Well, that was a throughly confusing day at the courthouse. Does anyone else understand what happened yesterday? People we thought were “our witnesses” (i.e, Bradley) got torched by the DA. The “Defense” witnesses proved Fani’s case.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution said this:
As she mapped out her strategy to disqualify Fani Willis from prosecuting Fulton County’s sweeping election interference case, defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant referred repeatedly to a witness whose testimony would prove the district attorney’s office wasn’t truthful.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee even referred to him as Merchant’s “star witness.”
But on Friday, Terrence Bradley took the stand and offered little to help. First, special prosecutor Nathan Wade’s former law partner was hours late to the hearing, leaving a roomful of prosecutors, attorneys and journalists waiting as he wrapped up a doctors appointment.
Then Bradley twisted as defense attorneys tried for upwards of an hour to get him to describe what he saw between Willis and Wade, a friend who he once represented in his divorce case. Bradley contended repeatedly that attorney-client privilege severely limited what he could say on the witness stand.
At the end of the eight-hour hearing came a bombshell allegation of sexual assault that put his credibility on the line. McAfee’s assessment of Bradly’s credibility – and his knowledge of the Willis-Wade relationship – may yet influence the judge’s decision on whether to disqualify the DA.
After two days of emotional, combative and detailed testimony, the evidentiary hearing over whether Willis committed misconduct wrapped up Friday.
But the fate of one of the most important criminal prosecutions in the country – the racketeering case involving former President Donald Trump – remains unclear.
Unlike some others on Daily Kos, I am assuming the DA’s office counsel knows what they are doing. But, I don’t understand why they blew up Bradley (when his testimony was supporting their case). Does any legal eagle have a theory on what the DA’s office was trying to do (assuming they were not desperate and were competent). I think this is a valid assumption as I concur with what the AJC said about the state of the charge:
Defense attorneys seeking to disqualify Willis and Wade from the case spent Thursday and Friday exploring their romantic relationship and probing alleged financial incentives for the couple to prosecute the case. Their efforts uncovered some testimony that contradicted Willis and Wade’s version of events. But they did not conclusively show that the prosecutors had misled the court about their relationship or that they undertook the case to enrich themselves.
I think based on the subject of the hearing, should Willis be disqualified under conflict of interest rules, the defense did not demonstrate they violated these rules.
I know many are focused on the timeline and if Yeartie and Bradley’s texts show that that Willis and Wade lied on their affidavit and were dating prior to when they said they started doing so but I don’t think that’s clear and also do not understand how this would necessarily disqualify Willis from prosecuting this case. I guess they could be charged with a separate effort for falsifying information but how is this germane to the decision at hand? I also don’t think the Judge has hard evidence to determine the “start” of the romantic relationship and Willis has admitted they were good friends. I think the timeline — given the lack of hard evidence proving they falsified (the defense mainly created doubt) — is a red herring. I also don’t think the value of the trips — given that Willis said she reimbursed Wade for them — is relevant either. Willis claim of doing so in cash is not disprovable. Additionally, Roy Barnes testimony — after he was called to the stand by the Defense (?) — was very damaging to the defense’s claims. He, someone who was not dating Willis, was offered the job before Wade. This makes the claim of her using the case to enrich herself moot.
One thing is clear is that the Fulton County legal world is a small, dysfunctional and toxic place where everyone knows each other and is very ready to stab their fellow members of the bar in the back. The fact that Merchant was texting Bradley as a “friend” and then used these texts as an attorney was something else. And, the fact that Merchant was so shaken by Willis testimony — given her decision to represent these a-holes — was also head scratching. As was the fact that Wade and Bradley were former law partners who now clearly hate each other. And, Yeartie’s clear betrayal (and Fani’s decision to rent Yeartie’s condo!).
But, anyway, the main thing is that I don’t understand Judge Scott McAfee motivations and options here — legally and politically. Does anyone with local knowledge have a take on this guy? Based on his actions to date, allowing this “evidentiary” hearing to take place and constantly allowing the “Defense” to allege problematic behavior regarding Willis, I am suspicious of his motivations.
I also want to point out the way he organized the hearing — allowing five (?) “defense” attorneys to go first and examine the “witnesses” — was highly in favor of the Trump group (and helped them maximize the damage on Willis). He could have easily required that the defense cooperate and limit the time to interview as a group (especially given that Merchant was essentially leading) but essentially gave the DA 1/6 of the time on camera in the courtroom. He’s now announced he needs a week or two to consider the findings of the hearing (and then will not rule but hear summary arguments). Why? Maybe he’s planning on doing some intensive legal research which only seems needed if he wants to find a way to disqualify.
My only hope is that this guy — McAfee — has to run for this office again in Fulton county and clearly the same voters who elected Fani Willis are not going to be happy about how he organized this show trial and allowed her to be accused that she should be disqualified for being a DA while being black, especially if he kicks her off the case. Of course, he might be playing for a bigger, better job elsewhere in GOP circles (this is a guy appointed by Kemp who was the Vice President of the Federalist Society at the UGA law school). But, hopefully, he wants to be re-elected.
One final note per McAfee. I heard Isikoff and Klaidman, the authors of the recent book on Fani Willis, at a book reading a few weeks ago. They shared that it is common knowledge among reporters that Republicans (and their families) who don’t cooperate with Trump are threatened. I know many think this couldn’t happen with a judge but these are not people who play by the rules. I would bet that it is very possible that Judge McAfee is under great pressure to delay or kill this case.
In the end, I am still rooting for Fani. Isikoff and Klaidman said that she is a legal phenom (someone who always, always gets her man and wins) and that the case she has constructed against Trump is devastating. So, if the judge doesn’t disqualify Fani, I’d recommend reading the book and getting excited about this case. Otherwise, don’t because you’ll be too depressed like me (with the recent turn of events).
P.S. For those saying “why did Fani do this, why did she hire Wade?” The reason is that she was desperate. She was turned down twice before Wade. No one would take the job — because what it offered was low pay and lots of threats. Isikoff just posted the relevant page from his book on this on his twitter (see below).