Fani Willis' Cash Payments Revealed as New Witness Emerges

Fani Willis and Nathan Wade paid for a wine-tasting session in 2023 using cash, according to a new witness to the pair's affair.

Stan Brody, who works at Acumen Wines, told CNN that he hosted Willis and a man he later learned was special prosecutor Wade at a two-hour wine tasting in early 2023. Brody said that Willis paid with cash for two bottles of wine, each valued at roughly $150, and for the $50 tasting.

Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, gave evidence in a two-day hearing following accusations by former Trump staffer and co-defendant Michael Roman that she was having an affair with Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the high-profile case. Newsweek has contacted Willis via LinkedIn for comment on Tuesday.

Willis is running the case against Trump and 18 others who are accused in a 41-count indictment of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.

The former president pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges against him and has said the case is politically motivated because he is the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination.

Roman said Willis and Wade had benefited financially from taxpayers' money. The pair later admitted they had a romantic relationship, but denied a conflict of interest. In response, Roman said that the pair's relationship started earlier than they had disclosed. The hearing, which took place last week, will determine whether Willis is removed from the Trump case.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Andrew Weissmann, former general counsel for the FBI, said: "This would've been a useful witness for the state to have tracked down."

During the hearing, the pair were questioned about the lack of receipts they had to show money changing hands. However, Wade testified that Willis paid cash for excursions on at least one vacation and paid him back for plane flights and other travel. "She paid for the excursions so the expenses sort of balanced out," Wade said.

"When I travel, I always pay cash," Willis said.

Following the hearing, a series of legal analysts said they did not think Willis would be disqualified from the case.

Barbara McQuade is a former U.S. attorney under the Barack Obama administration and MSNBC legal analyst. She wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: "Fani Willis made a terrible decision to date Nathan Wade, and that may bring ethics issues for her, but her testimony dispelled any kickback scheme that would disqualify her. Nothing about this affects the fair trial rights of Trump and co-defendants."

However, Georgia lawyer Doug Weinstein wrote that he was disappointed in Willis in an X post on Sunday.

"I respect her and her office, and putting the Trump trial at risk in this fashion, even if she did nothing wrong, demonstrates poor judgment. Regardless of how the judge rules, it is difficult to deny the appearance of impropriety," Weinstein wrote.

Judge Scott McAfee is expected to make a decision about Willis in the coming weeks.

Update 02/20/24, 7:53 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and the headline has changed.