Judge to Meet With Fani Willis Witness Behind Closed Doors

On Friday afternoon, Judge Scott McAfee agreed to meet with Terrance Bradley, a key witness in the hearing about whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from former President Donald Trump's election fraud case, behind closed doors amid questions about his attorney-client privilege with Nathan Wade.

The Context

Attorneys representing Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the election fraud case, are seeking to disqualify Willis from the case over her relationship with Wade, an attorney she brought on to the prosecution. They argued that the pair benefited financially from taxpayers' money, and Roman previously filed a motion to have her disqualified over the relationship.

Meanwhile, Willis admitted to having a personal relationship with Wade but denied any wrongdoing, arguing that their relationship is not grounds for her removal.

A Fulton County grand jury last year indicted Trump and 18 others on charges related to Willis' probe into alleged efforts to overturn election results in Georgia, a state he narrowly lost to President Joe Biden in 2020.

Willis' investigation focused on Trump's call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which the former president asked him to find enough votes to tilt the 2020 election in his favor, as well as an alleged plot to submit a false slate of pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges, accusing Willis of targeting him for political purposes.

What We Know

Bradley, Wade's business partner, took the stand to testify in the disqualification hearing Friday afternoon, but his testimony has sparked questions about what he can and cannot say during his testimony, as he believes answers to some questions are covered by attorney-client privilege. The questions specifically pertain to the timeline of the relationship.

Wade wrote in an affidavit last month that the relationship began in 2022, but Robin Bryant-Yeartie, a former friend of Willis and employee at the DA's office, testified Thursday that she believes the relationship began in 2019.

Ashleigh Merchant, who is representing Roman, has sought to question Bradley about the timeline. She cited communications with Bradley that she said would suggest he knew the relationship began earlier than 2022. However, Bradley has argued that providing those details would violate attorney-client privilege.

During his testimony, Trump attorney Steve Sadow argued that the conflicting testimonies suggest Wade may have committed "fraud upon the court." He invoked the crime-fraud exception, which says the usually absolute privilege cannot be invoked if a lawyer and their client are allegedly attempting to cover up or engage in a crime.

Attorneys representing the state, however, said this is merely conflicting evidence and does not show Wade committed perjury.

Ultimately, McAfee determined that the exception applies only when "by preponderance we found that communications made in the existence of a relationship or in furtherance of a crime" or that the client knew the attorney was being used to further a crime—and that this was not established by the defense.

He said he would meet with Bradley "ex parte in camera," which means he will provide testimony in a closed-door meeting to discuss communications. He noted that there is "some uncertainty" about whether everything Bradley knows about the relationship was learned through communications with Wade as his divorce attorney.

Views

Georgia State University College of Law professor Anthony Michael Kreis wrote in a post to X that he was "uncomfortable with the idea that an attorney-client privilege can be pierced by an assumption a former client committed perjury."

"I'm also rather uneasy with defense attorneys approaching the privilege so cavalierly, though I understand the need to zealously mount a defense," he added.

In a separate post, he noted that Bradley would have a "professional responsibility problem" if he provided that information to Merchant.

What's Next

Once the hearing concludes, McAfee will determine whether Willis will be removed from the case.

If she is, the case would not be dismissed. Instead, another district attorney or state Attorney General Christopher Carr, a Republican, could take over the prosecution.

Update 2/16/24, 3:19 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.