It's a bad day for Democrats' lawfare campaign against Trump: Kerri Urbahn
Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn provides analysis of the relationship between Fulton County DA Fani Willis and Trump prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn said on "Outnumbered" Thursday that Fulton County DA Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade are facing a "legal problem" in addition to potential disqualification from their case against former President Trump due to allegedly having an "improper" affair.
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the sweeping racketeering case against Trump, heard evidence on Thursday related to the allegations.
A former "good friend" of Willis testified Thursday that she has "no doubt" the district attorney and Wade had a "romantic" relationship starting in 2019, contradicting Willis’ prior statements to the court. Willis claimed in court that she and Wade "have been professional associates and friends since 2019," and "there was no personal relationship" between her and Wade in November 2021 at the time of Wade’s appointment.
Civil rights attorney and Fox News Media contributor Leo Terrell said this "bombshell" witness testimony points to disqualification.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images)
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Urbahn concurred and went further, "I completely agree with Leo Terrell that the witness testimony this morning, saying that their relationship began long before they said it did in a court filing, would be grounds for disqualification if it's true. And not only disqualification, Emily, but also it's a legal problem for them, as you just mentioned, you know, to lie in a court filing. That's a crime."
She added that Republican state lawmakers in Georgia "have a number of people who are willing to come forward to testify against" Wade in this case.
"If you have a witness testifying that a relationship began long before when they said it did in a court filing, it's a big problem," Urbahn said. "I just think this is, at a minimum, this is a bad day for the Democrats' lawfare campaign against Donald Trump."
Fani Willis and Donald Trump (Getty Images)
McAfee said on Monday that depending on his findings after hearing the evidence presented from both sides, Willis could be disqualified from the case.
Urbahn explained that if the district attorney is disqualified, it would be a "game changer" for the case because only then would officials question whether the case is so "tainted by their behavior that it would need to move to a different venue."
Urbahn went on to say, "Are they going to go forward with these RICO charges? I mean, they could drop the charges altogether because let's not forget what Willis is bringing here against Trump. She's bringing RICO charges, which at least at the federal level, is typically invoked against members of M.S. 13 and the mob."
"And so another prosecutor may take a look at this and say, okay, RICO, this is ridiculous," she said.
Fulton County, Georgia district attorney Fani Willis, who brought charges against former President Donald Trump on election interference, is taking heat from all sides. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
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Willis charged Trump out of her investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Trump was charged with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents, and two counts of making false statements.
He pleaded not guilty to all counts. Fulton County prosecutors have proposed that the trial begin on Aug. 5.
Fox News' Brooke Singman and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.