Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis demanded to take the stand Thursday afternoon during her hearing in regards to a possible disqualification from a case over alleged financial benefits gained from a romantic relationship with a fellow law partner.
Willis, who is leading an investigation into former President Donald Trump on allegations over election interference, appointed attorney Nathan Wade as special prosecutor in 2021.
Reports of Willis’s and Wade’s relationship surfaced early January after a court motion was filed by former Trump campaign official Michael Roman detailing the allegations that the Fulton County DA benefited from the relationship after she had appointed Wade.
Upon joining the stand, Willis appeared to be visibly annoyed in a video posted to X. The Fulton County DA could be seen standing with her hand on her hip next to a desk tossing a piece of paper while waiting to be called to the witness stand.
Willis was asked an array of questions regarding the financial payments and vacations with Wade, however, shortly after taking the stand Willis stated that she had been surprised that the “hearing continued” and claimed that Roman’s lawyer was “dishonest.”
“Right, I listened to the argument this morning where Adam Abbate, I thought, did an excellent job pointing out how dishonest you were with the court on Monday and I’m actually surprised that the hearing continued, but since it did, here I am,” Willis stated.
“First let’s just talk about what you did in preparation for today. Did you meet with Mr. Wade at all once the motion was filed? Did you meet with Mr. Wade and talk to him about the motion that I filed to disqualify you?” Roman’s lawyer questioned.
“This first January motion?” Willis questioned.
“Yes,” Roman’s lawyer stated.
“I don’t know if you could say ‘talked about.’ I probably had some choice words about some of the things that you said that were dishonest within this motion. So I don’t know [if] it was a conversation. As you know, Mr. Wade is a southern gentleman. Me? Not so much,” Willis stated.
Willis later continued to reveal that she had paid Wade in cash for trips, noting that she never went to the ATM to get the money. Willis doubled down on having cash at all times within her house, stating that on her “best days” she kept up to $15,000.
“So let’s talk about both of those, I know he [Wade] initially paid for it – did you pay him back?” Roman’s lawyer questioned.
“For the cruise and for aruba, yea I gave him his money before we ever went on that trip,” Willis stated.
“You gave him cash before you ever went on that trip?” Roman’s lawyer pressed.
Willis audibly confirmed the lawyer’s question, leading her to continue to press where Willis obtained the cas from.
“Okay, so when you got cash to pay him back on these trips would you go to the ATM?” Roman’s lawyer questioned.
“No lady,” Willis stated.
Willis later notably erupted in rage which led to presiding Judge Scott McAfee to call for a five-minute break. The Fulton County DA had been pressed about allegations of Wade visiting her house before she burst into anger.
“So let’s be clear ’cause you lied in this … let me tell you which one you lied in … Right here. I think you lied right here,” Willis stated as she began holding up court documents.
Attorneys off camera could be heard asking the judge to step in, prompting Willis to cut them off and state that it was the “truth.”
“No, no, no, this is the truth,” Willis continued. “It is a lie! It is a lie!”
McAfee then shortly intervened after slamming his gavel to announce that the hearing would be taking a quick break as Willis could be seen tossing the filings back onto the stand.