Texts Show Witness Readily Helped Build Case to Disqualify Trump Prosecutors

A key witness in the effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from leading the election interference case against former President Donald Trump provided far less supportive testimony than expected.

Text messages showed that the witness, attorney Terrence Bradley, had been actively assisting the defense for months by supplying inside information regarding the romantic relationship between the prosecutor, Fani Willis, and a staff member she employed, Nathan Wade.

In contrast to Wade’s evasive remarks in court, Bradley implied that the relationship started before his hiring.

Defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant said, “I am nervous.”

“This is huge,” she said.

Bradley said, “You are huge. You will be fine.”

Merchant said to Bradley, “Do you think it started before she hired him?”

“Absolutely,” said Bradley.

Merchant said, “I protected you completely. I kept you out of it.”

Bradley said, “You are my friend and I trust you.”

The defense argued this amounted to an improper conflict of interest, as Wade had profited from work on the case.

Steven Sadow, a lawyer for Trump, said, “Why would you speculate and say that in a text?”

“I don’t recall why I thought that it started at that time,” Bradley replied.

The case has been embroiled in an extraordinary process examining the prosecutors’ conduct.

Willis will learn in the next two weeks whether a judge will disqualify her from the Trump-Georgia election interference case.

Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee announced this after hearing closing arguments from several lawyers involved in the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and others.

Willis has been accused of having an affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which lawyers contend created a conflict of interest and could compromise one of the four criminal cases against Trump.

While Willis’ office argues that there is no proof of any financial or professional impropriety resulting from their connection, critics claim that the relationship erodes public confidence in the prosecution.

Several attorneys and law experts believe that Willis could be in as much legal trouble as Trump and his remaining co-defendants in the RICO case she brought against them regarding the 2020 election.

The experts believe that sworn testimony she gave to a court regarding the start date of her relationship with a special prosecutor she hired to assist with the case, Nathan Hale, could result in perjury charges.

Willis testified under oath last month that she and Wade only started dating following Trump’s indictment, a claim the former president’s attorneys claim they can refute with phone records.

Also, a couple of witnesses have said that Willis and Wade began seeing each other romantically much sooner.

Several legal experts expressed concerns about Willis’ testimony.

Willis, a Democrat, may face charges of perjury from Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr, according to Eric Anderson, an attorney at Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae in Los Angeles, California.

“Given the political climate, I would not be completely surprised if the attorney general, a Republican, acts. Attorney General Carr has shown a willingness to take on elected officials in criminal proceedings before,” Anderson said.

“When it comes to politics, anything is possible. Unless the alleged perjury is about a fact material to the matter at hand, perjury charges are not likely for a regular witness,” Anderson added.

One law professor at Syracuse University in New York, Greg Germain, also told Newsweek that there may be charges of perjury against the district attorney.

“Willis could certainly be charged with perjury if a prosecutor can prove that Willis knowingly lied under oath. The matter would have to be referred to a prosecutor, presumably from another DA office or state or federal prosecutor, to bring the charges. It is not common for people to be charged with perjury for lying under oath about a personal relationship, but it certainly has happened in high-profile cases like Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski. So yes, a perjury prosecution is possible,” Germain said.

Noted constitutional law expert and Georgetown University Law School Prof. Jonathan Turley delivered some bad news to Willis last week as well, following a rowdy court session in which she may have perjured herself.

“The astonishing thing about this is that you have two prosecutors who stand accused of filing false statements in court,” Turley said during a Fox News segment. “Mr. Wade is accused of answering interrogatories falsely. And Willis is accused of making false statements in her filings. That’s what they’re prosecuting defendants in the case for.”

“My question is, will he refer these two to the bar? There are allegations of false statements being filed. Their testimony did not help in that respect. And so will [Judge Scott McAfee] say, ‘Look, I’m going to suggest that one or both of you remove yourselves or maybe even order it, but I am also going to ask the bar to look into these allegations’?”