Fulton County hearing: Trump case hangs in balance as judge mulls DA disqualification

Prosecutor Nathan Wade was questioned by defense counsel regarding his relationship with DA Fani Willis and specifically asked if he had "sexual relations" with her.

He was specially questioned by Craig Gillen, the attorney for Trump co-defendant David Shafer, about answers he gave on a interrogatory related to Wade's divorce, when Wade was asked if he had any sexual relations with a woman during his marriage and separation to his now-ex-wife.

"Let's just get down to it," Gillen asked Wade. "Did you or did you not, by May the 30th, 2023, have had sexual relations with Miss Willis, yes or no?"

"Yes," Wade replied.

Wade was then asked why he answered "none" on the interrogatory related to the divorce.

"I didn't answer 'no' to the question you just asked," Wade said. "I answered 'no' to the interrogatory question."

Wade was then pressed on the cash payments he earlier testified that Willis made to him to reimburse him for travel costs.

"You don't have a single solitary deposit slip to corroborate or support any of your allegations that you were paid by Ms. Willis in cash, sir? Not a single, solitary one?" Gillen asked.

"Not a single one," Wade replied.

Prosecutor Nathan Wade testified that he never talked about his romantic relationship with DA Fani Willis in social settings, after a witness earlier testified that she had observed the relationship.

"Did you discuss your personal relationship, your private personal romantic relationship, with Miss Willis in social settings?" defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant asked Wade.

"No, ma'am," Wade replied.

Merchant then asked if Wade ever discussed his relationship with Willis while around Robin Yeartie, the friend of Willis who testified earlier that Wade and Willis' relationship began prior to the start of the Trump election interference case.

Wade testified that he did not.

Wade said he and Willis are "private people" and said their relationship "wasn't a secret. It was just private. So not at all ... I wouldn't have discussed my relationship with Miss Yeartie or anyone else."

Addressing allegations that he paid for DA Fani Willis' travel when the two of them traveled together, prosecutor Nathan Wade testified that Willis often paid him back in cash or spent money on him in other ways so that expenses roughly "balanced out," insisting that Willis "carries her own weight."

"All of the vacations she took, she paid you cash?" defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant asked.

"Yes ma'am," Wade said.

The defense has accused Willis of improperly benefiting financially from the relationship, by paying Wade a salary that was then used to pay for their travels together.

Speaking more broadly, Wade insisted that throughout their entire relationship, Willis paid her own way, painting it as character trait of hers.

"If you've ever spent any time with Mrs. Willis you understand she's a very independent proud woman, so she's going to insist that she carries her own weight," he testified.

"It actually was a point of contention between the two of us," Wade said. "She was going to pay her own way."

Wade went through the various trips booked on his credit card, one by one, including trips to Napa Valley and Belize. In one instance, Wade testified it was actually Willis who paid for the "entire trip" -- despite the fact that it was on his credit card.

On the Napa trip, Wade testified that Willis paid for the excursions, "so the expenses sort of balances out." He said it was like any relationship: "In a relationship, you don't -- particularly men -- you don't go asking back," Wade said. "You're not keeping a ledger."

Prosecutor Nathan Wade, refuting earlier testimony claiming his relationship with DA Fani Willis started before she hired him on the election interference case case in November 2021, testified that the relationship started in 2022.

"When did your romantic relationship with Mrs. Willis begin?" defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant asked him.

"2022," Wade replied.

"When?" Merchant pressed.

"Early 2022," Wade responded.

"What's early?," Merchant asked.

"Around March," Wade said.

Wade was then asked about conversations he and Willis had around their first meeting in 2019. He testified that they spoke two or three times in 2019.

"She felt comfortable calling for advice," he testified.

He said the calls progressed and they spoke more frequently. He testified that in 2021, the discussions between him and Willis became "frequent."