Trump co-defendant accuses Georgia prosecutors of lying about when relationship began

By Nick Valencia, Jason Morris and Zachary Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — One of former President Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia election racketeering case has alleged that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her top deputy on the case aren’t being truthful about the details of their relationship.

Mike Roman’s defense attorney plans to call a witness at a hearing next week to refute the claim from Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade that their personal relationship began after she appointed him in late 2021 to lead the case against Donald Trump and his allies, according to a motion filed late Friday.

The witness, Terrence Bradley, is Wade’s former law partner and friend, according to the filing. Bradley also represented Wade in his divorce, according to court documents reviewed by CNN.

“Bradley has non-privileged, personal knowledge that the romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began prior to Willis being sworn as the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia in January 2021,” according to the filing from Ashleigh Merchant, Roman’s defense attorney.

“Thus, Bradley can confirm that Willis contracted with Wade after Wade and Willis began a romantic relationship, thus rebutting Wade’s claim in his affidavit that they did not start dating until 2022,” the filing said.

The Fulton County district attorney’s office declined to comment. CNN has reached out to Wade’s attorney for comment.

Willis is trying to fend off an effort by Roman, Trump and other co-defendants to disqualify her office from the prosecution and to have the entire case tossed over allegations of a conflict of interest stemming from their allegedly improper romantic relationship. She denies any wrongdoing and argues there’s no need to hold a hearing on the matter, as is scheduled for February 15.

Roman first raised the allegations, including that Willis benefitted financially when Wade took her on trips with money earned on the case. Friday’s filing includes receipts for a cruise taken by Willis and Wade in 2022, after he was hired as the special prosecutor.

Merchant said in Friday’s filing that the reason Willis and Wade kept their relationship secret “is now evident — they were using public funds to enrich their personal lives and they knew it was wrong.”

The defense attorney argued that Willis knew the relationship would disqualify her.

“If she disclosed the relationship, she was at risk of losing this case, which … she desperately wants and needs for her own personal ambitions,” the filing said. “Since Willis and Wade were not forthright about their relationship in the first instance, there is no reason to believe they are telling the truth now.”

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