A star defense witness in the Fanis Willis case has admitted he was accused of sexual assault by a law firm colleague, contradicting his previous evidence and leaving the judge ‘wondering’ about earlier testimony he provided on the DA’s affair.
Terrence Bradley, a former law partner of Nathan Wade and who represented the Trump prosecutor during his divorce, admitted on Friday afternoon that he resigned from the firm largely because of the allegations made by his co-worker.
The confession opened questions about Bradley’s credibility and his knowledge of the romantic relationship between the Georgia DA and Wade, whom Willis hired in the election interference case against Donald Trump.
Bradley testified earlier that the reason he left the firm was related to Wade’s divorce proceedings and refused to answer what he knew about the relationship between Willis and Wade citing attorney-client privilege.
Willis, who acknowledged a ‘personal relationship’ with Wade, could be disqualified from the case against Trump and co-defendants if Judge Scott McAfee determines there’s a conflict of interest.
Terrence Bradley, a star witness on District Attorney Fani Willis’ case admitted he was accused of sexually assault by a law firm colleague, which contradicted his previous evidence and left Judge Scott McAfee ‘wondering’ about his previous testimony
Bradley, former law partner of Wade’s, admitted on Friday afternoon that he left the firm largely because an employee accused him of sexual assault
The confession opened questions about Bradley’s credibility and his knowledge of the romantic relationship between the Georgia DA(left) and special prosecutor Nathan Wade(right), whom Willis hired in the election interference case against Donald Trump
Bradley had previously served as Wade’s divorce lawyer and asserted the attorney-client privilege limited what he could say in court.
‘Mr. Bradley previously testified that the reason he left the firm was totally and completely covered by privilege. When asked by the state, he went into a factual scenario that, to my mind, I don’t see how it relates to privilege at all,’ the judge said.
‘And so now I’m left wondering if Mr. Bradley has been properly interpreting privilege this entire time,’ the judge added.
If Judge McAfee decides there is a conflict of interest or the appearance of one, he could ‘disqualify’ Willis and the entire Fulton County DA’s office from the case.
The move could force it to get reassigned to a neighboring county, where prosecutors may take a different view of the racketeering conspiracy charges that Willis’ office obtained through a grand jury indictment for Trump and codefendants.
Bradley denied the sexual assault allegations, but indirectly admitted in Friday’s hearing that he paid the employee who accused him, as reported by FOX news.
After an hour of debate on the attorney client privilege, Judge McAfee adjourned the hearing and said he will hold an in-camera meeting with Bradley to discuss his testimony. But the details of the meeting will be kept under seal.
The judge said he will schedule a summation hearing as early as next Friday but did not specify the exact timing.
Willis, who acknowledged a ‘personal relationship’ with Wade, could be disqualified from the case against Trump and co-defendants if Judge McAfee determines there’s a conflict of interests
‘Mr. Bradley previously testified that the reason he left the firm was totally and completely covered by privilege. When asked by the state, he went into a factual scenario that, to my mind, I don’t see how it relates to privilege at all,’ Judge McAfee said
Lawyer Ashleigh Merchant read Bradley from text exchanges between him and Wade pertaining to the relationship.
‘Thinking back to the source of your knowledge. You know that their romantic relationship began from when they were both serving as municipal court judges,’ Merchant asked him.
Merchant argued that even if he learned the information from his client, it should be allowed into evidence due to a ‘crime, fraud exception.’
‘A lawyer should not allow his client to create a fraud upon the court,’ said Trump lawyer Steven Sadow, referencing Wade’s own testimony which could conflict with his lawyer’s.
But the judge ordered the exception shouldn’t apply, since the texts weren’t made in furtherance of any crime.
Bradley’s bombshell testimony comes after John Floyd III, the father of Willis, delivered his own dramatic testimony a day after his daughter tore into defense lawyers on the stand.
The bearded, bespectacled Floyd said he hadn’t known Willis and Wade were dating, and only met him after Wade got hired to join her team of prosecutors.
He moved in with Willis in 2019, when he did know something about her romantic life as while living in her Atlanta area home.
‘She had a boyfriend when I first got there’ who would appear every day or every other day.
‘He was a disk jockey or something,’ said Floyd, himself a former lawyer who practiced in Washington, DC and says he tried to retire in South Africa.
Attorney Ashleigh Merchant argued that even if he learned the information from his client, it should be allowed into evidence due to a ‘crime, fraud exception’
Merchant read Bradley from text exchanges between him and Wade pertaining to the relationship
Lawyers for Willis surprisingly announced they would not call her back to take the stand Friday following testimony about her ‘physical’ relationship with a member of her prosecution staff, in the latest dose of courtroom drama.
The move came hours after the state had said in court that it planned to bring the DA back for more questioning, after she unexpectedly stormed into the courtroom Thursday to tell her side of the story during an evidentiary hearing.
That led to a series of stunning disclosures in court about her ‘physical’ relationship with one of her top prosecutors in the Donald Trump case and revelations about storing thousands in cash at her home.
‘Actually, your honor, the state has no further questions for Ms. Willis,’ Fulton County Special prosecutor Anna Cross, who is representing the DA in the matter, said in court Friday.
The comment came as defense lawyers expecting a second appearance, with one saying moments before that those gathered were still ‘in the middle of Miss Willis’ and her testimony and the judge asking, ‘if we could bring back in Ms. Willis.’
One disappointed viewer was Trump himself, who had briefly been expected to attend court Thursday but instead opted to travel to New York for an unrelated court appearance in the Stormy Daniels criminal case.
‘Does anybody really believe that Fani Willis paid cash to her ‘lover’ whenever they took expensive ‘trips’ together. Really? Where did she get the CASH? Pretty weak questioning yesterday!!! I guess they don’t want to insult her,’
He posted on his Truth Social site: ‘No way she can explain any of this corruption away!!!’
The decision by the prosecution not to bring her back for more friendly questioning suggests she accomplished some of what she needed to Thursday even while fending off questions about her finances and romantic life.
It also prevents a roomful of defense lawyers from getting another crack at her on the witness stand, where they would try to poke holes into stories about her romance, office practices, credit card statements, and cash reimbursements.
‘Pretty weak questioning yesterday!!! I guess they don’t want to insult her,’ former President Donald Trump posted in response to the decision not to call Willis, although his own lawyer did some of the questioning Thursday
Thursday featured a string of fireworks inside Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s courtroom.
At one point he called a five-minute break after Willis’ angry attacks on lawyer Ashleigh Merchant, who exposed the affair in a legal filing that accused Willis and Wade of an inappropriate relationship and sought their disqualification.
She furiously denied a conflict or getting a financial benefit from luxury trips she took with Wade. Like Wade, she testified that she paid him back for her share in cash, and that they took turns with some entertainment expenses.
‘I don’t need anybody to foot my bills. The only man who’s ever foot my bills completely is my daddy,’ she said at one point.
‘I’m not on trial,’ she fumed at one point.
She only alluded to her anger while discussing Merchant’s motion to remove her from the case and whether she had spoken to Wade about it.
‘I don’t know that it was a conversation. As you know, Mr. Wade is a Southern gentleman. Me, not so much,’ she told Merchant, who represents alleged Trump coconspirator Michael Roman, while on the stand.
‘It’s a lie. It’s a lie,’ she fumed when contesting the ‘offensive’ suggestion she hooked up with Wade immediately after a 2019 judicial conference where she said she was introduced to him by a fellow judge.
She also rejected the idea that she was in a sexual relationship with him in 2020 or 2021, invoking his battle with cancer in 2020.