DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Trump DA Fani Willis' credibility has been shot over messy testimony — but perjury charges are very unlikely: legal experts
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

DA Fani Willis' credibility has been damaged following a misconduct hearing, legal experts said. Willis' 'credibility is shot'Legal experts have long said that the hearing, and the relationship between Willis and Wade, doesn't look good for Willis. Rahmani said the distraction of it all is enough that Willis should recuse herself from the Trump case. On trips they took together, Willis and Wade testified that Willis paid Wade back for her portion in cash. Ms. Yeager heard District Attorney Willis tell Mr. Bradley: 'They are coming after us.

Persons: Fani Willis, Willis, Donald Trump, —, Trump, Wade, it's, Rahmani, Ashleigh Merchant, Trump codefendant Mike Roman, Nathan Wade, Wade —, Daysha Young, Andrew Evans, Alex Slitz, doesn't, Sarah Krissoff, Cozen O'Connor, Krissoff, Scott McAfee, McAfee, Terrence Bradley, Merchant, Bradley, Manny Arora, Cindi Lee Yeager, Cobb County , Georgia —, Trump codefendant David Shafer, Yeager, John Bazemore, Elijah Nouvelage, Mr, Trump codefendant Cathleen Latham, Arora —, Kenneth Chesebro, Arora, Adam Abbate, Abbate Organizations: Service, Fulton, West, Trial, Trump codefendant, Trump, codefendants, Merchant, Wade, Business, USA, Network, Reuters, District Attorney, AP, Washington Post Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, California, Atlanta, Manhattan, Fulton, Cobb County , Georgia

☆ Attorney accusing Fani Willis of wrongdoing testifies before Georgia state Senate panel
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Nick Valencia | Jason Morris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A Georgia state Senate committee investigating allegations of wrongdoing by the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis heard more than three hours of testimony from defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant that largely went unchallenged by the mostly Republican committee and offered little to no new information about the claims. Merchant is representing one of Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the sprawling 2020 Georgia election interference racketeering case and is seeking to have Willis, a Democrat, removed from the case, possibly endangering the entire prosecution. Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert, chairman of the committee, told CNN that endgame of the panel is, “to determine whether there has been improper behavior. They’re going hear the evidence…and I’m sure both sides will actually do their role in that particular situation,” Jones said. The panel can amend Georgia law or create new legislation but lacks the power to directly sanction Willis.

Persons: CNN —, Fani Willis, Ashleigh Merchant, Merchant, Donald Trump’s, Willis, Sen, Bill Cowsert, “, it’s, ” Cowsert, Democratic Sen, Jason Esteves, ” Esteves, Harold Jones, ” Jones, Wade, Jones, ” “, he’s, ”, CNN’s Jade Gordon, Shirin Faqiri, Olivia Laborde Organizations: CNN, Republican, Democratic, Merchant, Trump Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, guardrails

☆ Lawyers Offer New Witness in Effort to Disqualify Trump Prosecutors in Georgia
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Defense lawyers in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald J. Trump say they want to put someone on the stand whose testimony could back up their assertion that Terrence Bradley, a witness in their effort to disqualify the prosecutors running the case, gave misleading testimony. The new information comes from Cindi Lee Yeager, a deputy district attorney in neighboring Cobb County, Ga., whom the defense lawyers said they spoke to on Friday about conversations she has had with Mr. Bradley. At issue is a key matter in the disqualification effort: the timing of the romantic relationship that developed between Fani T. Willis, who as the Fulton County district attorney is leading the prosecution of Mr. Trump, and Nathan Wade, the Atlanta-area lawyer she hired to manage the case. Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade have said that a romance developed between them after she hired him in November 2021. But the defense lawyers have tried to prove the romantic relationship started earlier.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Terrence Bradley, Cindi Lee Yeager, Bradley, Willis, Nathan Wade, Mr, Wade Locations: Georgia, Cobb County ,, Fulton County, Atlanta

☆ Live updates: Trump classified documents hearing, Fani Willis case closing arguments
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Special Counsel Jack Smith and attorneys for Trump proposed moving the trial later into the summer in court filings Thursday. Smith said he believes that Trump and his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliviera, should go to trial on July 8, 2024. For Friday’s hearing in the documents case, scheduled for 10 a.m. Hearing over efforts to disqualify Fani Willis: Defense attorneys in Fulton County will deliver their closing arguments as to why Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be dismissed from the election interference case against Trump and his alleged co-conspirators. Attorneys for Trump and his allies are expected to argue that Wade and Willis lied under oath about when their relationship started.

Persons: Donald Trump, Aileen Cannon, Joe Biden’s, Jack Smith, Trump, Smith, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliviera, Cannon, —, Fani Willis, Scott McAfee, Willis, Nathan Wade, Wade Organizations: Trump —, Trump Locations: Fulton County

In Florida, meanwhile, a federal judge could push back Trump’s trial date in the classified documents case. Special Counsel Jack Smith and attorneys for Trump proposed moving the trial later into the summer in court filings Thursday. For Friday’s hearing in the documents case, scheduled for 10 a.m. Smith has highlighted a myriad of threats made against individuals connected to the documents case, including witnesses, government employees, an FBI agent involved in the initial Mar-a-Lago search and two federal judges, including Cannon herself. Attorneys for Trump and his allies are expected to argue that Wade and Willis lied under oath about when their relationship started.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Fani Willis, Aileen Cannon, Joe Biden’s, Jack Smith, Smith, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliviera, De Oliviera’s, Cannon, —, Biden, – Nauta, De Oliveira, –, Willis, Scott McAfee, Nathan Wade, Wade, McAfee, Charles Mittelstadt, Terrence Bradley, Bradley, Ashleigh Merchant, Merchant Organizations: CNN, Trump —, White, National Security Council, Prosecutors, Trump Locations: Georgia, Florida, Fulton County, California, Belize, Caribbean

In Florida, Trump’s attorneys told Judge Aileen Cannon his Mar-a-Lago classified documents case should wait until after the 2024 election. But both hearings could have a significant impact on when – or whether – Trump will face trial in each of those two cases. The only case that appears set: Trump’s New York criminal trial will begin March 25, which Trump’s attorneys said was a “firm” date in court Friday. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis attends a hearing on the Georgia election interference case on Friday in Atlanta. When Trump’s attorneys argued for the hearing, Cannon pushed them to describe how they could narrow its scope and asked them to lay out specifically what a hearing would examine.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Aileen Cannon, Scott McAfee, Fani Willis, Nathan Wade, – Trump, Jack Smith’s, Willis, Wade, McAfee, Craig Gillen, Alex Slitz, “ We’ve, ”, Gillen, David Shafer, “, ” Gillen, Cannon, Jack Smith, –, Todd Blanche, ” Blanche, Jay Bratt, ” Bratt, ” Cannon, Trump, David Harbach, Biden, Harbach, Emil Bove, ” McAfee, Terrence Bradley, Donald Trump, Steve Sadow, Bradley –, What’s, they’ve, They’ve, Sadow, Bradley, ” Sadow Organizations: CNN, Trump, Fulton, Georgia Republican, “ Prosecutors, ”, Justice Department, Prosecutors, Biden White, FBI Locations: Florida, Georgia, Fulton County, Washington, York, Atlanta

☆ Prosecution of Trump in Georgia Hangs in Balance at Hearing
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The presiding judge, Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court, is not likely to rule on the matter on Friday. Details of her personal life have been spilled out in the Atlanta courthouse where she had hoped to put Mr. Trump and 14 co-defendants on trial as soon as this summer. The stakes are high: If Ms. Willis is disqualified from the case, her entire office would be, too, and the case would probably be turned over to a district attorney from another jurisdiction. The new prosecutor could choose to continue the case as planned, modify the charges or drop them. Disqualification would reduce the chances that a trial would begin before the November presidential election, in which Mr. Trump is expected to be the Republican nominee.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Willis, Scott McAfee, Rather Organizations: Fulton County Superior Court, Republican Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta

☆ Texts Show Witness Readily Helped Build a Case to Disqualify Trump Prosecutors
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Terrence Bradley, an Atlanta-area lawyer, had been billed as the star witness in the effort to disqualify Fani T. Willis, the district attorney leading the election interference case against former President Donald J. Trump in Georgia. But when Mr. Bradley took the stand this week — and twice earlier this month — he was a deeply reluctant witness. His testimony did little to resolve a question at the heart of the defense’s attempt to show that Ms. Willis had an untenable conflict of interest: Whether the romantic relationship between Ms. Willis and Nathan Wade, the lawyer she hired to help run the Trump case, began before or after he joined her staff. But hundreds of text messages obtained by The New York Times show that Mr. Bradley, a former law partner and friend of Mr. Wade, helped a defense lawyer to expose the relationship between the two prosecutors. The texts reveal that Mr. Bradley, who served for a time as Mr. Wade’s divorce lawyer until the two men had a bitter falling-out, assisted the effort to reveal the romance and provide details about it for at least four months — countering the impression he left on the witness stand that he had known next to nothing about the romance.

Persons: Terrence Bradley, Fani, Willis, Donald J, Trump, Bradley, Nathan Wade, Mr, Wade, Wade’s Organizations: Trump, The New York Times Locations: Atlanta, Georgia

☆ A countdown timer for the threatened release of Trump court documents disappeared from hacker website before it ticked down to zero
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The ransom countdown timer for Fulton County disappeared from a hacking group's website. The hacking group, LockBit 3.0, had a timer set for 8:49 a.m. It posted a new countdown timer for the Fulton County documents initially set for March 2. Before the raid, the group said, they had been in negotiations over a ransom for the Fulton County documents. AdvertisementThe timer for Fulton County had previously disappeared from LockBit 3.0's site ahead of the February 20 raid.

Persons: Trump, —, Donald Trump's, Georgia —, LockBit, Biden, Fani, It's, Brian Krebs, Dan Schiappa, Schiappa, George Chidi Organizations: Fulton, Service, FBI, Justice, Trump, Republican, Department of Justice, Fulton County, Atlanta Journal, Business Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Mexico, Fulton, Atlanta

☆ Special counsel wants to know if potential jurors in classified documents case believe 2020 election was stolen
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Tierney Sneed | Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Prosecutors and defense attorneys submitted a list of questions for potential jurors for the judge overseeing the case to review. The proposed jury questionnaire form gives insight into how each side in the case is approaching voir dire, or the process of questioning potential jurors, for the historic trial. The special counsel also opposes a question proposed by the defense seeking negative views potential jurors have of politicians. The documents case is one of four criminal prosecutions the former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner is facing. Meanwhile, the Georgia election interference case against Trump and several other defendants brought has been tied up by ethics allegations against District Attorney Fani Willis.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jack Smith’s, Trump, He’s, Walt Nauta, Carlos De Oliveira, There’s, Smith, Attorney Fani Willis Organizations: Washington CNN —, Justice Department, FBI, Prosecutors, Manhattan District Attorney, Trump, Attorney Locations: Lago, Washington ,, Georgia

The text messages raise questions about Bradley’s credibility, and the degree to which Merchant appeared to rely on his claims that she was then unable to substantiate elsewhere. Wade and Willis have admitted to being romantically involved, but both have testified their relationship started after Willis appointed Wade lead prosecutor in the Trump case. Merchant had said that he would contradict testimony from Willis and Wade once he took the stand. “Why would you speculate when she was asking you a direct question about when the relationship started?” Sadow pushed. The additional text messages show Bradley calling Merchant his “friend,” offering unsolicited advice, and also bashing Willis and Wade, Bradley’s former law partner.

Persons: Fani Willis, Donald Trump, Terrence Bradley, Ashleigh Merchant, Trump’s, Bradley, Willis, Nathan Wade, Wade, Bradley’s, Merchant, Trump, ”, Steve Sadow, ” Sadow, ” Bradley, “, Merchant ., ” Merchant, ” “, Michael Moore, Scott McAfee, ” Moore Organizations: CNN, Trump, Merchant Locations: Georgia, Wade’s

☆ Hackers threaten to release Trump documents from Georgia case if they don't get a ransom by Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

LockBit works with affiliates to hack companies and government agenciesLockBit 3.0's targets go far beyond just the Fulton County government. As of Wednesday, it had ongoing ransom demands for 11 different companies on its website in addition to the one for Fulton County. AdvertisementA Fulton County court administration spokesperson declined to comment. AdvertisementAt a press conference on February 20, Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts said no ransom was paid. AdvertisementThe renewed ransom threat comes as Willis's investigation is beleaguered by a series of heated hearings playing out in a Fulton County courtroom.

Persons: —, Donald Trump —, Donald Trump's, Christopher Krebs, Dan Schiappa, LockBitSupp —, Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Raedle, Oz, Krebs, Alashe, LockBit, Fulton, Fani Willis, It's, George Chidi, Pool, Schiappa, Robb Pitts, Pitts, Willis Organizations: Service, Fulton, Business, FBI, United, Crime Agency, US Department of Justice, government's, Trump, Justice Department, Boeing, Commercial Bank of China, U.S, Trump Force, Atlanta Hartsfield, Jackson International Airport, Biden, Trump —, Trump . Fulton, Arctic Wolf, Atlanta Journal Locations: Georgia, Fulton, Mexico, Fulton County, Atlanta , Georgia, Russian, Trump . Fulton County, Atlanta, Krebs

☆ Live updates: Fulton County prosecutor's divorce attorney to testify in Fani Willis case
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Dan Berman | Zachary Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

Terrence Bradley, the former law partner for Nathan Wade, testified Tuesday that when he told a defense attorney her motion to dismiss Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis “looks good,” he was referring to a section about money related to his law firm, not about the allegations against Wade and Willis. “I think I remember there was a line of, about the accuracy of how much money that my office … had received and whether or not that was going to be in the motion or not,” Bradley said. Defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant said she asked Bradley to review her motion, which alleged an improper relationship between Willis and Wade, whom Willis hired to lead the investigation into Donald Trump and others.

Persons: Terrence Bradley, Nathan Wade, Fani Willis “, Wade, Willis, “, …, ” Bradley, Ashleigh Merchant, Bradley, Donald Trump Organizations: Fulton

☆ Testimony to Resume as Trump and Georgia Co-Defendants Seek D.A.’s Removal
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald J. Trump has ordered a key witness back to the stand, as the judge weighs whether Fani T. Willis, the prosecutor who brought the case, has a disqualifying conflict of interest. The witness is Terrence Bradley, the former divorce lawyer and law partner of Nathan Wade, whom Ms. Willis hired to manage the Trump case. The ruling on Monday by Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court is a victory for Mr. Trump and his 14 co-defendants, as they seek to have Ms. Willis, Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis’s entire office removed from the high-stakes case. The defense questioned Mr. Bradley during a court hearing earlier this month, in an attempt to find out whether Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis were being truthful about key details of a romantic relationship that developed between them, including their assertion that the romance began after Mr. Wade began working for Ms. Willis in November 2021. Mr. Bradley declined at that time to answer questions related to what he knew about the romance, citing attorney-client privilege and other rules that shield lawyers from having to disclose communications with clients.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Willis, Terrence Bradley, Nathan Wade, Judge Scott McAfee, Mr, Wade, Willis’s, Bradley Organizations: Fulton County Superior, Mr Locations: Georgia, Fulton County

CNN —A Georgia lawyer who had been billed as a star witness in the effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did not deliver damaging testimony Tuesday on her romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade. “I do not have knowledge of it starting, or when it started,” Bradley said at one point. That filing leveled allegations that Willis and Wade engaged in an improper romantic relationship from which Willis financially benefited. “Why would you speculate when she was asking you a direct question about when the relationship started?” Sadow pushed. That means attorneys can use it to bolster their legal arguments about whether Willis should be disqualified without witness testimony.

Persons: CNN —, Fani Willis, Nathan Wade, Terrence Bradley, Willis, Wade, Donald Trump, Bradley, –, “, ” Bradley, ” Ashleigh Merchant, ” Merchant, Scott McAfee, CNN’s Nick Valencia, ’ Bradley, Merchant, Willis ’, ‘, ’ ” Bradley, “ Mr, Richard Rice, ” Trump, Steve Sadow, ” Sadow, ’, McAfee Organizations: CNN, Fulton, Trump, Bradley Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, South Fulton

☆ Ex-partner of Trump's Georgia prosecutor once texted that DA Fani Willis 'absolutely' started dating Nathan Wade before he was hired
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementFulton County DA Fani Willis testifies at a hearing Feb. 15 in Atlanta on her relationship with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade. And you said, 'absolutely,'" Merchant questioned Bradley, referring to the timing of Willis and Wade's relationship. AdvertisementFulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade testifies during a hearing at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. "Why would you speculate when she was asking you a direct question about when the relationship started?" AdvertisementWillis vehemently defended herself and Wade and pushed back on testimony by her former friend that she and Wade started dating in 2019.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Terrence Bradley, Nathan Wade, Fani Willis, Willis, Trump, Mike Roman, Wade, Bradley, Ashleigh Merchant —, Merchant, Alyssa Pointer, Steve Sadow, Sadow Organizations: Service, Fulton, Business, Trump, Fulton County DA, Bradley Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Wade, Atlanta, Fulton, Atlanta , Georgia, Trump, Trump's Georgia

☆ Trump’s Georgia Lawyers Surface Phone Records in Effort to Remove Prosecutors
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The records also showed that the two exchanged roughly 12,000 text messages over that period. There is no dispute that Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis were in contact in 2021. She also consulted with Mr. Wade on a number of issues, including strategic questions about big cases, after taking office in January 2021. His advisory role extended into the period covered by the cellphone data that Mr. Trump’s new motion cites, Jan. 1, 2021 to Nov. 30, 2021. Roy Barnes of Georgia, an experienced trial lawyer, recalled that Ms. Willis and a team that included Mr. Wade met with him in October 2021 and asked if he wanted to take the job that Ms. Willis eventually gave to Mr. Wade.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Willis, Nathan Wade, Wade, Roy Barnes, Ms Organizations: Fani Locations: Georgia, Atlanta, Fulton County, Roy Barnes of Georgia

Friday’s filing from Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in the Georgia case, included an affidavit from a criminal defense investigator who said he relied on subpoenaed cell phone information and cell tower data. The investigator, Charles Mittelstadt, said he generated a report that isolated “all interactions,” including calls and text messages between Wade and Willis. (Trump’s attorney submitted a new filing Friday afternoon to clarify the types of exchanges between Wade and Willis.) In addition, Willis and Wade exchanged phone calls late into the evenings during this time, the investigator says, citing Wade’s subpoenaed cell phone data. This story has been updated with the revised filing from Trump’s attorneys, referring to 12,000 “interactions” between Wade and Willis.

Persons: Donald Trump, Fani Willis, Nathan Wade, Willis, Wade, Steve Sadow, Trump’s, Charles Mittelstadt, “, ”, Mittelstadt, Wade’s, ” Wade, Trump, Scott McAfee, McAfee, Terrence Bradley, Bradley Organizations: CNN, Trump Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Fulton

☆ DA Fani Willis testified she paid cash during trips with top prosecutor. One winery host remembers her paying in paper bills
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Zachary Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Willis testified last week that her use of cash explains why there is no paper trail documenting reciprocal payments she made during her trips with Wade. “And she says I’ll pay cash. Wade also testified that Willis paid cash for excursions on at least one vacation and paid him back for plane flights and other travel. “When I travel I always pay cash,” Willis said of the trips with Wade, saying that she paid Wade back for certain transportation and excursions during the travel. “I like Grey Goose.”Explaining why there were no receipts for Willis’ reimbursements and other payments, Wade said he wasn’t keeping a ledger of what he paid for versus what Willis paid for.

Persons: Fani Willis, Willis, Stan Brody, Nathan Wade, Wines, Brody, ”, Wade, Willis ’, John Floyd, ” Brody, Donald Trump, “, ” Willis, Willis ’ reimbursements, you’re, ” Wade Organizations: CNN, “ Locations: Napa, Georgia, Fulton County, Napa Valley, “, Aruba, Bahamas, Belize

☆ Opinion: Alexey Navalny, one man who stood up to a dictatorship
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. “In his courageous and too short life,” wrote Russia scholar Daniel Treisman, “Navalny became a symbol of hope for the younger generations of his compatriots. “He never gave up on the prospect of what he called ‘the beautiful Russia of the future,’” Treisman noted. “For a ‘beautiful Russia of the future’ to emerge in coming years, Putin must lose the war he started. Navalny understood this.”“Navalny’s death represents the extinguishing of all hope for Russia’s turnaround,” wrote Sasha Vasilyuk.

Persons: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Joseph Stalin “, “, ”, you’ve, Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s, Navalny, fearlessly, Putin, Daniel Treisman, “ Navalny, Navalny’s, ’ ” Treisman, Sasha Vasilyuk, Alexey Navalny’s, Peter Bergen, Andrei Sakharov, ” Putin, Bergen, Nick Anderson, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, authoritarians, Bill Bramhall, James Mattis, ” Peter Bergen, Frida Ghitis, Fidel Castro’s playbook, Patrick Mahomes, Andy “, Amy Bass, New York Democrat Tom Suozzi, George Santos, ” Suozzi, CNN Suozzi didn’t, Biden, isn’t, Long, Max Burns, ” “, Alejandro Mayorkas, ” “ Suozzi, Burns, Robert Hur’s, Norm Eisen, Richard Painter, Joshua Kolb, Hur, ” Joel Pett, Lawrence C, Levy, Julian Zelizer, Dean Obeidallah, Mark Dent, Dent, Saw, Clay Jones, David Orentlicher, ” Orentlicher, Will Cooper, Fani, Willis, Nathan, Wade, ” “ Willis, Antony Blinken, Batniji, Blinken, Fatah, Hussein, Don’t, David Horsey, Agency Jill Filipovic, Lynda Gorov, Taylor Swift, Jim Parrott, Mark Zandi, Brigid Schulte, Yuliya, Kara Alaimo, Frankie de la, Jackie Robinson’s, Jon Stewart’s, Jon Stewart, Matt Wilson, Jon Stewart skewered Trump, Bill Carter, Stewart, ” “ Stewart Organizations: CNN, IK, Moscow Times, Kremlin, Twitter, Facebook, Soviet, Tribune, Agency, Republican, Senate, Agency Former US Defense, Trump, , Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefs, nab, New, New York Democrat, Democratic, GOP, Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, Super Bowl, Kansas, West Bank Locations: Soviet, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, New York, Washington, Georgia, ,, York, Glen Cove, Joel Osteen’s, Houston, Kansas City, America, ”, Kansas, Gaza, San Francisco, Israel, Iran

At some point in the coming weeks or months, the Georgia criminal case against former President Donald J. Trump and his allies will presumably focus once again on the defendants and whether they conspired to overturn Mr. Trump’s election loss there in 2020. Now it is unclear whether the case will even remain with Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, since lawyers for Mr. Trump and other defendants are seeking to have her entire office disqualified. The controversy has also provided fresh fodder for Mr. Trump and his allies, who are adept at exploiting their opponents’ vulnerabilities. Mr. Trump was already making inflammatory attacks on Ms. Willis even before her relationship with Nathan J. Wade, the lawyer she hired to help run the election interference case, came to light.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Fani, Willis, Nathan J, Wade Organizations: Mr, Georgia Senate Locations: Georgia, Fulton County

“Here, Ms. Willis is being scrutinized for things that are not directly related to her job performance, in ways we see other Black women regularly picked apart,” Ornsby said. You think I’m on trial,” Willis testified. I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.”For many Black women, the inquiries into Willis' romantic and financial life were rife with tropes and accusations often unfairly levied at Black women. “When white power, particularly white men, are being held to account ... the first thing to do is to disqualify the people that are holding them accountable,” especially when those people are Black women. Scrutiny of Willis' personal life has diverted attention away from the allegations against Trump.

Persons: Fani Willis, Jessica T, Willis, ” Ornsby, Donald Trump, Nathan Wade, Wade, Trump, Melanie Campbell, SHE’S, ”, Campbell, “, You’re, ” Willis, I’m, Keir Bradford, Montgomery McCracken, LaTosha Brown, ” Brown, Democrat Joe Biden, Stormy Daniels, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Black, Claudine Gay, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Ornsby, “ We’re, ” Cunningham, Grey, ” ___ Matt Brown Organizations: D.C, Associated Press, National Coalition, Trump, Democrat, Harvard University, Supreme Locations: Fulton County, Washington, Black, Grey, Philadelphia, Georgia, Florida, Manhattan, ” Bradford

Trump, meanwhile, has been working to appeal to the blue-collar and union voters who were critical to his victory in 2016. But Trump was again most focused on his grievances, opening with a 15-minute screed about the criminal and civil cases against him. With interest payments, Trump’s legal debts might now exceed a half-billion dollars — an amount it is unclear whether or not Trump can afford to pay. Trump lost the county to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, both times by eight percentage points. The remaining 39 will be distributed by precinct delegates at a Michigan GOP state convention on March 2.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Jean Carroll, Arthur Engoron, Letitia James, Jack Smith, Fani Willis, they’re, ” Trump, Hillary Clinton, Trump's, Pete Hoekstra, Hoekstra, Kristina Karamo, “, Karamo, won’t, ___ Colvin, Joey Cappelletti Organizations: Trump, Israel, New York, GOP, Republican, Michigan GOP, U.S ., Associated Press Locations: WATERFORD, Mich, New York, Michigan, Israel, Waterford Township, Detroit, Fulton County, Oakland County, South Carolina, Netherlands

A judge will continue to hear testimony Friday in a hearing that could derail the election subversion case against Donald Trump and others. Judge Scott McAfee is considering whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the case based on allegations that she and Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the case, engaged in an improper romantic relationship which financially benefitted the district attorney. Here's what to watch:The allegations against Wade and Willis: The alleged affair was first raised by Trump’s co-defendant, former 2020 campaign official Mike Roman. Last month in a court filing he accused Willis of financially benefiting from selecting Wade to lead the case. Roman alleges that Wade took Willis on lavish vacations, paid partly with what he billed her office for work on the case.

Persons: Donald Trump, Scott McAfee, Fani Willis, Nathan Wade, Wade, Willis, Trump’s, Mike Roman, Roman, McAfee, Trump, Read Organizations: ’, of, Fulton Locations: Fulton County, Georgia, of Georgia

☆ Trump Gets a Trial Date, and Fani Willis Fights Back
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( New York Times Audio | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The New York Times Audio app is home to journalism and storytelling, and provides news, depth and serendipity. If you haven’t already, download it here — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter. The Headlines brings you the biggest stories of the day from the Times journalists who are covering them, all in about five minutes.

Organizations: New York Times, Times

Search resuls for: "FANI"

25 mentions found