Fani Willis not returning to the stand as expected
Willis will not be returning to the stand to provide additional testimony, which was expected Friday morning. The DA’s office said it has no further questions.
Court is in session
The court hearing has begun.
Trump suggests without evidence that Fani Willis lied on the stand
The former president, in a series of posts on his Truth Social account, suggested without evidence that Fani Willis lied on the stand when she said she repaid Nathan Wade for trips they took together.
“Fani never paid cash. She got free trips and other things from her lover, with the exorbitant amounts of money she authorized to be paid to him. A giant scam. Witch hunt!!!” he wrote in all caps last night.
Willis testified that she paid Wade back for trips in cash.
Trump also claimed that legal experts think Willis should be disqualified.
“It was a FAKE CASE from the start, and now everybody sees it for what it is, a MAJOR LEAGUE SCANDAL!” he wrote. “The legal pundits, experts, and scholars are all screaming that this Witch Hunt, which has hurt so many fine people and patriots, should be immediately terminated and permanently erased from everyone’s memory. The stench of what has happened should shame Georgia no longer. It should get back to GREATNESS, and FAST!!!”
Who showed up at court to hear yesterday’s testimony
One notable thing about yesterday’s hearing how packed the courtroom was — including a group of community members who had come to support Willis.
Among them was former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin (the city’s first female mayor) who had also served as a co-chair of Willis’s transition team.
Also present was Charlie Bailey, the former Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, for whom Willis threw a fundraiser that ultimately got her disqualified from prosecuting Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who served as a fake elector in the state in 2020 and was running in the same race as Bailey.
Several members of the clergy also came to support Willis. One who returned this morning for the second day of her testimony said he and several other ministers met with Willis yesterday morning to encourage and pray with her.
Willis told them at that meeting that she wanted to testify and was hoping she would be called, he said, describing her as “excited” to testify.
This morning, a line of mostly reporters started forming before 7 a.m. to enter the courthouse. As of 8 a.m., there appear to be more than two dozen people waiting.
Willis took the stand to deny misconduct allegations made against her in the Trump Georgia election interference case. NBC News’ Danny Cevallos explores whether Willis’ testimony was effective and if she stayed consistent with special prosecutor Nathan Wade’s testimony.
Fani Willis misconduct hearing resumes in Trump Georgia election case
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is set to resume her bombshell testimony Friday in a hearing that threatens to derail the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump.
The district attorney’s office is expected to call at least three new witnesses to the stand, including Willis’ father, while seeking to quash a push for her airline records. A dispute over who paid for trips Willis took with the lead prosecutor in the case against Trump is at the center of the allegations against her.
An attorney for one of Trump’s co-defendants said Willis’ Delta Air Lines records may reflect previously undisclosed trips by Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade amid claims that Willis personally benefited from their relationship. The attorneys face misconduct allegations that could lead to Willis’ removal from the case.
Willis dropped her bid to avoid testifying in a surprise turn Thursday, taking the stand after a former friend disputed the timeline of her relationship with Wade. Willis acknowledged this month that she had a personal relationship with Wade but denied that it was improper.
