Fani Willis Pushes to Cancel Hearing as More Than a Dozen Subpoenaed to TestifyIdidntdunothingdefense

District Attorney faces accusations of using public funding improperly and personally benefitting financially through hiring a lawyer. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis appears before Judge Scott McAfee for a hearing in the 2020 Georgia election interference case at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Nov. 21, 2023. By Catherine Yang 2/2/2024

Fulton County District Attorney FaniWillis filed a lengthy response to the allegations lodged by Trump co-defendants, arguing no evidentiary hearing should be held in response to the defendants’ “salacious” allegations in the “meritless” motions to dismiss the high-profile election case. In the 176-page filing, Ms. Willis affirms that she and special prosecutor Nathan Wade have had a personal relationship, and rejects the claim of a conflict of interest that would disqualify Ms. Willis or Mr. Wade from the case.

Mr. Wade has played a leading role in the election case and also led the special purpose grand jury proceedings that led to the indictment last year.Ms. Willis, Mr. Wade, and Mr. Wade’s current and former law partners, as well as eight employees from Ms. Willis’s team, have been subpoenaed to testify at the Feb. 15 hearing, after which a judge will determine whether the district attorney should be disqualified and removed from the case.

Co-defendant Michael Roman, a GOP strategist who participated in the 2020 Trump campaign, first made the allegations in a motion to dismiss the indictment and disqualify the district attorney on Jan. 8. Defendants Robert Cheeley, an attorney, and former President Donald Trump later joined the motion.

Mr. Roman alleged Ms. Willis used public funding improperly, including pulling funds meant to clear COVID-era backlogs to pursue the racketeering case and personally benefitting financially through hiring an attorney, Mr. Wade, as special prosecutor, when she had a romantic extramarital affair with him and that the two took multiple “lavish” vacations together. His attorney also cited reports that Ms. Willis contracted publicity services shortly before the indictment to track media mentions.

He had argued that an alleged pattern of financial misconduct and financial conflict of interest disqualified Ms. Willis and her team, and therefore the indictment should be dismissed. The district attorney is arguing that there is no basis for disqualification, as she paid for Mr. Wade’s travel expenses as well, defended her statements about race, and pushed to cancel the upcoming hearing.

Subpoenas Ahead of Feb. 15 Hearing

The subpoenas arose out of an ability to obtain material needed to prepare Mr. Roman’s defense, according to a lawsuit filed by his attorney Ashleigh Merchant. The district attorney is arguing that thesubpoenas amount to an “incredibly inappropriate” intrusioninto opposing counsel’s personal life, noting that a lawyer who represented Mr. Wade in his divorce case was among those subpoenaed to testify.

With the vast number of witnesses, the district attorney is accusing defendants of setting up a “circus” of a hearing “that would last days, garner more breathless media coverage, and intrude further into the personal lives of the prosecution team in an effort to embarrass and harass the district attorney personally.” The prosecutors stated their intention to quash the subpoenas and asked the court to deny the motion “without further spectacle,” including canceling any hearing on the matter. (apparently she doesn't like her personal life intruded upon, what about PDJT's personal life?)

Attorney Explains Relationship

The response includes a sworn affidavit by Mr. Wade, in which he explains that he met Ms. Willis in 2019 in a professional capacity, and it wasn’t until 2022 that they had a “personal relationship.” In 2020, he served on Ms. Willis’s transition team, and in the spring of 2021, he was hired as to help hire an attorney to lead the investigation into the 2020 elections.

He states that the $250 rate was the highest the district attorney’s office was able to offer, and it was “significantly less” than market rate; he had charged $550 per hour for a previous government job.. in September 2021 he was approached with the special prosecutor position.==

Thedistrict attorney argued that the jury questioning process will evaluate whether prospective jurors have been impacted by public statements, and therefore the motion should be dismissed. (Are you kidding, the jurors will lie if they have bias to Donald Trump, or like the DA, no judge should accept that stupid answer. This has been a national case, everyone knows about it.)

https://api.theepochtimes.com/us/fani-willis-pushes-to-cancel-hearing-as-more-than-a-dozen-subpoenaed-to-testify-5579366?ea_src=frontpage&ea_med=lead-special-judiciary-medium-0

>>20347460

ANOTHER WAR MONGER THAT WANTS WWIII

>>20347483

2 Feb, 2024 12:39

Zelensky wants to fire his top general over peace talks – Seymour Hersh

A secret plan has been hatched in Washington to bring about the Ukrainian leader’s downfall, the veteran journalist claims

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky wants to fire his top general, Valery Zaluzhny, over secret talks he has held with the West to end the conflict with Russia, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has reported, citing his sources. He also suggested thatsome US officials want to help Zaluzhny in a “power struggle” with Zelensky.

Numerous reports have claimed that the president fell out with the general last autumn after Zaluzhny declared in an interview that Ukraine's much-hyped counteroffensive against Russia had ground to a “stalemate” on the battlefield. The two are also believed to have had several other disagreements regarding military issues.

While Ukrainian officials have denied reports of Zaluzhny’s imminent dismissal, following a spate of reports in Western media, CNN reported on Wednesday that it could happen as early as this week.

In an article published on Hersh's Substack on Friday, he offered a different version of why Zelensky was seeking to boot his top general.

The Ukrainian president’s desire to fire the commander, according to Hersh, stemsfrom “his knowledge that Zaluzhny had continued to participate… in secret talks since last fall with American and other Western officialson how best to achieve a ceasefire and negotiate an end to the war with Russia.”

At the same time, according to the article, some members of the US military and intelligence community support Zaluzhny’s peacemaking overture and want reforms in the Ukrainian government.

Hersh noted that the concept outlined by a number of US officials insists that Ukraine must embark on financial reforms, root out corruption, and improve the economy and infrastructure. However, the journalist continued, citing one official, the real plan is “far more ambitious” as it “envisions sustained support for Zaluzhny and reforms that would lead to the end of the Zelensky regime.” (The only problem I have with this theory, Joe Bidan is still Resident and he’s fine with the corruption.)

According to Hersh, for this reason, the talk of firing Zelensky left some proponents of the plan “dismayed.” One official, the journalist said, described the tensions between Zelensky and Zaluzhny as “an old-fashioned power struggle.” However, they continued that “we couldn’t have gotten airborne without a willing and courageous pilot,” referring to the general.

Hersh noted that this plan was developed without the involvement of the White House, which has publicly stated it will support Ukraine “as long as it takes.” However, an unnamed US official told the reporter that Russian President Vladimir Putin is also “looking for a way out” of the conflict.

Moscow has repeatedly said that it is ready for talks with Ukraine, provided it recognizes territorial reality on the ground. Putin also stated last year that for any engagement to occur, Zelensky should cancel his decree prohibiting negotiations with the current Russian leadership.

https://www.rt.com/russia/591705-zelensky-zaluzhny-peace-talks/