Former President Donald Trump will not attend an evidentiary hearing to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Trump’s Georgia attorney, Steve Sadow, said Trump will not attend the hearing in Fulton County on Thursday.
“President Trump will be attending court in New York on Thursday,” Sadow said, according to Lawfare reporter Anna Bower, on Twitter/X.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee announced the evidentiary hearing will proceed as scheduled on Thursday, Feb. 15.
Willis had asked the judge to cancel the hearing and to rule on the matter in private.
However, Judge McAfee said there appeared to be enough evidence to disqualify Willis from the case.
“Because I think it’s possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations,” McAfee said on Monday.
On Tuesday, Feb. 13, Judge McAfee said the hearing will continue through Friday, Feb. 16.
If Willis is disqualified, another district attorney could take over the case.
In August 2023, Trump and other co-defendants were charged with interfering in the 2020 election in Georgia.
In a bombshell filing last month, Ashleigh Merchant, attorney for Michael Roman, alleged that Willis was involved in an “improper relationship” with her lead counsel Nathan Wade.
Merchant alleged that Willis paid Wade nearly $1 million in taxpayer funds. Part of that money was spent wooing Willis with luxury vacations and 2 cruises.
In her response on Feb. 1, Willis admitted she was involved in a “personal relationship” with Wade.
Thursday’s hearing will determine whether Willis benefited financially from that relationship.
Both Willis and Wade said in court documents that their relationship began after he was appointed special prosecutor in November 2021.
In a response to Willis’ filing, Merchant introduced a witness, Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner.
Bradley will testify Thursday under oath that Willis and Wade were romantically involved prior to his appointment as special prosecutor.
Bradley is expected to testify that Wade and Willis began dating before she even took office as the state’s top prosecutor.
In a separate case, Willis was served with a congressional subpoena after she refused to accept the subpoena via email.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent U.S. Marshals to Atlanta to personally serve Willis with a subpoena.
The subpoena ordered Willis to turn over financial documents related to the alleged misuse of $488,000 in federal grant money.
Rep. Jordan claims Willis fired a whistleblower who accused her of spending the grant money on computers, airline travel and “swag.”
The federal grant money was not earmarked for computers, travel, or swag.
The federal funds were intended to create a “Center of Youth Empowerment and Gang Prevention” in Atlanta.
However, Willis never created the youth center in Atlanta.
Listen to secret audio recording of a meeting between Willis and whistleblower Amanda Timpson.
