Fani Willis and Nathan Wade paid for a wine-tasting session in 2023 using cash, according to a new witness. Stan Brody, who works at Acumen Wines, told CNN that he hosted Willis and a man he later learned was special prosecutor Wade at a two-hour wine tasting in early 2023. Brody said that Willis paid with cash for two bottles of wine, each valued at roughly $150, and for the $50 tasting.
Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, gave evidence in a two-day hearing following accusations by former Trump staffer and co-defendant Michael Roman that she was having an affair with Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the high-profile case. The former president pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges against him and has said the case is politically motivated because he is the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination.
During the hearing, the pair were questioned about the lack of receipts they had to show money changing hands. However, Wade testified that Willis paid cash for excursions on at least one vacation and paid him back for plane flights and other travel. “She paid for the excursions so the expenses sort of balanced out,” Wade said.
Following the hearing, a series of legal analysts said they did not think Willis would be disqualified from the case. Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney under the Barack Obama administration and MSNBC legal analyst, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: “Fani Willis made a terrible decision to date Nathan Wade, and that may bring ethics issues for her, but her testimony dispelled any kickback scheme that would disqualify her. Nothing about this affects the fair trial rights of Trump and co-defendants.” Georgia lawyer Doug Weinstein wrote that he was disappointed in Willis in an X post on Sunday.
Judge Scott McAfee is expected to make a decision about Willis in the coming weeks.
