The lead prosecutor in the Georgia case against Donald Trump took the witness stand on Thursday and lashed out at those seeking to remove her from one of the most significant criminal cases in IU.S. history, reports Politico. It was an extraordinary sight: The top prosecutor in a case against a former president for efforts to subvert the 2020 presidential election was the one on the witness stand, parrying invasive questions about her personal life. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis grew increasingly combative with defense attorneys who accused her of having a conflict of interest stemming from her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired to help run the case. Attorneys for Trump and several other defendants say Willis improperly benefited from the case because Wade allegedly used income from his work on the case to pay for numerous vacations that he took with Willis to places like Aruba and Belize.
Her choice to testify was even more remarkable because Judge Scott McAfee may not have required it. As one of her deputies was objecting Thursday to her being forced to testify, Willis entered the courtroom and said she wanted to take the stand after all. Willis’ decision underscored the stakes of the fight: If McAfee removes her from the prosecution, her entire office would be disqualified, causing major disruption to the case if not derailing it altogether. Willis' testimony careened between indignantly defending her prosecution of Trump and many of his allies, accusing her adversaries of working “contrary to democracy,” and sharing deeply personal — sometimes unsolicited — details about her relationship history. The defense lawyers also said Wade misled McAfee and committed “fraud on the court” by denying in a sworn affidavit earlier this month that he was in a relationship with Willis prior to joining the investigative team.
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