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Nathan Wade's divorce attorney testifies in Fani Willis relationship hearing

Fulton County District Attorney Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade attends a hearing in Atlanta in the election interference case in October. File Pool Photo by Alyssa Pointer/EPA-EFE
1 of 2 | Fulton County District Attorney Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade attends a hearing in Atlanta in the election interference case in October. File Pool Photo by Alyssa Pointer/EPA-EFE

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A former colleague of the lead prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump testified Tuesday that he had no knowledge that would oust his former law partner or the district attorney from the case.

Terrence Bradley, a former law partner of Nathan Wade's who was also his divorce attorney, was forced to testify by the judge probing Wade's relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

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One of Trump's 18 co-defendants, Michael Roman, filed a motion to have Wade and Willis ousted from the case because they were in a romantic relationship.

Bradley testified Tuesday in Atlanta after Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said that some of his communications with Wade were not covered under attorney-client privilege and could be shared in court.

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McAfee made the decision after meeting with Bradley for more than an hour on Monday.

Asked if he knew when the relationship started, Bradley said he could not answer. Asked when he first gained knowledge of the relationship, Bradley said he did not recall.

"I've said over again that I did not have any personal information where I could personally say when it started," Bradley said. "I don't know when the relationship started."

Bradley later said he learned of the relationship from Wade and he was told in confidence at their office. He does not recall when this happened but said nobody else was present.

Roman's attorney Ashleigh Merchant accused Bradley of communicating with Wade somehow during Tuesday's hearing.

"I just want for the record -- because sometimes the record doesn't reflect where people are looking -- when I ask a question, Mr. Bradley is looking at Mr. Wade and his lawyer waiting for them to object," Merchant said. "They're clearly interacting somehow in the court."

Bradley clarified that one of his lawyers was sitting behind Wade and his attorney. McAfee assured that Bradley is allowed to look wherever he wants.

Merchant questioned Bradley at length about text messages she personally had exchanged with him. Merchant said Bradley told her the Willis-Wade relationship "absolutely" started before Wade was hired as lead prosecutor.

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When Steven Sadow, representing Trump, questioned Bradley about this, Bradley said he was speculating.

"You knew Merchant was representing a defendant. The reasons she was asking questions was because she was trying to show when the relationship began," Sadow said. "And you answered on your own what you now claim to be speculation. Why?"

Bradley said he did not have an answer.

"Except for the fact that you do know when it started and you don't want to testify to that in court," Sadow said. "That's the best explanation. That's the true explanation."

Attorneys for Trump and his co-defendants in the case charging them with interference in Georgia's 2020 presidential election have argued that Bradley's testimony could confirm accusations by a former friend of Willis' that her relationship with Wade started before she hired him as a special prosecutor in the case. That would conflict with Willis and Wade's testimony in the case.

Some of the defendants are arguing that Willis benefitted financially from Trump's case because of the romantic relationship. Willis has forcefully rejected the accusation that she enriched herself with the hiring of Wade.

Wade and Bradley had argued on Feb. 16 that Bradley should not be compelled to testify because he served as Wade's divorce attorney.

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During Bradley's brief testimony, McAfee initially rejected claims by the defense that a crime/fraud exception would override the attorney-client privilege, as well as another noting that adultery is a misdemeanor crime in Georgia.

Bradley also testified that he left the law firm where he worked with Wade after Bradley was wrongfully accused of sexual assault by an employee.

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