‘Star witness’ appears to not deliver in hearing to remove Fulton DA from election case

ATLANTA — In court Tuesday, the former law partner and divorce attorney for special prosecutor Nathan Wade took the stand and his testimony did not go the way defense attorneys had hoped.

Terrance Bradley was seen as the key defense witness.

“You definitely did not want to come to being a witness here, correct?” defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant asked Bradley on the stand.

“That is correct,” Bradley said.

Bradley’s testimony was set against the backdrop of the controversy involving a romantic relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Wade, and the issue of whether the DA’s office should be disqualified from the election interference case.

“Fani Willis and Nathan Wade were romantic, correct?” Merchant asked Bradley.

“Correct,” Bradley said.

Bradley had been on the stand earlier in the case, but it seems there were issues with attorney-client privilege.

A filing by counsel for Wade said Wade hired Bradley to represent him in his divorce in 2015 and that the attorney-client relationship existed at least until late 2022.

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But on Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee announced from the bench that he “found that neither Mr. Wade nor Mr. Bradley had met their burden of establishing that their attorney-client privilege applied, specifically as it relates to Mr. Bradley’s knowledge of any relationship that existed between Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade, and particularly, it wasn’t established that his specific knowledge came about in furtherance of legal advice.”

In a document earlier in the case, Merchant alleged Willis and Wade claimed they did not have a personal, romantic relationship before Willis appointed Wade as a special prosecutor, but Bradley will refute that claim.

But that didn’t happen on Tuesday.

“When did you first get knowledge of their relationship? I’ve said over again that I was not … I didn’t have any personal information where I could personally say when it started,” Bradley said.

“Mr. Wade told you they had sex at that office, correct?” Merchant asked Bradley.

“I don’t recall him saying that, no,” Bradley said.

There was no shortage of prosecution objections. Other defense attorneys got their chance too to question Bradley as well.

“Why would you speculate when she was asking you a direct question about when the relationship started?” attorney Steve Sadow, who is representing former President Donald Trump said.

“I have no answer for that,” Bradley said.

Another hearing on different issues in this case is expected later this week.

RELATED NEWS:

Winery employee confirms Fulton DA Fani Willis paid cash on trip to Napa with special prosecutor Channel 2 Action News has tracked down a winery employee who backs up part of her testimony.

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