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ATLANTA — An lawyer for one in every of former President Donald Trump’s co-defendants in Georgia desires the decide presiding over a misconduct motion towards the Fulton County district lawyer to listen to testimony from a brand new witness about when DA Fani Willis started her romantic relationship with the particular prosecutor within the election interference case.
In a courtroom submitting Monday, attorneys for Trump co-defendant David Shafer mentioned the potential witness, a co-chief deputy district lawyer with the Cobb County DA’s workplace, had spoken with them about conversations she’d had with Terrence Bradley, the previous regulation companion of and divorce lawyer for the particular prosecutor, Nathan Wade.
In line with the submitting, Cindi Yeager knowledgeable the attorneys that Bradley had advised her the connection between Willis and Wade started earlier than November 2021, when Wade was employed as a particular prosecutor within the Trump case.
The submitting doesn’t embody a sworn affidavit from Yeager about her conversations with Bradley, and there’s no indication she has any private data of Willis and Wade’s relationship.
It isn’t clear what influence, if any, the submitting can have on efforts to disqualify Willis from prosecuting the election interference case. Fulton County Superior Courtroom Choose Scott McAfee held evidentiary hearings over a number of days final month, at which either side known as witnesses to testify. He has to date rebuffed requests from the DA’s workplace and the protection to reopen the proof within the case.
Yeager was by no means subpoenaed or known as to the stand throughout final month’s hearings.
Trump and several other of his co-defendants argue that Willis has financially benefited from hiring Wade as particular prosecutor. They’re asking McAfee to take away her from the prosecution.
Willis and Wade have acknowledged a private relationship, however they testified that it didn’t start till 2022 — after Wade started engaged on the case.
In Monday’s submitting, Shafer attorneys Craig Gillen and Holly Pierson mentioned that if the decide reopens proof pertaining to the misconduct allegation, their shopper would supply testimony from Yeager about her conversations with Bradley from final August to January.
Yeager, Shafer mentioned, would testify that Bradley advised her that Willis and Wade “had definitively begun a romantic relationship” by the point that “Ms. Willis was working for District Legal professional in 2019 by means of 2020” and that Bradley “had private data of the connection.”
Bradley testified final week he had no such data.
In line with the submitting, Yeager would additionally testify that on one event when Bradley was in her workplace, Willis known as him “in response to an article that was printed about how a lot cash Mr. Wade and his regulation companions had been paid on this case. Ms. Yeager heard District Legal professional Willis inform Mr. Bradley: ‘They’re coming after us. You don’t want to speak to them about something about us.’”
A spokesperson for Willis’ workplace declined to touch upon the brand new submitting. Willis and Wade have denied any wrongdoing, and Adam Abbate of the DA’s workplace known as the misconduct allegations towards Willis an try “to impugn her repute.”
McAfee mentioned on the conclusion of Friday’s arguments over the allegations that he expects to subject a ruling within the subsequent two weeks.
If Willis is eliminated due to the misconduct allegations, her whole office would be disqualified, as properly. In such a state of affairs, there’s a chance that the election interference case might find yourself in Cobb County.
Blayne Alexander reported from Atlanta and Dareh Gregorian from New York.
