At this point, it doesn’t really matter if Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis has benefited financially from her relationship with Nathan Wade, the outside prosecutor she hired to oversee the election interference racketeering case against former President Trump and 18 others, several of whom have already pleaded guilty.

After watching her testify for almost two hours on Thursday, I think she has made a convincing case that she did not do that. If anything, she spent more money on him than he spent on her.

But by entering into a romantic relationship with Wade (and believing she had no obligation to make it public), she handed her opponents on a golden platter an opening to question her integrity, an excuse to accuse her of conflict of interest, a back door. way to thwart the strong criminal

case

against Trump and his supporters, who took many months and years to build her office.

It’s mind-boggling. And so, so disappointing. Two mature adult officers of the court, experienced attorneys, couldn’t find it in themselves to put their romantic inclinations on hold while working on the most important case of their careers, and one of the most important criminal cases in American history? They should have known that any hint of impropriety would be exploited to undermine the case. You can’t go on a trip together to places like Belize and Aruba and expect to keep it a secret. Good Lord.

It is impossible to predict whether Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee will rule that Willis should be disqualified from the case.

would

but he absolutely did the right thing by having both sides televise the issue in real time.

The drama in his courtroom proved as compelling as any daytime soap opera.

Willis’ attorneys were in the middle of arguing that there was no compelling need for her to testify when she surprised everyone by walking into the courtroom looking for her close-up. She was wearing a bright pink dress and it would soon become clear that she had a mood to match.

“I was very curious about this conversation today,” she said. I ran to the courtroom. I’m not a hostile witness. I really want to be here.

Her testimony was fascinating, but also maddening. Oh, and she was quite hostile, although not in a legal sense. When she was not combative, she was folksy, personal and even philosophical. We learned that she prefers Gray Goose vodka to wine, spent a lot of money on Wade’s 50th birthday trip to Belize, and once went to Tennessee with him, although Tennessee is kind of hard to call a vacation. Willis refused to give yes-or-no answers to simple questions, receiving at least two admonitions from the judge. She emphasized that her answers had to be long and in context because she had to debunk so many lies.

She accused attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents one of the defendants in the election interference case and who first raised the conflict of interest issue, of repeatedly lying about the beginning of her relationship with Wade and falsely labeling the couple accused of cohabitation. and be treated to free trips.

Merchant has alleged that Willis hired Wade to help prosecute Trump because the accusers were in a romantic relationship, and she has accused Willis of benefiting financially because Wade paid for several vacations while they were lovers.

But both Wade and Willis confirmed that their romance began in early 2022, long after he was hired, and ended in the summer of 2023, right around the time Trump was indicted.

in Georgia.

To be more specific about when they called it quits, Willis offered a lesson in gender differences worthy of the classic Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus relationship.

He is a man; he would probably say June or July,” she said. “I would say we had a difficult conversation in August. Men end relationships at the end of physical intimacy; women end relationships when that difficult conversation happens.

What exactly was that difficult conversation about? No one asked, but Willis had every reason to explain. They ended their relationship, she said, because she was too independent for him.

We would have brutal fights about me being your equal, she said. I don’t need anything from a man; a man is not a plan, a man is a companion. There was always tension in our relationship, that’s why I would give him his money back. I don’t need anyone to pay my bills.

Does that sound like someone looking for a free trip to Aruba?

Once, she confirmed, Wade told her: The only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich. Uhm.

Willis doesn’t have receipts showing she paid Wade back, she said, because she always keeps plenty of cash on hand, sometimes as much as $15,000. Her father taught her that, she said. For example, if you go on a date, take $200 in cash with you in case things go south.

On Friday, her father, John Floyd III, supported her in court. Your Honor, he said, “I’m not trying to be racist, okay?” But it’s something black, okay? I’m educated, and most black people hide or keep cash.

One conversation between Willis and Trump attorney Steve Sadow

sticks

with me. It alleviated some kind of race or class divide.

Sadow seemed steeped in privilege when he floated the idea that she might have plenty of cash on hand.

Floyd testified that he taught his daughter that

Make sure you always have enough cash at home to cover six months of expenses.

And so, Willis said, she took $4,000 on Wade’s birthday trip to Belize in March 2023.

By

That,

she

reimbursed him $2,500 for their hotel, flights and food.

That $4,000 is part of your money supply that you’ve accumulated over time? Sadow asked.

Cash

What

? Willis said.

Hoard, he said,

but then he spelled it

hurdle.”

Oh, I thought you said something different, sir.

Her well-deserved offense

at that point

can’t hide the fact that she messed up here, or that the whole country is going to end up paying for her

unforgivable

wrong.

@robinkabcarian