Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)
Both Willis and Wade insisted that their relationship started in 2022, after Wade was hired. However, that claim conflicted with some witness testimony during the two-day evidentiary hearing last month.
Bradley, when pressed under oath, said he could not recall several details and timelines about conversations he had with former client Wade about Wade's romantic relationship with Willis.
Merchant at one point referenced text messages between her and Bradley in which she had asked Bradley if he thought the relationship started before Willis hired Wade in 2021. Bradley responded "absolutely" in the text exchange.
Robin Yeartie, a former employee at the Fulton County District Attorneys office, on screen, is sworn in at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (Alyssa Pointer)
She testified to observing Willis and Wade "hugging" and "kissing" and showing "affection" prior to November 2021 and that she had no doubt that the two were in a "romantic" relationship starting in 2019 and lasting until she and Willis last spoke in 2022.
Willis dismissed Yeartie’s testimony and said she no longer considers Yeartie a friend.
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Judge McAfee in his order Friday said that "while the testimony of Robin Yearti raised doubts about the State’s assertions, it ultimately lacked context and detail."
"[N]either side was able to conclusively establish by a preponderance of the evidence when the relationship evolved into a romantic one," he added.
Still, the judge said that "an odor of mendacity remains," and added that "reasonable questions about whether the District Attorney and her hand-selected lead SADA [special assistant district attorney] testified untruthfully about the timing of their relationship further underpin the finding of an appearance of impropriety and the need to make proportional efforts to cure it."
Brianna Herlihy is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/georgia-judge-tosses-key-witness-testimony-against-fani-willis-citing-inconsistencies-court-order