A lawyer for a Trump co-defendant in Fulton County, Georgia, alleged that District Attorney Fani Willis met with Vice President Kamala Harris before she indicted former President Donald Trump last year.
The claim was made during a Georgia state Senate hearing that is probing claims that Ms. Willis had an inappropriate relationship with her special counsel, Nathan Wade, and allegedly improperly benefitted from the arrangement. About two months ago, co-defendant Michael Roman’s lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, disclosed the Wade–Willis relationship in a court filing.
In court motions and court hearings, both Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade confirmed the relationship but said there was no financial benefit. They also disputed allegations that their relationship started before 2022, or after Mr. Wade was hired by the Fulton County district attorney’s office.
“I did an open records for the White House access,” the lawyer said, adding that “we have records that Ms. Willis and the mayor of Atlanta at a meeting with [the] vice president,” or Ms. Harris. The White House record appeared to show that the district attorney had a meeting with “VPOTUS” on the “side lawn/tent” on Feb. 28 of last year at 4:50 p.m. ET.
“My understanding that it’s highly regulated who can access the White House ... and you have to apply in person or apply ahead of time,” Ms. Merchant added, noting that the White House gives a person a time to be inside the premises and when the person has to leave. “They track you,” she said, adding that “they keep” records of visits.
When asked whether “VPOTUS” refers to Ms. Harris, the lawyer responded: “Yes, yes it was.” Ms. Merchant later said there has been no explanation about why Ms. Willis was meeting with the vice president.
The Epoch Times contacted both Ms. Willis’s office and the White House for comment on Wednesday. The Fulton County district attorney has not yet commented on allegations that she held meetings at the White House.
In court, Judge Scott McAfee said that he would rule within the next two weeks on whether to remove Ms. Willis from the case over the relationship.
Attorneys for Trump and some of his co-defendants have accused Ms. Willis and Ms. Wade of lying on the witness stand about when their relationship began, and told the judge that keeping the district attorney on the case threatens to undermine the public’s confidence in the hugely consequential prosecution.
“Think of the message that would be sent if they were not disqualified,” said Harry MacDougald, who represents former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark in the election case. “If this is tolerated, we will get more of it. This office is a global laughingstock because of their conduct.”
Ms. Willis’s office, meanwhile, said the lawyers have failed to provide evidence that the district attorney benefited financially from the relationship with Mr. Wade, which the pair say ended last summer. Adam Abbate, a prosecutor with the DA’s office, accused the attorneys of pushing “speculation and conjecture” and trying to embarrass Mr. Willis with questions on the witness stand.
“It’s a desperate attempt to remove a prosecutor from a case for absolutely no reason, your honor, other than harassment and embarrassment,” he said last week.
In a hearing last month, Judge McAfee said Ms. Willis could be disqualified from the case if it is proven true that there is a conflict of interest. He also said that the appearance of a conflict of interest may result in her disqualification, too.
If she is removed, it would throw the Trump case in question, although it’s not clear if the charges against him and more than a dozen others would be dropped.
