District Attorney Fani Willis will not take the stand again on Friday morning after facing three hours of intense questioning about her ‘improper romantic relationship’ with Donald Trump prosecutor Nathan Wade during Thursday’s session.
Despite initially planning to resume her testimony at 9 a.m. on Friday, Willis’s legal team informed Judge Scott McAfee that they would not subject her to further interrogation.
This development caught Ashleigh Merchant, representing former Trump campaign director Mike Roman, off guard as she prepared for her next witness, Terrence Bradley. However, Bradley’s appearance was delayed due to a medical appointment.
Mike Roman, who worked for the Trump 2020 campaign as director of election day operations was among the 19 people charged in Fulton County with interfering in the 2020 presidential election.
Meanwhile, both legal teams will engage in discussions regarding Bradley’s testimony. As Wade’s former law partner and previous divorce attorney, there is a debate over whether Bradley should be compelled to address questions he avoided on Thursday, citing attorney-client privilege.
Bradley, anticipated as the primary witness for Merchant, had a brief appearance on the witness stand Thursday, starting the hearing with less impact than anticipated.
Terrence Bradley, a former law partner of Nathan Wade and a one-time divorce attorney, Bradley may have have had access to information or insight about Wades personal life, including his relationship with Fani Willis
When Merchant began questioning him about the initiation of Wade and Willis’ relationship, Bradley declined to answer any inquiries concerning Wade, citing his prior representation of Wade in his ongoing and contentious divorce.
However, McAfee expressed doubt regarding Bradley’s ability to invoke attorney-client privilege to evade all questioning.
Last month, Merchant initiated a significant inquiry into the relationship between Willis and Wade, aiming to remove Willis from the case and dismiss the criminal election fraud charges against Roman.
Following Roman’s motion to disqualify Willis, both the former president and several other co-defendants have supported the motion.
Willis and Wade acknowledged their romantic involvement earlier this month but maintained that it commenced in 2022, after Willis appointed Wade to the special prosecutor role in November 2021.
Separately testifying on Thursday, both individuals affirmed that they parted ways during the summer of 2023.
During her testimony, Willis engaged in contentious exchanges, accusing Merchant of dishonesty and advising the lawyer against being “cute” with her.
At a certain juncture, Willis became visibly upset, exclaiming, “It is a lie! It is a lie!” This outburst led McAfee to promptly call for a five-minute recess and caution the prosecutor against interruptions, emphasizing that her responses might be struck from the record if such behavior persisted.