- President Trump’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, submitted an analysis of prosecutor Nathan Wade’s cell phone, showing that he visited Willis’ apartment 35 times in the year before they were admitted to be dating, and that he visited Willis’ apartment 35 times in the year before their relationship was confirmed. It showed that there were 1,000 calls and emails.
- Mr. Trump and other co-defendants are asking Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to remove Mr. Willis as a prosecutor in the case because of his relationship with Mr. Wade.
- Willis and Wade each testified under oath that the romance lasted from spring 2022 to 2023, after he was hired as a contractor on the case, which is not grounds for disqualifying them.
Donald Trump’s lawyers presented evidence Friday that prosecutors in his election interference case in Georgia met with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis dozens of times before their admitted romantic relationship began. But it’s unclear whether that information will help prosecutors remove themselves from the case.
Mr. Wade was in the vicinity of Mr. Willis’ residence 35 times between April and November 2021, according to a filing by Mr. Trump’s lawyer Steve Sadow, based on cell phone data from special counsel Nathan Wade. It has been suggested that two of the incidents occurred late at night. Willis and Wade exchanged thousands of phone calls and text messages that year, according to the filing.
In a written response to the court late Friday, Willis’ team said Trump’s lawyers were trying to introduce inadmissible evidence and that even if a judge considered it, “call records would be “It doesn’t prove anything relevant at all.”
Wade’s personal attorney, Andrew Evans, could not be reached for comment on the disqualification issue.
Efforts to dismiss or at least delay Trump’s trial
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee is considering whether to disqualify Willis from the case because of his relationship with Wade. Firing the prosecutor could delay trials in the four criminal cases President Trump is facing until after the November election.
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McAfee has set closing arguments for a March 1 disqualification hearing.
Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University, told USA TODAY that the cellphone evidence is almost certainly not the smoking gun the defense claims. Cell phone data is often flawed, leading to false accusations and criminal charges, Kreis said.
“The question will be whether Judge McAfee wants to reopen the evidentiary hearing and allow all of that, or basically say that’s enough and say it’s inadmissible as evidence, but then respond accordingly. Do we want to consider that?” Kreis said.
Mr. Sadow offered to have a cell phone expert testify at the judge’s convenience.
President Trump and 14 remaining co-defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy to steal the 2020 election. Each claims innocence. The first four co-defendants have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors.
Willis and Wade each deny that their romantic relationship began before they hired him to prosecute Trump.
Willis and Wade each testified under oath during a hearing last week that their relationship began in the spring of 2022 and continued into the summer of 2023 after Willis was hired to work on the Trump case on November 1, 2021. Prosecutors each testified that Willis reimbursed Wade in cash for trips to Belize, Aruba and California.
But Mr. Trump and the other defendants argued that Mr. Willis hired a girlfriend and received travel benefits from government payments. Willis’ former friend and colleague in the district attorney’s office, Robin Yearty, who briefly rented an apartment to Willis, testified that the relationship began in 2019.
President Trump’s lawyer accuses prosecutor Wade of lying
Sadow and Merchant accused Wade of perjury and lying under oath about when his relationship with Willis began during a hearing last week. They have submitted cell phone data to strengthen their case and are also seeking access to texts belonging to Wade’s divorce lawyer, Terrence Bradley.
Willis and Wade knew each other professionally, but before their romantic relationship began, Willis testified that he occasionally visited her condo.
Mr. Kreis said Mr. Willis and Mr. Wade could face perjury charges because it is difficult to prove that someone intentionally lied and people often have difficulty remembering details such as meetings. said it is virtually non-existent.
“That will never happen,” Kreis said. “It’s hard to sue for perjury no matter what…I think people overestimate their ability to memorize and recall very mundane things.”
How did Trump’s team analyze Wade’s cell phone?
Mr. Sadow’s filing included an affidavit from Charles Mittelstadt, a private investigator who used a program called CellHawk to study Mr. Wade’s authorized cell phone data from AT&T. Mr. Mittelstadt, along with Mr. Sadow and Mr. Merchant, filed a subpoena against AT&T on February 9th seeking voice call history, text messages, and phone location data, and on February 15th filed a subpoena seeking the records. received.
Mittelstadt traced Wade’s cellphone to within 2,000 to 3,000 feet of Yearty’s apartment in Atlanta’s Hapeville neighborhood, where Willis was staying at the time.
“CellHawk is considered by law enforcement agencies to be the gold standard for cell phone records analysis,” Mittelstadt said in a statement.
What does Wade’s cell phone data show?
Mittelstadt said the analysis revealed Willis and Wade exchanged 2,000 voice calls and 12,000 text messages in the first 11 months of 2021.
Mittelstadt said they narrowed their search to April 1, 2021 and November 30, 2021, and found that Wade’s cell phone was found near where Willis was staying 35 times. That’s what it means.
One visit occurred between 10:45 p.m. on Sept. 11 and 3:28 a.m. on Sept. 12, Mittelstadt said. The other incident occurred between 12:43 a.m. and 4:55 a.m. on Nov. 29, Mittelstadt said.
Kreis, a Georgia State University law professor who attended both days of the hearing, said Wade admitted to being at Willis’ apartment about 10 times before he was hired. Larger numbers may be due to bad memory and are unlikely to make a significant difference to the judge.
Since Willis and Wade were friends and he was battling cancer, Kreis said that could provide another explanation as to why he was there other than that the two had a romantic relationship. Told.
If the cell phone records ultimately help prove that Wade and Willis were lying when their affair began, McAfee will consider disqualifying them when deciding whether to disqualify them. A far more important question to consider is when the two ended their relationship, Kreis said.
Willis and Wade have said their relationship ended before Trump was indicted in August 2023. It may be difficult for a judge to determine that the men were intentionally pursuing the lawsuit in order to gain financial benefit from their personal romantic relationships, Kreis said.
“It all depends on what the judge accepts as evidence and how much weight they give it,” Kreis told USA TODAY.
