Politics
Biggest takeaways after wild 2-day hearing on Fani Willis affair: 'What's done is done'
The second and final day of a court hearing of evidence in allegations that Georgia prosecutor Fani Wills had an “improper” affair with her colleague has concluded, but the judge will still review testimony in a closed-door meeting.
After a bombshell admission by the defense’s key witness, Terrence Bradley, who avoided answering certain questions citing attorney client privilege, Judge Scott McAfee said he would hold an “in-camera” meeting with Bradley to determine if his privilege assertions are accurate.
Bradley is the former law firm partner to Nathan Wade, who is accused of having an affair that financially benefitted Willis after she hired him to help prosecute the election interference case against former president Donald Trump.
Bradley had refused to answer some of the questions asked by defense counsel about what he knew about Wade and Wills’ relationship and when he knew, citing attorney client privilege. Bradley, for a brief time, was Wade’s lawyer during his divorce, which was finalized in 2023.
5 EXPLOSIVE MOMENTS FROM FANI WILLIS’ HEATED TESTIMONY IN TRUMP FULTON COUNTY CASE: ‘IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN …’
Scott McAfee, Fulton County superior court judge, at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (Alyssa Pointer)
But Bradley admitted that a large reason he left the law firm was because an employee at the firm accused him of sexual assault, though he denied the allegation. He also indirectly admitted that he paid the employee who accused him.
This is significant because earlier in his testimony Bradley testified that the reason he left the firm was related to Wade’s divorce proceedings, and therefore covered by attorney client privilege.
Judge Scott McAfee said that Bradley’s admission re-opens questions about what Bradley refused to answer about what he knew about Wade and Fani Willis’ romantic relationship and when he knew. Bradley refused to answer citing attorney client privilege.
“Mr. Bradley previously testified that the reason he left the firm was totally and completely covered by privilege. When asked by the state, he went into a factual scenario that, to my mind, I don’t see how it relates to privilege at all. And so now I’m left wondering if Mr. Bradley has been properly interpreting privilege this entire time,” the judge said.
Earlier on Friday, Willis’ father, John C. Floyd III, took the stand and confirmed what Willis testified to on Thursday – that her father taught her to keep large amounts of cash on hand at all times.
He also said he did not meet Wade until 2023, and that he was unaware his daughter had a romantic relationship with Wade until about seven weeks ago, when allegations of Wills’ impropriety were first made in court filings.
During their romantic relationship, which ended roughly the summer of last year, Wade and Willis vacationed to wine country in California, the Caribbean, among other destinations.
Michael Roman, a GOP political operative and co-defendant in the Trump case, first alleged that Willis had a conflict of interest in the case because she financially benefitted from hiring her lover. Four co-defendants have made similar accusations.
FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ACCUSED OF LYING ABOUT TIMING OF AFFAIR WITH TRUMP PROSECUTOR
John Floyd III, father of Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis, left, testifes at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (Alyssa Pointer)
The crux of the defense’s case is whether they can prove with a money trail that Willis has a conflict of interest in the case against Trump and should be disqualified.
Willis testified Thursday that she reimbursed Wade for her share of vacation expenses in cash, but both she and Wade testified there were no receipts for those transactions.
The defense, led by Ashleigh Merchant, are also trying to prove that Willis and Wade were romantically involved prior to Wade’s employment at the DA’s office.
Both Willis and Wade insisted that their relationship started in 2022, after Wade was hired. But they contradict testimony from Robin Yeartie, a former “good friend” of Willis and past employee at the DA’s office.
GEORGIA DA FANI WILLIS WILL NOT TESTIFY FOR SECOND DAY ON ‘IMPROPER’ AFFAIR WITH NATHAN WADE
Fulton County DA Fani Willis winks before being sworn in to testify on the hearing about an allegedly improper relationship with Nathan Wade. (Screenshot/Fox News)
Yeartie said she had “no doubt” the Willis and Wade’s relationship started in 2019, after the two met at a conference.
Yeartie testified to observing Willis and Wade “hugging” and “kissing” and showing “affection” prior to November 2021, and that she had no doubt that the two were in a “romantic” relationship starting in 2019, to when she and Willis last spoke in 2022.
Willis dismissed Yeartie’s testimony and said she no longer considers Yeartie to be a friend.
The highlight of the two-day proceeding was Willis’ own – an unexpected – testimony on Thursday, described by one expert as “belligerent.”
She verbally sparred with lawyers for hours, at one point, prompting the judge to threaten to strike her testimony. She also raised eyebrows for appearing to be wearing her dress backwards. She did not return to the witness stand on Friday.
Judge McAfee said earlier in the week that it’s “clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one.”
Judge McAfee said he would hold a summation hearing of all the evidence presented in the next week or two.
Allyn Stockton Jr., lawyer for co-defendant Rudy Giuliani told Fox News following the hearing, “I don’t think anything has been earth shattering today, what’s done is done.”
When asked if the hearing would make a difference for his client, he replied, “As it relates to my client, what’s going on relates to all of it, about the integrity of the process itself.”
“The judge is sharper than I am, I have no idea where he’ll come down on this,” he said.
Politics
Fetterman unleashes on ‘dirtbag’ wing of Dems after far-left victories: ‘Orgy of socialism’
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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., unloaded on his own party on Sunday evening, blasting a series of victories for progressives he called “anti-America.”
“Big night for the dirtbag left,” Fetterman said, referring to New York’s recent primaries, where two members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) won primaries.
“I’ve said the party is becoming an orgy of socialism. Clearly anti-America, anti-Western Civilization,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman’s striking calls give a rare look at how some moderates may view the developments on their far-left flank that have dominated the party’s momentum in recent months, sparking concern that their high visibility is dragging the party further and further left.
FETTERMAN WARNS DEMOCRATS ‘DRIFTING FIRMLY INTO COMMUNISM’ AFTER SOCIALIST PRIMARY WINS
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber during votes on Nov. 10, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
His comments come on the heels of a handful of key progressive victories.
In Maine, Graham Platner, a controversial Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, has attracted controversy for denying knowledge of the meaning behind a Nazi-linked tattoo, for off-color comments about race and calling himself a “communist” in a deleted Reddit post.
In New York, one DSA member, Claire Valdez, won a primary on a platform of abolishing ICE and a Green New Deal-style approach to climate change. Similarly, Darializa Avila-Chevalier, another DSA candidate, beat out incumbent Rep. Adriano Espillat, D-N.Y., a high-ranking Democrat and the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
WINNERS AND LOSERS EMERGE AFTER SOCIALIST EARTHQUAKE ROCKS NYC PRIMARIES
Graham Platner, Democratic Senate candidate for Maine, speaks at a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, on June 9, 2026. Platner won the party’s Senate primary after a campaign marked by accusations of past misbehavior and voter concerns. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Both Chevalier and Valdez had the backing of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, himself a socialist.
The wins have captured national attention and drawn criticisms from Republicans who have pointed to their success as emblematic of the direction of the Democratic Party.
Fetterman, who has not shied away from confrontations, has been one of the few Democrats to express alarm about the kind of candidates carrying the party’s banner.
“I mean, you look at some of the things that people have said. Abolish prison, abolish the border, abolish ICE, I mean these crazy people — I have colleagues in my caucus that refuse to even call this out,” Fetterman said.
FETTERMAN REACTS TO MAMDANI’S REFUSAL TO ACCEPT SUPREME COURT’S IMMIGRATION RULING
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., walks through the Senate Subway during the Senate War Powers vote on April 22, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
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“Between P-hustle in Maine and some of the other winners in New York, they should form their own party and run on all the things that they’ve had to delete on social media,” Fetterman said, referring to Platner.
“That’s where our party has moved,” he added.
Politics
Supreme Court limits police use of cellphone data to find crime suspects
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court cast doubt Monday on whether police may obtain cellphone data to find crime suspects.
In a 6-3 decision, the justices said this location information showing where a cellphone user has traveled is personal and private and subject to the protection of the 4th Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches.
Justice Elena Kagan said these “records serve as a personal journal of a user’s movements.”
She said the information “resembles other private materials — think of emails, documents, photographs, or calendars—that even if stored on Google’s servers, a user reasonably views as his own…and reasonably expects to be shielded from the inquisitive eyes of the government.”
Because an “individual has a legitimate expectation of privacy in his cellphone location data,” she said police investigators need a valid search warrant from a magistrate.
The court stopped short of deciding the proper basis for a search warrant in such cases. Instead, the justices sent the case back to judges in Virginia.
But the outcome casts doubt on “geofence warrants.”
In recent years, police have gone to Google and cellphone companies seeking tracking data on cellphones that were at a crime scene. Sometimes, they have had a warrant from a magistrate.
Civil libertarians say the use of this tracking data raises the specter of mass surveillance on innocent people.
Police and government lawyers say no one has a reasonable right to privacy when they are walking on a sidewalk or driving down the street.
The case before the court arose from the armed robbery conviction of a Virginia man who stole $195,000 from a credit union in a small town near Richmond.
By the time police arrived, the robber had fled. But surveillance cameras showed he was carrying a gun and a cellphone.
Lacking other leads, detective Joshua Hilton asked a judge to issue a special type of warrant seeking information from Google.
Referred to as a “geofence warrant,” it seeks data from phones in a particular area at a particular time.
The detective sought data on phones that were within 150 yards of the credit union within one hour of the late afternoon robbery.
After examining and paring down the data, the detective asked for the phone records of Okello Chatrie. Then, with a search warrant of his home, investigators found two robbery-style demand notes, a semi-automatic pistol and about $100,000 in cash.
A judge refused to suppress the evidence from an allegedly unconstitutional search, and Chatrie entered a conditional guilty plea.
The full 4th Circuit Court of Appeals split evenly on the legality of the geofence warrant, and the Supreme Court agreed to decide the issue in Chatrie vs. U.S.
Usually investigators obtain warrants to search the home or vehicle of a known crime suspect.
The new and disputed geofence warrants seek to find a suspect by examining data on the cellphones that were at the scene of a crime.
The FBI used this cellphone data in 2021 to identify suspects who broke through police barricades on Jan. 6, 2021, and pushed their way into the Capitol to disrupt the official counting of electoral votes.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson agreed on the outcome in Chatrie vs. U.S.
In a 21-page dissent, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the court had “carefully set the stage for its planned performance: striking a pose as a great champion of privacy in the digital age. I cannot support this irresponsible escapade.”
Justice Clarence Thomas agreed.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett agreed in a one-paragraph dissent. “Chatrie had no reasonable expectation of privacy in data about his public movements that he voluntarily disclosed to Google,” she said.
Politics
Supreme Court Expands Presidential Powers to Fire Independent Regulators
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that President Trump could fire independent regulators for any reason. But the justices carved out an exception for the Federal Reserve, preventing the immediate removal of Lisa D. Cook, a Federal Reserve governor.
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