Fani Willis Not Taking Stand For Second Round Of Questioning After Prior Day’s Testimony Went Off The Rails

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will not testify again Friday after her first day of testimony went off the rails.

Anna Cross, representing the Fulton County District Attorney’s office, opted not to call Fani Willis to testify Friday as planned, saying she has no further questions. Willis took a combative stance Thursday on the witness stand towards questions from defense attorneys, erupting into an outburst at one point that caused Judge Scott McAfee to call for a break.

“So let’s be clear ’cause you lied in this … let me tell you which one you lied in … Right here. I think you lied right here,” Willis said as an attorney questioned her about whether Wade had visited her home.

Prior to Willis’ Thursday testimony, special prosecutor Nathan Wade explained that he did not have receipts showing Willis reimbursed him for vacation expenses because she paid him in cash. Willis later said she “always” keeps cash at the house, noting her father taught her that as a woman, she should always have “at least 6 months in cash” at home at all times.

She said she did not withdraw the cash from the ATM, explaining it came from various places.

“When I took out a large amount of money on my first campaign, I kept some of the cash of that,” she said at one point.

When Harry MacDougald, co-defendant Jeffrey Clark’s attorney, asked Willis why she did not disclose any gifts from Wade on her financial disclosure form, she explained that he never gave her a gift exceeding one hundred dollars.

“I never thought about the money until y’all brought it up,” Willis said. “I didn’t take gifts from him for a lot of personal reasons.”

Willis at times also brought up personal details about her relationship with Wade. Explaining her reason for ending the romantic relationship with Wade in 2023, she said that Wade told her “the only thing a woman can do for him is make a sandwich.”

A key witness testified early in the hearing that Willis’ relationship with Wade began in 2019, contrary to their claim that it began in 2022.

“And you understand it that their relationship began in 2019 and extended until the last time you spoke?” Trump co-defendant Michael Roman’s attorney Ashleigh Merchant asked.

“Yes,” Robin Yeartie, a long-time friend of Willis who formerly worked in the district attorney’s office, said.

Both Willis and Wade reaffirmed during their testimony that the relationship began after Wade’s contract started.

Merchant indicated Friday that she plans to call Wade’s former law partner, Terrence Bradley, back to the stand next to testify again today.