Witness Contradicts Key ‘Relationship’ Claim Made by Fani Willis

A former friend of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis directly undercut claims about when her relationship with her top prosecutor started, according to her courtroom testimony on Thursday.

Robin Yeartie, the former friend, was called as a witness to testify on allegations that Ms. Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade were involved in a romantic and secretive relationship, a revelation that was brought forth in a court motion last month by a co-defendant in former President Donald Trump’s racketeering trial. The hearing was held to ascertain whether the Fulton district attorney should be disqualified from the Trump case.

Both Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis have said in court papers that their relationship started after he was hired in November 2021 to work on the Trump case. In a court filing earlier this month, the pair acknowledged a “personal relationship” but said it had not resulted in any direct or indirect financial benefit to the district attorney.

In a sworn statement attached to the filing, Mr. Wade said the relationship began in 2022 after he was hired as special prosecutor, and that he and Ms. Willis shared travel expenses and never lived together. “To be absolutely clear, the personal relationship between Special Prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing earlier this month.

But Ms. Yeartie, who previously worked in the district attorney’s office, testified that she saw the pair “hugging” and “kissing” prior to November 2021. She said their relationship appeared to have started sometime in 2019.

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A former friend from college, Ms. Yeartie said she stopped speaking with Ms. Willis sometime in 2022 after she departed the Fulton County District Attorney’s office. Elaborating, she said there was a situation where she was told she would either be fired or resign, which ended her friendship with Ms. Willis.

If proven true, Ms. Yeartie’s claims about their relationship starting earlier than they claimed could boost the defense’s bid to disqualify Ms. Willis. The judge overseeing the case will make the final determination.

A separate court motion filed by Mr. Roman this week also accused Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade of lying about when their relationship started.

Mr. Roman, a former Trump campaign staffer and onetime White House aide, alleged in January that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade had been involved in an improper romantic relationship that began before Mr. Wade was hired, while claiming that he is not qualified to handle the case.

The motion added that she paid Mr. Wade large sums for his work and then benefited personally when he paid for vacations for the two of them, creating a conflict of interest. Her office has paid Mr. Wade more than $650,000 for his work on the case, records show.

The former president and other co-defendants have joined his motion. They are asking Judge Scott McAfee to toss the indictment and to block Ms. Willis, Mr. Wade, and others from being involved in the racketeering and election case.

On Monday, Judge McAfee said that the district attorney could be disqualified from the case if there is enough evidence to show “an actual conflict or the appearance of one,” adding that Thursday’s hearing is designed to see “whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or nonromantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues.”

Aside from the relationship allegations, President Trump’s attorneys have argued in court motions that Ms. Willis also made biased and racially charged comments when she appeared to address the controversy days after it surfaced while she spoke at an Atlanta church. In that speech, she accused her detractors of invoking the “race card,” which the former president’s team says was inappropriate and could jeopardize the case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.