DA Fani Willis yells ‘It’s a lie!’ during grilling about tryst

District Attorney Fani Willis was under pressure in court Thursday over her relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade, prompting explosive outbursts of “dont be cute with me” and “it’s a lie!” — the latter of which brought proceedings to a halt.

The Embattled Fulton County, Georgia, DA and her ex-lover were scrutinized over the timeline and nature of their relationship in the high stakes hearing which will decide if she is fit to continue in her prosecution of election fraud charges against Donald Trump and others.

Willis had a number of run-ins during blistering questioning by lawyer Ashleigh Merchant — who represents Trump co-defendant Mike Roman — about whether Wade had ever slept over at an apartment that Willis subleased from a friend.

“It’s a lie! It’s a lie!” Willis screamed into the microphone, prompting Judge Scott McAfee to immediately call a five-minute break.

After the break and after Willis and Merchant continued to interrupt and talk over each other McAfee warned Willis: “You have to listen to the question as asked and if this happens again and again I’m going to have no choice but to strike the testimony.”

During another heated exchange when Merchant questioned about how she split bills with Wade, Willis shot back: “That was cute, but I didn’t give him money in a contract … don’t be cute with me and think you’re not gonna get an answer.”

Willis has testified her relationship with Wade, who she hired as special prosecutor on the case, started in 2022 and ended in 2023.

Roman has argued in court papers their relationship started earlier and is unethical and has asked for Willis to be removed from prosecuting his case.

After weighing the evidence heard Thursday and Friday judge Scott McAfee will make a decision.

Willis — wearing a red dress — first unexpectedly appeared in the Fulton County courtroom, in Atlanta around 2 p.m. after Wade had finished testifying.

She interjected — as a lawyer from her office was fighting to keep the top prosecutor off the stand — to say she wanted to testify.

Willis then said she had been eagerly waiting to be able to give her side of the story.

“I’ve been in my office pacing,” Willis said, adding that when she heard Wade was done she came running to the courtroom to say her piece.

Willis wasted no time in attacking Merchant for allegedly lying in court papers and at a hearing about the nature of the relationship.

“You lied on Monday and yet here we are,” Willis said to Merchant. Given, “how dishonest you were with the court on Monday, I’m actually surprised the hearing continued. But since it did, here I am.”

Willis told Merchant she was “extremely offended” by the implication that Willis slept with Wade after her first time meeting him at a conference in October 2019.

Earlier in proceedings, witness Robin Yeartie — a former employee in the DA’s office, who claimed to be a long-time friend of Willis’ said she had “no doubt” that Willis and Wade were already romantically involved in 2019.

She testified that she had seen Willis and Wade “kissing” and “hugging” and saw them generally being affectionate toward each other.

Anna Cross — a prosecutor in Willis’ office — questioned Yeartie about the fact she would have been fired if she didn’t resign, implying Yeartie had an axe to grind against Willis.

Although Willis maintained she was “not a hostile witness,” she continued to trade barbs with the defense lawyers who pelted her with questions for the next three hours.

At one point, when Merchant asked about flight records for Wade and Willis’ trips together, Willis snapped back: “You’ve been intrusive into people’s personal lives.”

“You’re confused, you think I’m on trial,” a fiery Willis said. “These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.”

Trump, 77, faces trial alongside the 14 remaining defendants in the case for allegedly meddling in the 2020 presidential election. A handful of defendants have already taken plea deals while most of the rest have joined Roman’s motion to have Willis thrown off the case and the charges against them dropped.

Wade and Willis both testified Thursday they didn’t become romantically involved until March 2022 — and long after Wade was appointed to the Trump probe.

But Merchant and Roman seek to prove the pair have lied in court about when their tryst began — claiming it started before Wade’s appointment and influenced Willis’ decision to put him in the prestigious position off special prosecutor, and that she then reaped financial benefit when Wade treated her to and paid for vacations.

Wade explained away bank statements showing him paying for tickets for himself and Willis — including to the Bahamas, Aruba, and Napa Valley California — by saying they roughly split the cost of their trips and Willis had paid him back in cash, and that she received no financial benefit from the relationship.

“I never purchased a gift for Ms. Willis,” Wade said.

And when lawyer Craig Gillian — who reps another defendant David Shafer — pressed Wade about where the cash repayments went and the lack of paper trail, Wade said it “probably would have gone to one of my children.”

Willis claims she used cash from a stash she kept at home and said she always squirreled away money where she lived ranging from a few hundred dollars to as much as $15,000.

“That cash — you do not know where it came from?” Merchant asked Willis.

“It came from my sweat and tears,” Willis shot back.

When Merchant tried to ask if it was from her work as a private attorney or as district attorney, Willis snapped, “What are you talking about?”

Moments later she accused Merchant of “mischaracterizing my testimony greatly. I am not going to allow you to mischaracterize my testimony.”

Willis said it was important for her to pay her way in their relationship in order to maintain equality and she never wanted a man to “foot my bills.”

In fact, she claimed a catalyst for their break-up was they would have “brutal arguments about the fact that I am your equal.”

Willis insisted the pair’s split “had absolutely nothing to do with” the Trump indictment getting handed up by a grand jury on August 14.

Willis’ testimony continues Friday morning at 9 a.m.