, and that testimony and documents submitted to the court include There is no evidence whatsoever that the prosecutor benefited financially.” ”

Attorney Adam Abate, who delivered closing arguments for prosecutors in Atlanta on Friday, said the evidence showed the “true cost” of being district attorney.

She has to rent an apartment and pay for a “safe home” in addition to the mortgage on the house she was forced to vacate due to intimidation, while she is harassed by racist and sexist They had to endure repeated attacks and isolation from family and friends. Abate said what she called “cruel statements” and “falsehoods” spread in the media to undermine her case against her and Trump.

“If Ms. Willis’ motive for prosecuting this case, as alleged, is to continue to profit financially from the prosecution of this case, why is Ms. Willis asking this court to set a trial date as soon as possible?” Are we going to repeatedly ask them to set it up?” he said. “They’re not lining up. That doesn’t make any sense.”

During three days of hearings over the past two weeks, Judge McAfee said that while the defense’s “star” witnesses were not available to testify, he also heard testimony from the district attorney himself and Mr. Wade and her father. We heard intimate details about Mr. Willis’ personal life. Squeeze out revealing details about them.

It remains unclear whether any of that testimony convinced the judge that the relationship constituted a conflict of interest and that her office should be removed from the case.

“If this court allows this type of conduct…the public’s trust will be lost,” Roman’s attorney John Merchant argued Friday.

“Frankly, we didn’t really care if they had a personal relationship outside of work. That’s not what we’re talking about here,” he said.

The defendants claim the ex-couple began dating in 2019, but Willis and Wade’s testimony and affidavits show they began dating two years after Willis was hired and then dated before the indictment. The relationship is said to have ended.

“She gave him a contract and public money from Fulton County or the state of Georgia ended up in his pocket,” Merchant said. “He and she then used the money to go on personal vacations and trips.”

He has also previously argued that the criterion for disqualifying “personal interest” is a “self-explanatory” judgment.

“Frankly, I was trying to figure this out and I think you’ll understand it when you see it,” he said. “I think there are enough facts in front of us that we can see right away. I think this governing principle will help clarify some of the facts here.”

Trump’s lawyer in the case, Steve Sadow, said the judge could decide that Willis and Wade lied on the stand and that Wade’s former law partner, Terrence Bradley, He claimed he had told “obvious lies” when he “did everything.” He may be able to avoid answering questions about the timeline of their relationship.

Trump was indicted along with more than a dozen co-defendants, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, as part of a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. ing. – Dubbed a “fake elector” scheme to falsely claim victory in the state, pressure election officials and state officials, and steal voting information from machines in other counties in the state.

Four of the original co-defendants in the Fulton County case have reached plea deals with prosecutors, including Trump’s attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell.

Harry McDougall, a lawyer for former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, argued Friday that the district attorney’s office did “nothing to correct the obviously perjured testimony” of Willis and Wade.

“The reason they lied and covered up is to avoid the situation they’re in,” he said.

He also argued that the conduct of Mr. Willis’ office during these hearings was disqualifying and that a pattern of “cover-up and cover-up” continued.

“Now they’re bringing their entire office into this enterprise,” he said.

“Prosecutors don’t act like that. Attorneys don’t act like that,” defense attorney Craig Gillen told the judge. “These people have to go.”

Abate, the only attorney from the district attorney’s office to make a closing statement, rejected a defense motion to disqualify Willis, saying the lawyers for Trump and his co-defendants did not meet the court’s expectations. , urged the judge to throw out the lawsuit. that the disqualification criteria and prosecution were politically motivated;

He argued that if Mr. Willis really wanted to appear politically biased, he would have indicted all 39 people instead of the 19 the grand jury recommended for indictment.

“Prosecutors are necessarily partisans in this case,” he argued.

If prosecutors were held to the same standards of impartiality as judges, “there would never be criminal prosecutions because the state always appears biased,” he said.

After three hours of arguments, Judge McAfee gave no indication of what decision we would make on this issue.

““There are some legal issues that need to be sorted out and some factual judgments that I have to make,” he said. “And those are not things that I can make at this time. So I’m going to take my time and give this lawsuit due consideration. I’ll respond to you all within the next two weeks. I hope we can.”