WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Georgia prosecutor overseeing the election interference case against Donald Trump will not take the stand on Friday in a hearing exploring whether her romantic relationship with another prosecutor posed a conflict of interest, her office said.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was expected to testify for a second day, after forcefully rebuking defense lawyers on Thursday for delving into her personal life in what she called an attempt to derail the prosecution.
A lawyer for Willis’ office said on Friday that she did not plan to question the district attorney, ending her testimony.
Other witnesses, including a onetime lawyer for Willis’ colleague and former romantic partner Nathan Wade, were expected to take the stand.
Trump and several of his co-defendants in the election interference case are seeking to disqualify Willis and dismiss the criminal charges, arguing that Willis’ romance with Wade, a special prosecutor assigned to the case, posed a conflict of interest.
The accusations could upend the criminal case accusing Trump and several of his political allies of illegal attempts to overturn Trump’s loss in Georgia in 2020. Trump and the remaining 14 co-defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, has long claimed that the four criminal cases against him are part an effort to damage his campaign. He has argued that the allegations against Willis and Wade have discredited the prosecution.
Trump and his co-defendants have suggested Willis improperly received perks from the relationship, including three Caribbean vacations booked by Wade while he was under contract with Willis’ office to work on the election interference probe.
Willis cast herself as an independent professional who reimbursed Wade in cash for flights and hotels and paid for at least one of the trips herself.
“I don’t need anybody to foot my bills,” Willis testified.
Her testimony came on the first day of a two-day hearing in Atlanta focused on whether Trump and his co-defendants can prove the relationship resulted in an improper financial benefit. If the judge, Scott McAfee, were to disqualify Willis from pursing the prosecution, it would likely cause substantial delays while the case is transferred to a different prosecutor’s office.
Defense lawyers attempted to raise questions on Thursday about the cash payments, suggesting there is no record that Willis reimbursed the travel, and about the timing of the relationship. A former friend and employee of Willis testified that Willis and Wade began dating shortly after meeting in 2019.
Willis and Wade, who also took the stand on Thursday, both testified that the relationship became romantic in early 2022, after Wade was hired to work on the case.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Scott Malone, Deepa Babington and Jonathan Oatis)
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