Fani Willis just had a bad day in court

• Cobb County Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson ruled Monday that the divorce proceedings of Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor in the case against former President Donald Trump, who is allegedly the romantic partner of District Attorney Fani Willis , they should be untaped.
• Thompson ultimately did not rule on whether Willis should testify, but ignored his argument that doing so would obstruct the case against former President Donald Trump.
• “She's trying to hide under the shield of her position,” Andrea Hastings, Joycelyn Wade's attorney, said during Tuesday's hearing.

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson on Monday unsealed the divorce case for Fani Willis' alleged lover, Nathan Wade, whom he named special prosecutor in the case against former President Donald Trump.

Thompson ruled the case should be dismissed, but postponed a decision on whether Willis will have to testify, temporarily blocking the deposition. scheduled for Tuesday but leaving open the possibility for a later date. During Monday's hearing, Thompson blocked attorneys from discussing Willis. claim that forcing her to testify would interfere with “an ongoing criminal proceeding,” which he raised in his bid to quash the subpoena issued by the attorney for Nathan Wade's wife, Joycelyn Wade.

Trump's co-accused Michael Roman previously accused Willis in a movement of awarding her alleged lover, Wade, a “lucrative” contract to work on the case against Trump, alleging that he benefited from it when he took her on trips and cruises with the money he earned from his position . Bank statements contained in a presentation on Friday revealed that Wade purchased tickets to San Francisco and Miami on behalf of Willis. He also made two payments of $1,387 and $1,284 for the Royal Caribbean cruise on the same day he bought the plane tickets to Miami.

“She's not looking for protection,” Andrea Hastings, Joycelyn Wade's attorney, said during Tuesday's hearing. “He's looking to ban our ability to access the facts.”

“She's trying to hide under the shield of her position,” Hastings continued. “Whatever his job is has nothing to do with whether or not he should sit for this statement.”

The judge stopped Hastings from going any further when he began to address Willis' claim that pursuing the subpoena would be “obstructing justice.”

“That's why I told Mr. Axam [Willis’ attorney] to get away from that,” the judge said. “I don't want to hear that today.”

Thompson found she still could not determine whether Willis has “unique personal knowledge” that would require her to testify.

“Only after hearing what Mr. Wade has to say do I think I can make a determination,” he said, noting there is a hearing in nine days where testimony can be presented.

Thompson, however, granted a motion to dismiss the filings in the case. The case, archived the day after Wade's contract with the district attorney's office began, it has been sealed since February 2022.

“I believe that the previous order, although it was by consent of the parties, was not properly entered,” Thompson said, noting that no hearing was held on the matter.

EXCLUSIVE: Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis on Friday asked prosecutor Fani Willis to release information related to her potential “misuse” of county funds, according to a letter obtained by the @DailyCallerNews Foundation.https://t.co/QTpAi4hksc

— Katelynn Richardson (@katesrichardson) January 19, 2024

A number of media outlets made an earlier motion to unseal the file, seconds in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Wade had received nearly $654,000 from the Fulton County District Attorney's Office since 2022, per county data.

Willis falsely he stated in remarks last week at Big Bethel AME Church, in which he did not deny the allegations, that he paid the three special prosecutors the same hourly rate.

Willis awarded a higher-paying contract to his alleged lover, paying Wade at $250 an hour while paying John Floyd, the attorney known as the state's top extortion expert, just $200 'time in May 2023, according to billing. statements i contracts obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Willis' motion to disqualify, filed by Roman, will be considered by Judge Scott McAffee at a hearing on February 15.

The district attorney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Katelynn Richardson's latest posts (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.