A Georgia prosecutor who is suing Donald Trump and accusing him of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election made an impassioned and sometimes indignant defense Thursday against any conflict of interest related to his personal life.
Fani Willis accused the former president's lawyers of spreading “lies” aimed at discrediting her.
“It's extremely hurtful,” she said as she was forced to unpack some of her private life in court, with the proceedings also being televised.
This hearing took place before a judge called by Donald Trump, who is demanding the dismissal of the charges against him in Georgia and confirming that Prosecutor Willis is guilty of professional misconduct in connection with an intimate affair.
Judge Scott McAfee must decide whether or not the relationship between the prosecutor and the veteran investigator she recruited, Nathan Wade, constitutes a conflict of interest.
For Mr. Trump and his co-defendants, who are accused of unlawful acts in this southern state to overturn the 2020 election results, the case is clear: Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade had an “inappropriate intimate personal relationship.”
In their argument submitted to the court, they claim that the sum of $650,000 paid to Mr Wade for his work enabled him to offer Ms Willis a “luxurious holiday”, including a cruise in the Caribbean.
For her part, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation admitted a romantic relationship with the lawyer she hired, but denied any professional misconduct.
Mr. Trump's request is therefore “meritless,” Fani Willis assessed in a court document, ensuring that she did not have an intimate relationship with Nathan Wade when she recruited him in November 2021.
The latter assured during the hearing that he began this relationship with Fani Willis in 2022, claiming that he had not derived any personal financial benefit from his role as special prosecutor.
But Robin Bryant Yeartie, a former friend and colleague of the prosecutor who also testified on Thursday, said Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade began a “romantic personal relationship” in late 2019.
To which Fani Willis replied: “She betrayed our friendship.”
Coming into the spotlight, the prosecutor still wanted to remedy the situation by calling her opponents by name.
“These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020,” she said. “I won’t be judged, no matter how hard you tried to judge me!”
Judge McAfee has scheduled another day of arguments in court.
Donald Trump, the favorite in the Republican primary for the November presidential election, has pleaded not guilty in the Georgia case.
Since the end of his mandate in 2021, there have been several trials against the former business mogul.
As part of another trial involving the alleged purchase of a porn actress's silence, he went to a New York court on Thursday, where the judge told him he would appear in court starting March 25, the first trial must be history for a former President of the United States.