Judge Threatens to Throw Trump Co-Defendant Out of Fani Willis Hearing

A judge in Fulton County, Georgia threatened to remove one of former President Donald Trump's co-defendants from the courtroom on Thursday, during a hearing involving Fani Willis and attempts to have her disqualified from the former president's case.

"Mr. Shafer, you'll step out if you do that again," Judge Scott McAfee said during the hearing on Thursday.

McAfee's threat was toward David Shafer, the former chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, according to Kyle Cheney of Politico.

"Judge McAfee just threatene [sic] to kick Shafer out of the courtroom after he laughed when Wade said Willis paid him in cash for her portion of their travels," Cheney wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The Context

Thursday marked the start of a trial involving motions to have Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, disqualified from Trump's election interference case.

Trump and several other co-defendants have been accused of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Fulton County and violating the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case.

However, one of Trump's co-defendants, Michael Roman, previously filed a motion to have Willis disqualified from the case, alleging that she engaged in a private relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in her office.

What We Know

During the hearing on Thursday, Wade took the stand and was being questioned by Roman's attorney, Ashleigh Merchant. At one point, she asked Wade about travel expenses and how Willis paid for the costs.

Anna Bower of Lawfare explained on X that Wade told Merchant that Willis reimbursed him in cash.

"At this, David Shafer laughs out loud," Bower wrote. "Judge McAfee shuts him down, tells him he'll have to leave if keeps it up."

Newsweek reached out to Shafer's attorney via email for comment.

Views

In January, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained a motion filed by Willis responding to allegations in which she said: "If, however, media reports are any indication, [Joycelyn Wade] may intend to ask questions regarding the nature of any relationship with [Nathan Wade]."

"Because the parties agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken and the concept of fault is not at issue, there is no information that District Attorney Willis could provide that might prove relevant to granting or denying the divorce," the motion said.

In a post on X, former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman called the hearing on Thursday a "total mess."

What's next?

As the hearing continues, a judge could soon make a decision on whether to disqualify Willis from Trump's case.

Earlier this week, McAfee said that disqualification is "possible," and noted that Willis may be called to the stand to testify.

Update 2/15/24, 12:21 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.