Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has taken the stand in a misconduct hearing that could see her removed from the Trump election case in Georgia
Trump and some of his co-defendants say Willis had an improper relationship with a top attorney she hired, Nathan Wade, and a financial conflict of interest
Tensions are high as Willis calls a defence lawyer a liar and says her role is "contrary to democracy". The attorney says Willis is a "hostile witness"
Willis previously said her and Wade's relationship started only after she hired him in late 2021 - but a former friend of Willis tells the court the relationship began in 2019
Thursday's blockbuster hearing is focusing on whether an improper relationship took place, and if Willis benefited from it in any way
Judge Scott McAfee said he could disqualify Willis from the case if evidence supports the misconduct claims, potentially upending the case
You can watch the hearing live by pressing the play button at the top of this page
Trump faces 13 felony charges in this case of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in the state of Georgia. The former president denies the accusations
We're pausing our live coverage for now, after what turned out to be a dramatic day in court - especially this afternoon when Fani Willis took the stand.
There are still more questions for Willis to get through, so the judge has adjourned the hearing until tomorrow morning, at 09:00 EST.
With her credibility on the line, Fani Willis and the prosecutor she is accused of having an improper relationship with, Nathan Wade, both took the stand on Thursday.
Image source, ReutersDespite not being in court today, Donald Trump took to social media earlier to give his opinions on the hearing. He and some of his co-defendants in the Georgia alleged election fraud case were the ones who made the claims against Willis, in a bid to get her removed from the case.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: "MSNBC JUST STATED GAME OVER FOR THE FAKE FANI WILLIS CASE IN GEORGIA.
"ANOTHER SCAM COORDINATED WITH THE BIDEN WHITE HOUSE FOR PURPOSES OF ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!"
He posted the message while Nathan Wade was giving evidence earlier on in the day, but didn't post while Fani Willis was giving evidence.
Just hours ago Trump was in court in a separate case in New York over allegations of conducting a hush-money cover-up.
Madeline Halpert
US reporter
After hours of dramatic testimony and fiery exchanges between Willis and lawyers, some experts say it’s not clear who came out on top.
At the end of the day, it’s a “credibility contest” for the judge to decide who wins, says Andrew Fleischman, an Atlanta defence attorney.
Wade was nearly flawless in his well-rehearsed testimony, he says, but Willis’ tone could have put her at risk, he says.
“Fani Willis’ demeanour has been so extreme that that might incline him to disqualify her even if he is not sure of the other stuff,” Fleischman says.
Fleischman says Judge McAfee has been “on the ball” in the case and will likely issue a decision before one is legally required - within 90 days.
“I think he’ll decide quickly. He probably has his mind made up already,” he says.
The court hearing has wrapped up for today.
The lawyers say they have more questions for Fani Willis, so Judge Scott McAfee says we've reached a natural stopping point.
It will be back tomorrow morning at 09:00 EST (14:00 GMT).
Earlier, Fani Willis was asked when her relationship with Wade ended - and whether it was before or after Trump was indicted in the Georgia alleged election fraud case in August 2023.
She says men and women "think differently" so would consider the end point was at different times - so she can't be sure whether it was before or after the indictment.
Willis gives timeline on end of relationship with Wade
Pressed on when exactly she and Wade broke up, Willis says the two might not agree on the timeline when it ended. She says she considers it ended when they had a "tough conversation" in August 2023, but he might consider it earlier in the summer when physical intimacy ended.
She decides to go into the reasons why they parted ways.
"It's interesting that we're here about this money," she says. "Mr Wade is used to women, as he told me one time, the only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich."
"I have argued that I am your equal. I don't need anything from a man. A man is not a plan ...And so there was tension always in our relationship, which is why I gave him his money back."
"The only man who's footed my bills completely is my daddy."
Image source, EPAWillis is defending her decision not to tell others about her relationship with Wade - she says she never tells people at work who she is dating.
"I am extremely private," she says. "That I kept something private that's my private life is not any mystery to anyone."
"It's like a woman doesn't have the right to keep her private life private," she adds.
Setting out the timeline of her relationship with Wade, she says: "From at least 2020 we were friends, we hung out.
"In November 2021 I hired him. I do not consider my relationship to have become romantic until early 2022."
She says it became romantic sometime between February and April 2022.
The court is hearing more on the timeline of Willis and Wade's relationship, and Willis describes having "a clear recollection of being alone" in 2021.
She says that it was the year she turned 50 - but she spent her 50th birthday alone.
"I have a lot of guilt about that period of time," she adds, because her job proved to be "very isolating".
But under cross-examination, Steve Sadow manages to get Willis to concede that Nathan Wade met her at her condo - but none of the other prosecutors involved in the case ever visited her there.
Steve Sadow, the lawyer representing Trump in the Georgia election case, has been pressing Willis about who has stayed at her home.
At one point, growing frustrated, Sadow raises his voice when asking if her children stayed at her home.
"You don't have to yell at me," Willis says. "I'm able to understand that so I would ask you to not yell at me."
Image source, ReutersFani Willis just received a second warning from the judge for going "beyond the question" in her responses.
She is now facing questions from Steve Sadow, Donald Trump's lead defence lawyer in this case.
Although the complaint against Willis was brought by a co-defendant of Trump (Michael Roman), Trump joined the case.
Willis is asked about her years-old comments that she would never sleep with those who work under her. You can read what she said here.
She states that she does not consider Nathan Wade to be her "employee", and neither would he.
"I consider Mr Wade to be an agent," she says. "An appointee is what I really think of him as."
Merchant is asking Willis whether she knows that Fulton County requires her to disclose any relationship with someone she is doing business with.
"I'm not aware and I know often times things are confused with state constitutional officers and county, but I'm not aware," she says.
Madeline Halpert
US reporter
Image source, ReutersWillis' frustrations with Merchant could be harming her reputation in regards to the case, a legal expert who is in court tells me.
Willis has already been warned by the judge once not to speak over others in the court during her testimony.
"She’s running a real risk of undermining her credibility with Judge McAfee by being overly hostile and aggressive in her tone," says Anthony Michael Kreis, a professor with the Georgia State University College of Law.
The testy exchanges are continuing between Willis and Ashleigh Merchant, the lawyer for Trump's co-defendant who brought this case.
When Merchant asks whether the only way she has reimbursed Nathan Wade for trips is with cash, Willis replies: "Don't be cute with me."
She goes on to say that she's only given Wade cash "a few times in life" and never wrote him a cheque.
Merchant is trying to prove that, aside from her testimony, Willis has no written proof of reimbursing Wade for payments he made on her behalf - but Willis' legal team objects that the questions are increasingly irrelevant.
There's lots of focus on money and who paid for what, because Trump's co-defendant wants to show Willis benefited financially from her relationship with Wade, whom she hired.
The court paused for five minutes after a fiery exchange between Fani Willis and lawyer Ashleigh Merchant, who is representing the Trump co-defendant who brought the complaint against Willis.
The hearing then resumed - but with a warning from the judge to keep things professional.
Watch the moment here:
'It is a lie, it is a lie!' - Willis declares before court break
Willis is asked how many Wade visited her at home between 2019 and 2021.
Willis responds that Wade "has never been to South Fulton".
"He has never been to my residence in 2019, ever. Not once."
We're back from the break, and we've started off with a warning from Judge McAfee.
"I'd advise everyone here, this being a room, mostly full of lawyers who have spent their lives in and outside a courtroom, we all know what professionalism looks like."
"I would urge everyone to keep these principles in mind," he says.
He asks people not to talk over each other, saying "and from there we'll get through this".
Image source, ReutersThe courtroom has just moved to a five-minute break after a heated exchange between Willis and Merchant.
Merchant asks Willis if Wade ever visited her "at the place where she lays her head".
Willis asks her to be more specific and accuses her once again of lying.
Holding up her fillings, she raises her voice and says: "It is a lie!".
Willis is asked when her romantic relationship with Wade ended.
"Late summer of 2023," she eventually responds.
Wade would "probably say June or July", she says, saying that men may mark the end when physical intimacy ends. She adds: "I would say we had a tough conversation in August".
Willis says they are still "good friends" and she has a personal relationship with him still.
"My respect for him has grown over the seven weeks of attacks," she says.