Judge Scott McAfee has agreed to meet with Terrance Bradley, a key witness in the hearing, about whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from former President Donald Trump’s election fraud case. The case involves allegations that Willis’ relationship with Nathan Wade, an attorney she brought to the prosecution, benefited financially from taxpayers’ money. Willis admitted to having a personal relationship with Wade but denied any wrongdoing, arguing that their relationship is not grounds for her removal.
A Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others on charges related to Willis’ probe into alleged efforts to overturn election results in Georgia. Willis’ investigation focused on Trump’s call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which the former president asked him to find enough votes to tilt the 2020 election in his favor, as well as an alleged plot to submit a false slate of pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College. Trump attorney Steve Sadow argued that the conflicting testimonies suggest Wade may have committed “fraud upon the court.”
McAfee determined that the exception applies only when “by preponderance we found that communications were made in the existence of a relationship or in furtherance of a crime” or that the client knew the attorney was being used to further a crime—and that this was not established by the defense. He said he would meet with Bradley “ex parte in camera,” meaning he would provide testimony in a closed-door meeting to discuss communications.
Once the hearing concludes, McAfee will determine whether Willis will be removed from the case. If she is, the case would not be dismissed; instead, another district attorney or state Attorney General Christopher Carr, a Republican, could take over the prosecution.
