Fulton County DA Willis seeks to quash subpoenas ahead of hearing on efforts to remove her from Trump case
By Zachary Cohen, Nick Valencia and Jason Morris, CNN
(CNN) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is asking a superior court to reject subpoenas for her and several staff members to testify at a hearing next week where they could face questions about her relationship with her top deputy, characterizing the attempt to dismiss her from the Georgia election subversion case against Donald Trump and his allies as a “spectacle.”
Willis and the deputy, Nathan Wade, are among nearly a dozen people subpoenaed to testify, including Willis’ assistant and bodyguard and Wade’s current and former law partners.
“Georgia law — as well as authority from across the country — predictably frowns on a process that permits counsel for one litigant to compel the testimony of counsel and employees of the opposing party, and there is no justification to depart from that general principle here,” Willis wrote in a court filing her office said it filed on Wednesday.
“As there is no factual basis that could reasonably justify requiring opposing counsel and other employees to be a witness in the case, the State respectfully requests that the Court quash each of the subpoenas served,” Willis wrote.
Among the Fulton County staff subpoenaed are Executive District Attorney Daysha Young and Deputy District Attorneys Sonya Allen and Dexter Bond.
An attorney who represented Wade in his divorce proceedings as well as Wade’s personal and business records were also subpoenaed, according to Willis’ filing.
Last month, Trump co-defendant Mike Roman and his attorney filed a motion to dismiss the case over allegations Willis had an improper romantic relationship with Wade and financially benefited by hiring him as a special prosecutor on the case.
In her response to quash the subpoenas, Willis called Roman’s filing “ill-conceived” and argued that the effort “should be promptly brought to a close.”
“Defendant has not demonstrated any need for these witnesses, let alone cleared the ‘compelling need’ hurdle, nor can he represent what relevant testimony these witnesses may possess as his attorney has not spoken to any of them,” Willis wrote.
“Harassment and disruption of this type should not be entertained. Because Defendant Roman cannot establish the necessity of any of the testimony or documents he has demanded, the subpoenas should be quashed,” she wrote.
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