WILLIS TAKES THE STAND
Fireworks in Georgia as Fani Willis, the prosecutor charging Trump with racketeering, gave a contentious testimony on Wednesday as lawyers questioned her about her relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor helping with Trump’s case.
Defendants claimed Willis had a conflict of interest due to her and Wade’s relationship, which they say provided her with a financial benefit. Her and Wade’s testimonies featured discussion about trips they took together—including one to Belize in March of 2023—while Wade said that she reimbursed him with cash for trips they booked.
Robin Yeartie, a former friend of Willis, testified that she saw Wade and Willis kissing in a clear romantic before he was hired in 2021. When Willis testified, she accused Yeartie of betraying their friendship, denied taking gifts from Wade, and said she reimbursed him for travel.
Visibly frustrated, Willis accused Ashleigh Merchant, the attorney for a former Trump campaign official, that she lied in her motion to disqualify Willis. Willis scolded Merchant, warning her not to “be cute,” and alleged that her “interests” were “contrary to democracy.”
Judge Scott McAfee, of Fulton County Superior Court, warned her about her responses and took a break after a testy exchange in which Willis held up papers—apparently from Merchant’s motion—and exclaimed “This is a lie!” When the court resumed, McAfee warned the court about people talking over each other and stated he was concerned about “decorum.”
Wade acknowledged, during his testimony, having sexual relations with Willis. During her testimony, Willis said their relationship began in early 2022, that, in her opinion, it ended in the Summer of 2023, and denied sleeping with him the day she initially met him in 2019.
“Brutal arguments” was Willis’s term to describe her and Wade’s spats over her being his equal. “I don’t need anything from a man. A man is not a plan. A man is a companion,” she said.
In New York, Trump appeared at a hearing for his “hush money” trial involving former adult actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the case and maintained the initial trial date of March 25.
Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s attorneys, protested the trial date. “It is completely election interference to say ‘you are going to sit in this courtroom in Manhattan,'” he said. “What about his rights?”
March 25 is just weeks after Super Tuesday and the former start date of Trump’s D.C. trial. Along with the Willis prosecution, he’s facing four criminal trials that will likely disrupt his campaign for president.
Trump has blasted both cases as election interference and told reporters outside the courtroom ”I’m supposed to be in South Carolina now.” He also asked, “How can you run for election if you’re sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day long?”
–Sam Dorman and Catherine Yang
RUSSIA’S ANTI-SATELLITE THREAT
Russia is developing a new anti-satellite capability that could eventually threaten the United States’ most critical civil and military infrastructure, the White House has confirmed.
“We’re taking this potential threat very, very seriously,” said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.
“This is not an active capability that’s been deployed … there is no immediate threat to anyone’s safety.”
The admission follows a demand by House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) that the Biden administration declassifies details of a “serious national security threat.”
Turner demanded that the Biden administration declassify the intelligence so that U.S. allies could fully assess it at their leisure.
That suggestion has drawn condemnation from House Republicans and the Biden administration alike, who say Turner’s remarks were alarmist and that immediate declassification could risk the security of American intelligence sources.
“The intelligence community has serious concerns about a broad declassification of this intelligence,” Kirby said.
“We make decisions about how and when to publicly disclose intelligence in a careful, deliberate, and strategic way in a way that we choose.”
Russia’s development of anti-satellite weapons goes back decades and, to date, Moscow boasts the world’s most advanced array of such capabilities.
Much of the world’s vital technologies require satellites to operate, including GPS and missile warning systems.
Kirby said that the development of the capability “goes back many, many months, if not a few years,” but the system is not a weapon intended to be used against people on the ground.
“We’re not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction,” Kirby said. “That said, we’ve been monitoring this situation actively and we will continue to take it very seriously.”
President Joe Biden has ordered additional Congressional briefings on the issue and is organizing direct diplomatic engagements with Russia to de-escalate the situation, Kirby said.
—Andrew Thornebrooke
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- President Joe Biden travels to East Palestine, Ohio, for the first time in more than a year after a major train derailment in the area led to a chemical spill and a fire.
- A misconduct hearing in Georgia enters its second day following the testimony on Thursday by District Attorney Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, a prosecutor from the team that brought charges against former President Donald Trump and a group of his associates. Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade are facing scrutiny due to their romantic relationship.
- The House of Representatives break for a district work period and President’s Day.
Trump and his allies have been cagey about who the former president and GOP frontrunner could pick to be his running mate in November. The Epoch Times’ Lawrence Wilson explored the hints dropped by the campaign so far, and how they help paint a picture of who Trump may eventually pick.
The number of Hispanic voters participating in national and local elections is projected to increase significantly in 2024, The Epoch Times’ Austin Alonzo reported. 11 million new Hispanic voters have been added to the nation’s voter rolls since 2000, and 2024 could see the largest level of Hispanic voting in the nation’s history.
The climate agenda is set to push food prices even higher, The Epoch Times’ Kevin Stocklin reported. By putting new regulations and restrictions on farmers in the name of fighting climate change, climate activists could cause food prices to rise even higher than they have in the past two years of runaway inflation.
Some Republicans are having buyer’s remorse over choosing House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to lead the House, Politico reports. After months of stagnation, limited legislative successes, and party infighting, some are even fondly reminiscing about the days of erstwhile House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
