Lawyer in Trump case denies romance presents a conflict of interest

A lawyer prosecuting Donald Trump for allegedly trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia has denied claims that his romance with the prosecutor overseeing the case presented a financial conflict of interest.

Trump and some of his 14 co-defendants argue Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the prosecution due to her relationship with lawyer Nathan Wade.

The pair went on trips together – with Mr Wade booking them while he was being paid by Ms Willis’ office.

Ms Willis has taken the witness stand on Thursday to testify about the accusations, hours after Mr Wade also gave evidence.

If Ms Willis were to be disqualified, it could lead to a new district attorney being appointed who could either proceed with the charges against Trump and his co-defendants or drop the case altogether.

Since the allegations of an inappropriate relationship surfaced, Trump has used them to try to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Ms Willis’ case against him.

Other Republicans have called for an investigation into the district attorney, a Democrat who’s up for re-election this year.

‘She demanded to pay her own way’

Mr Wade has testified that he booked trips with Ms Willis to California, Belize and Aruba while working for her office.

However, he maintains Ms Willis either reimbursed him in cash or covered other expenses.

“She was very emphatic and adamant about this independent, strong woman thing so she demanded that she paid her own way,” Mr Wade said.

Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney representing Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, has described the relationship as a conflict of interest that should disqualify Ms Willis – and her entire office – from the case.

Ms Merchant claims Ms Willis personally profited from the relationship, paying Mr Wade more than $650,000 (£516,000) for his work and then benefiting when he used his earnings to pay for the trips they went on together.

Friend’s evidence questions when relationship started

Meanwhile, Robin Yeartie, a former friend and employee of Ms Willis, contradicted the timeline of the relationship the lawyer and the district attorney have presented to the court.

Mr Yeartie testified that Mr Wade and Ms Willis began dating shortly after they met in 2019 and before the lawyer was contracted to lead the Trump case.

Mr Wade testified on Thursday that the relationship began in early 2022.

The hearing, which will continue on Friday, will determine whether Ms Willis’ office should be disqualified from prosecuting the election case.

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Claims dismissed as ‘fantastical speculation’

The district attorney’s office has blasted the disqualification effort as a publicity stunt based on “fantastical theories and rank speculation”.

In a court filing earlier this month, Ms Willis’ office insisted that she has no financial or personal conflict of interest and that there are no grounds to dismiss the case or to remove her from the prosecution.

The Georgia case is one of four criminal prosecutions that Trump is facing as he closes in on securing the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November election.

Trump has long presented the Georgia prosecution, and others he faces, as politically motivated attempts to prevent him from returning to power.

He has highlighted the claims against Ms Willis as evidence of perceived misconduct by those pursuing him.

Trump was in New York on Thursday where a judge scheduled a trial on charges related to hush-money payments to a porn star to start on 25 March.

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