ATLANTA (AP) — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump indicated Friday that he would rule within the next two weeks on whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case over a romantic relationship with a top prosecutor.
After several days of extraordinary testimony, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee heard arguments over whether Willis’ relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade amounts to a conflict of interest that should force them off one of four criminal criminal cases against the former president.
Attorneys for Trump and some of his co-defendants accused Willis and Wade of lying on the witness stand about when their relationship began, and told McAfee that keeping the district attorney on the case threatens to undermine the public’s confidence in the hugely consequential prosecution.
“Think of the message that would be sent if they were not disqualified,” said Harry MacDougald, who represents former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark in the election case. “If this is tolerated, we will get more of it. This office is a global laughingstock because of their conduct.”
Willis’ office, meanwhile, said the lawyers have failed to provide evidence that the district attorney benefited financially from the relationship with Wade, which the pair say ended last summer. Adam Abbate, a prosecutor with the DA’s office, accused the attorneys of pushing “speculation and conjecture” and trying to embarrass Willis with questions on the witness stand that Abbate said had nothing to do with the conflict of interest question.
“It’s a desperate attempt to remove a prosecutor from a case for absolutely no reason, your honor, other than harassment and embarrassment,” he said.
McAfee said at the end of the hearing that there are “several legal issues to sort through, several factual determinations that I have to make,” adding that…
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