Witness says relationship between DA Fani Willis and Nathan Wade started years earlier
A former friend of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testified Thursday that Willis’ romantic relationship with a special prosecutor started years before Willis hired him to lead the election interference case against Donald Trump.
Robin Bryant-Yeartie, a friend since college and former Fulton County District Attorney’s Office employee, said that Willis began a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade in 2019 shortly after they met at a judicial conference.
Wade, who took the stand after Bryant-Yeartie, said the relationship with Willis started in March 2022, after he had been hired in November 2021.
The conflicting testimony during a contentious legal hearing Thursday comes as Judge Scott McAfee looks to determine if Willis should be removed from the case.
In August 2023, a Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former state Republican Party Chair David Shafer, on charges they tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Bryant-Yeartie testified that she had a falling out with Willis when she resigned from the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.
Judge Scott McAfee has yet to decide if Willis can continue on the case. The hearing is expected to resume Thursday afternoon and could go into Friday.
The morning hearing was tense, filled with objections from multiple lawyers representing the different parties.
