A Fulton County judge last Friday announced that the evidentiary hearing into District Attorney Fani Willis’ alleged misconduct had concluded for the time being but attorneys would likely have to return to court in the coming weeks to discuss any outstanding questions that were not cleared up during the 2-day hearing, CNN reported.
The hearing was to address a motion submitted in January by co-defendant Michael Roman who alleged an improper relationship between Willis and the special prosecutor in the Fulton County election interference case Nathan Wade.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Thursday, February 15 to determine if the allegations established a conflict of interest that could disqualify Willis from prosecuting the case.
At a separate hearing on February 12, Judge McAfee said Willis could be disqualified from prosecuting the case if the hearing demonstrated either an “actual conflict or the appearance of one.”
The first day of the hearing took a dramatic turn when Willis arrived at the courtroom following Nathan Wade’s testimony and demanded to take the stand.
Throughout her combative testimony, Willis pushed back on the allegations made by Roman’s attorney Ashleigh Merchant, even accusing her of filing motions full of “lies.” At times, the exchanges between Willis and Merchant grew so contentious that Judge McAfee had to call for a break to cool things down.
Both Willis and Wade admitted to taking trips together that were paid for on Wade’s business credit card but both claimed that Willis later reimbursed Wade in cash.
When asked whether she had any record of the cash payments, Willis said she didn’t, explaining that she reimbursed Wade with cash she kept around the house.
In one angry exchange, Willis accused Merchant of poking into the personal lives of others and reminded her that it wasn’t she but the people who tried to “steal an election” who were on trial.
At the close of the hearing, the judge told prosecutors and defense attorneys that they could submit additional filings in the matter if needed.
