Ashleigh B. Merchant is a horrible lawyer in the live Fanni Willis court case

A white jacket after Labor Day and on camera? Hello? Is this the cocksucker residence?

This whole thing is cringe. This wouldn’t happen to a man. It’s ridiculous to suggest that the reason she hired her lover was so she could get money from his salary. Even if that ridiculous premise were true, it would have nothing to do with Trump.

She becomes too emotional when things don't go her way - she becomes very angry. She needs to control that.

There exists someone over 30 named “Ashleigh”?!

What a terrible hearing, everyone except for the judge is terrible at their job.

*awful hearing, I didn't mean to repeat myself

Can something be done about the endless loop on the screen behind the witness? And why the hell is there a screen there anyway?

Gag-inducing, isn't it?

She seems like she’s taking it all very personal and not professionally

I bet he fucks real good, the dumb ones are always the best in the sack.

What in the world does this salacious fiasco have to do with Trump trying to overthrow the election?

If the prosecutor is a slut, you must acqut?

Can’t believe this judge is even holding this hearing. What relevance does any of this have to do with the case against Trump?

r11 Even someone as odious as Trump needs to receive a fair trial, hence this hearing where the judge will decide whether to remove Fani from the case.

Wade is auditioning for donald's next attorney opening.

Fani, how could you?!

"She paid for the excursions in Napa, so the expenses balanced out."

I'm cringing so hard watching this, my god. And why is he smiling constantly? On his third water bottle as well, could he look any guiltier?

A cabin in Tennessee? He can't recall because he books lots of cabins? Just kill me.

Aruba as well. Fucking hell.

He is sabotaging Fani Willis's career.

Is she in the courtroom?

Ugh, why was he using his business credit card? Use another one for god's sake.

for trips to Aruba and cruises.⬆️

r19 Fani wasn't in the courtroom when Wade went to the stand, so I assume she still isn't there now.

What does any of this have to do with Trump? How does the prosecutor’s personal behavior, ethical or not, have any bearing on his case?

I think Wade might be acting up the "slowness" with the answers and the receipts so as to throw Ashleigh off. She's so unhinged, no way are her hysterics sustainable, she'll be spent by the time Fani takes the stand.

R 14 How would any of this be unfair to Trump? I don’t see the connection of her behavior to his case.

r23 Conflict of interest.

Stream just crapped out. Maybe it's for the best, was too painful to watch anyway.

Okay, it's just C-Span ending the stream, it's still working elsewhere.

This is just a vile hit job by the Trump camp. They are unscrupulous and ugly, and digging into Fani WIllis' personal life is rotten and despicable.

So the conflict of interest is supposedly she is prosecuting Trump for money? Really?

Ward's wife sounds like a real sleaze. She cheated on him and he tried to hold things together for his children. Guy seems decent. And Fani is decent. And this is a fucking shit show.

r30 I mean, Fani's written response didn't satisfy the judge, so he called for this hearing. It is what it is, let's just hope for the best.

r31 Yep. I wonder how much cash she got from the RNC.

Ashleigh asked for a break and the judge said soon. RIP her bladder.

The judge is sexy af.

Break now. Judge looks surprisingly young.

r35 Jinx! We sure know what's important here on DL.

I hope Asleigh pees herself in open court and calls the judge a rotten POS.

Ashleigh comes across more as a real estate agent than a lawyer. And as someone else pointed out - she takes things personally not professionally.

Ashleigh is now relieving herself against the nearest fire hydrant and yapping at the passing dogs. She reminds me of a Chihuahua.

But I also get her zeal. This might be Trump's best shot at tanking the case – if the judge removes Fani, the DA replacing her will be way friendlier towards Trump.

Ashleigh sees stardom in her future. She is auditioning. The Georgia Trumpers will love her. She might even use this as a springboard to run for office.

Fani, you don't shit where you eat; you should have known better. It is so sad watching your brilliant career circle the commode, and in a public display.

Once again ... everything trump touches, dies.

r41 You joke, but I wouldn't put it past Trump to try and make a Supreme Court justice out of her.

R41 Good point - I didn't think of that. She may go for the DA in the future.

The law subreddit is saying what I suspected all along – that Wade worked Ashleigh over and that she's horrible at this.

Wade knew how to manipulate Ashleigh - he got her all flustered and exhausted. She completely lost her focus.

R42, I'm there with you. I'm disappointed in her, but I also understand. It's frustrating.

Scott McAfee was appointed by Kemp only last year. Prosecutor before that.

Recess over. The attorneys in the gallery are laughing at Ashleigh.

Now to the questions of a sexual nature asked of a man by a man. How low will they go?

Yikes, Ashleigh's colleague now questioning Wade is much more vicious than Ashleigh, the judge stopped him thirty seconds into the questioning.

This is starting to remind me of those old "Mandingo" dime-like novels.

Lordy.

Ashleigh has that cocaine/meth speed talking thing going on. It reminds me of that Georgia congressman Doug Collins--the one that talked so fast he missed his calling as auctioneer. And what's with her hand gestures, that's more suited to displaying the prizes on The Price is Right.

Courtroom camer just zoomed on the black woman sitting in the last row for about thirty seconds, what's up with that? It's not Fani.

R54: I think that woman is the zany trump co-defendant who, if I'm not mistaken, already pled guilty.

R32, every Trump case is getting the belt and suspenders treatment so that he will have no grounds to appeal.

R30, this is the jist of it, as I understand it: Willis hired an outside law firm to help prosecute the case against Trump. This is often done. Her guy works for the law firm that she hired., and that law firm stands to make a lot of money from the case. I guess the Trump argument is that Willis might get some of that money herself. That’s not very compelling. The implication that Willis’s professional judgment was affected by her romantic relationship is more troubling, but Trump can’t really argue that. It’s in his favor if she didn’t hire the most competent counsel.

I think the first woman - the one with chains attached to her glasses - lied.

Why didn't they subpoena Wade's actual billing diaries and not the statement? Diaries would show actual dates, time expended and work product. Or are those diaries not admissible?

This guy has been asked enough questions way beyond the scope, leave him alone.

I think Ashleigh's the bomb!

I'd bet Fani Willis is ripshit furious over this hearing.

Only herself to blame, R61. Fani Willis hired two incompetent lawyer/friends: the woman wearing the eyeglasses chain (whom she later fired); and this jerk, Wade.

Only the best people.😳

This trial is one big mess. Seems neither side can get their act together, but really it's up to Merchant's team since they're the plaintiff. They're totally unprepared.

Oh, to be Mike Pence's fly on a ketchup-smeared wall this afternoon!

None of it matters if the judge thinks Willis lied to the court, she’s done.

R65 And if she lied, and there's proof, she should have stepped away from the case.

R62 The woman with the chains / glasses is "Miss Yeartey". She wasn't a lawyer - she was the PR person for the DA. She was also friends with Willis while they worked together. At one point, she was let go (it wasn't clear if she was fired by the DA's office or if she left on her own - she didn't seem to give a truthful answer) and after that she rented her condo to Willis ( but they were no longer friends, she pointed out). This was in early 2022. She's trying to say that she knew for a fact Willis - who was no longer her friend - was involved with Wade, who was still married. She never really explained how she knew this as a fact.

I'm convinced Wade is tripping up Merchant on purpose - and she's letting him do it.

Wellllll... hello there, Mr. Wade.

Covid-denier with cancer!?

I'm done.

The judge seems to really dislike Merchant, from what I can tell. He has no problem cutting her off and pushing back on her dramatics.

We call Fani Willis.

"Will you? Won't you? Will you? Won't you? Will you join the Dance?"

Fanni Willis takes the stand ! Now this will get good. She's already asking for three files Merchant has - they need to take a break to find them from this morning. She will be running the trial from here on in.

D.A. Willis is loaded for bear!

She's going to serve Ashleigh's head on a plate.

Fani will cut a bitch. Ashleigh and the other lawyers will wilt under her RBF stare.

Fani has ripped Merchant to shreds.

Which trial am I at?..

Fanni is a TERRIBLE witness, argumentative, rude, talking too much. My GAWD, she is bombing.

Shouldn't admit to having cash on you in Atlanta, especially if you're living in Hapeville. She needs to pump the brakes.

When the movie is made of this case, I bet you Taraji P Hanson will be cast as Fani.

Hapeville is a cute little town on rise with a lot of potential. It's good enough for Porsche.

For a bigtime District Attorney, she's a really bad witness. Surprised the judge lets this kind of testimony stand. From a non-legal perspective, her anger and defensiveness is satisfying, fun. From a legal perspective, she's not helping herself at all.

Fanni has just been “cautioned” by the judge. He indicated if she keeps acting up, he will strike her testimony from the record. This is a clusterfuck on steroids. She’s very sassy. Too sassy for her own good.

For a professional woman, I am surprised at her poor grammar. In the beginning, she was telling how she met Wade for the first time. She said she met him through a female judge who knew him. She said, "Me and her were talking in the vestibue when he came up to us..." Me and her ? She made other mistakes, as well. For a woman with all her education, and a woman in her position, I'm really surprised at this. (I know others will say it's not a big deal, but I tend to pick up on these things.)

I'm going to transfer this trial to the ladies room.

Finally, Merchant's side is shutting Willis down. I guess two hours of her is enough.

[quote]Hapeville is a cute little town on rise with a lot of potential. It's good enough for Porsche.

Big enough for a pony?

[quote]She’s very sassy. Too sassy for her own good.

Kindly define sassy, R84, for once and for all. Why is that word used only in referencing Black women? Children are sassy, adult women are not. I suppose I should be glad you don't call her Sapphire.

Ms. Willis is assertive, at times overly so, but the more I hear, the more I feel empathy with her outrage.

No way. Keep it going. Ask a stupid fucking question get a stupid fucking answer.

This is Peter and Lisa, THE LOVERS, all over again.

R89 I want to see Trump in jail. I think he's guilty of the RICO charges and obstruction of justice and insurrection et. al. But I wouldn't characterize Willis's testimony as assertive - it's aggressive, angry, too much information, over-thinking, off-topic, too personal, self-justifying... all in a way that doesn't help her case.

Yes, she is defensive and disturbingly so.

We should hope never to find ourselves in similar situation. This is a tragedy in real time.

R89 I'm not R84, but here is a list of 'The 10 Sassiest Women in Hollywood' (from 2012). The only black female referenced is Wanda Sykes.

She is coming off badly. But I salivate at the thought of her grilling Trump. I think she could bait him to use the 'n' word on the stand. But for now, just answer the fucking question and STOP explaining so much. She and Wade give off the horny n-gger vibe.

The original sassy

Another list of sassy celebrity women...

Trump's lawyer Steve Sadow (the older gentleman) is having none of Fani's dramatic misbehavior.

"I'm not going to emasculate a black man." She's off the rails.

Why am I watching this? For lawyers on DL... if she is off the RICO case, what's next? Different prosecutors assigned? If she's off the case, the case still moves forward, right?

Fani needs a course in geography - and focus on continents !

[QUOTE]"I'm not going to emasculate a black man." She's off the rails.

Doesn't this imply she's withholding something that may emasculate him? If I were cross,- examining her, I'd question a little more deeply about that.

R100 I think it means that Wade's cancer was likely prostate and prevented him from being able to fuck.

It's just all such an irrelevant, bad showing. Although, as R94 says, seeing her push Trump's buttons on the stand would be seriously amusing.

Gee, the racist troll on this thread sure has got their kicks in.

You can see why she does RICO cases. The amount of detail in her testimony is fascinating.

The amount of detail is overwhelming - and I don't think it helps either side. It's clear from this trial today that the point is just to attack Willis, smear her, damage her credibility, punish her... it's a circus. She was lousy witness, but I want her on my side in a fight.

She was a great witness. These people are delving into her personal life, questioning her ethics, etc. She has every right to bury them alive with detail. They’re the ones that have to make a coherent case here. Not her.

MSNBC analysts think Willis did well on the stand. They think the judge is inclined not to disqualify her

I am looking forward to Mr. Willis's testimony tomorrow, a single father who raised his only child to be a financially independent woman, the basis of this hearing.

Despite today's drama, I truly believe Fani will prevail.

I'd pay cash money to see the facial expressions on Dump's lawyers when he launched into a racist, misogynistic tirade about Fani Willis or Tish James.

No one is citing one shred of evidence that actually supports Roman’s accusations. Fani did well and returns to the stand in the morning. Trump’s lawyers pretty much thought they could fling some mud and go, “Black people!” and win the day.

It didn’t turn out that way. Even their innuendo didn’t achieve lift off.

The fact that Willis has no records of repaying Wade is evidence by implication. The problem is there are two witnesses who said she paid cash and her father will testify that he taught her always to keep cash, so the implication will not be enough.

[quote]No one is citing one shred of evidence that actually supports Roman’s accusations.

I forgot what his accusations are ! Can anyone tell me ?

Actually, Willis and Wade have confirmed his principle accusation—that they had an affair. What is being tried is whether or not she benefited financially. They said they split the costs of their travel together, but they have no evidence to support that beyond their testimony. They say she repaid him in cash. There is also testimony that they lied to the court about whether they were in a relationship when she hired him.

There’s no evidence to say otherwise and the witness you refer to impugned herself on the stand so not exactly credible testimony. She’ll be crossed by the state tom’w who will tear her apart.

So what, they had an affair? This is exactly what he did to Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, the FBI agents. THE LOVERS! He stood on stage and acted like Lisa faking an orgasm. But here we are like fucking Ground Hog day, and his slate is wiped clean to do it again.

WASHINGTON – Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page has tried to avoid the media spotlight since gaining national attention for her text messages with fired FBI agent Peter Strzok, which President Donald Trump and his allies have used as evidence of a "deep state" conspiracy to undermine his presidency.

But in a rare interview, Page, 39, told The Daily Beast that she could no longer silently stomach the president's attacks on her. She said "the straw that broke the camel’s back" came when Trump repeatedly called her name at an Oct. 11 rally in Minneapolis in what she described as a "demeaning fake orgasm" while mocking her and Strzok, who were engaged in an extramarital affair.

Fani ate those other lawyers with a SPOON.

R114, Trump is a rapist. Demeaning women is more than a crime for him, it's a philosophy.

Trump probably wouldn't grab Ashleigh's pussy, which would disappoint her greatly.

Real Housewives of Atlanta Courtroom

The affair isn’t the issue. It’s why did she hire him? and has she benefited financially?

You missed our DL Happy Hour open bar, R119.

Wake up earlier tomorrow.

Hah r120! R119 is asleep at the wheel!

R36, the judge is about 35 years old.

R122 And kind of cute. I'm just sayin'....

R123, yes. McAfee also has piercing blue eyes.

MSNBC is applauding Willis' performance. Phang is her biggest cheerleader.

Katie knows her stuff.

Katie does indeed. She really defended Willis in a way which made me empathize with Willis, whereas earlier today I was turned off.

But this had to be perfect or it will be torn to shreds by MAGA. Now it's tainted.

Fannie needs to pass the baton- if the trial is to have any gravitas at all.

As I read the reports of this hearing, I have to say, that IMO there's only two factors that matter. Public opinion and the Judge. If public opinion is with Fani, than the judge can afford to cite the law and let the case proceed. If the internal politics are shifting from where they were several months ago, that it might be tougher. Kemp allowed this to move forward, discouraging attempts to derail it. What was at risk was the entire electoral process in Georgia and the deep rift between the Trumpers and others. Now Fani may have disillusioned some of the Kemp people because OMG, she has a boyfriend! But if the politics holds steady and she comes out of this unscathed, the Judge will do the right thing.

Definitely pass the baton time. I only saw the bit where she said he repaid him in cash for the trips.But amazingly never went to the bank to get the money. She just keeps thousands in cash at home for incidentals. Mmmmm.Okay.

Joyce Vance was not impressed with Fani. She called the whole Fani interaction today as 'all spectacle and no substance'. She said Fani should have a thicker skin, but she came in as 'hot and emotional'. Symone is filling in for 'The 11th Hour' and said the whole courtroom scene today was better than reality TV.

I'm afraid Joyce Vance may be right. But OTOH, the indignation was justified. These people were smearing her as they have done strategically in other situations like the FBI agents Trump ruined. She was being bullied. Now if she had had a lawyer to represent her interests it would have been different. But this was a hering and she was forced to testify and the kind of questions they were throwing at her were designed to smear her impugn her, and cast doubt so she pushed back. I think she was right to push back, but maybe Vance was correct in that she should have tried to be less emotional. It's really hard when they get so ugly, not to take it personally. But she will drive herself crazy if she lets them get to her. That fucking Judge better back her is all I'm saying. Because this Roman guy who opened this can of maggots is one ugly Trumper POS.

05:34:40

"She just keeps thousands in cash at home for incidentals"

I know she's not 'on trial'. But if the defense produces receipts to the contrary it will be a deadly blow to the trial. And her reputation will be down there with Tawana Bradley, Marion Barry and Andrew Gillum.

My private opinion is she was spending a lot of money on vacations with that Mandingo stud. She seems to indicate she was having trouble struggling on over $200,000 a year. Tax lien was languishing unpaid. She was staying with her dad, then renting a condo from an acquaintance (in cash) according to what she could afford that month... I think she's lying and in way over her head.

Fani must be pissed that Navalny pushed her out of the headlines this morning. The morning news shows were supposed to focus on her !

The state has WISELY decided not to call Fani to the stand today - "no questions" they said. So that made the courtroom go dormant for now, as everyone was expecting her to continue.

The legal eagles on MSNBC and CNN said this was a smart move - we can't have another day like yesterday. Trump's team would get yet another chance to question her through cross-examination, and she would blow a gasket. Best to keep her quiet and out of the picture.

Why are they interviewing a former GA governor and asking him about his cases? Seems irrelevant to me.

The former governor confirmed that Mr. Wade was not Ms. Willis's first choice for prosecutor, as she had interviewed the governor and he had declined her offer.

Fani Willis wasn't "raised by no fool."

Bravo, Mr. Floyd! Sharp as a tack at his age, and what a career!

Thanks R138, I had just woken up all binky eyed and turned on the tv. I've had my morning coffee and am more with it now. 🤪

It's rather early in the day for the trial (it started late today) and Ashleigh is already tongue-twisted and frustrated. Nothing seems to go her way. The state keeps objecting to just about everything - and her team is getting frustrated.

I'm keeping an eye on that judge. He's the one with the power

R142 What do you read so far on him in the tea leaves ? Is he going to side with the state (I think he is) ?

Yikes, Bradley just contradicted Wade's credit card testimony from yesterday. Wade clearly lied under oath.

Daydreaming, R144?

Bradley revealed nothing more than admitting he had left Mr. Wade's firm following sexual assault allegations.

Only the best witnesses.

Bet the judge sanctions Merchant & Company.

Brian Kemp is a POS, OK? But he was speaking yesterday or the day before at some public occasion, and he kicked Trump's ass once again, and he encouraged other Republicans t o reject Trump. He said something like, "Look at me. Why I bring it up is because Kemp reflects a large segment of the Republican Party in Georgia. And this judge is his appointee. A state Judge appointed by Kemp. A former prosecutor who probably knows Fani's work and knows her. So, IMO this judge is going to rule in Fani's favor and he may give her some kind of gentle reprimand to mild criticism so he can look unbiased. LOL! Lots of Georgia Republicans hate Trump and aren't afraid to say so,

R147 here. My quote was disappeared.Kemp said, "Look at me, I rejected Trump and I lived to tell the tale.." Then he repeated the fact that there was no fraud in the 202 election in Georgia.

Ash also has about 20-30 extra pounds.

"In Georgia, Trump’s seedy collaboration with the National Enquirer has combined with his connoisseurship of the courtroom to deliver us a Jerry Springer Show moment with Trump and his allies examining the love life of District Attorney Fani Willis on live television. Once again, Trump has come out a winner, smothering the main event and making Willis, Judge Scott McAfee, and the judicial system look ridiculous."

Willis came off as ghetto and evasive.

"And kind of cute. I'm just sayin'...." "McAfee also has piercing blue eyes."

Oh, I think he's adorable, R123 & R124. But then I remember he's a conservative family man, and...the excitement subsides.

Fani keeps saying she's 'not on trial'. But isn't that what the hearing was about, her possible disqualification? So she kinda is.

R152. Yes, but conservative guys tend to be the wildest behind closed doors. Grrrr.

I didn’t get a chance to see the end of day two of the trial. Has Judge McAfee declared the trial to be over, and his decision is pending?

No, it's not over for a few days and he won't rule from the bench. So, another delay.

Merchant is a nasty cunt for hire who is racist enough to totally misunderstand Black women's relationship.

White Privilege is what is really on trial in the conflict inquiry.

White people would say, naww They're FUCKING, and she is fucking for PROFIT.

Merchant and co are going to lose and should face sanctions for bringing the racist inquiry.

I hate Trump with a passion, but Fani and Wade really f'up the case with an inappropriate relationship, period. What were they thinking? Both were awful witnesses.

How does a relationship "fuck up" the case? .Among the many lawyers on the defense of this case there is a married couple and a "relationship" among the lawyers. Simply having a relationship, per Georgia regs, means nothing. If there was $ or advantage, that would be culpatory.

[quote] If there was $ or advantage, that would be culpatory.

R159 This is exactly what Trump's team (Merchant & Co) is trying to prove. They're saying Willis benefitted from the relationship (through gifts and Wade paying her expenses, which came out of his salary paid by the taxpayers). She is saying nothing like that ever happened - 'I don't need a man, I have a plan' - she always took care of herself.

So far, Merchant has proved nothing.

One thing people do not really appreciate. Fani's Daddy testified yesterday and made it very clear that one of the things he has always told her is to make sure you keep cash money around for everything. So for her to have cash or to reimburse Ward by paying cash, would not be unheard of. And truth be told, this is not something unusual in Black households, or Latino, or other ethnic groups who have reason not to trust that their credit card will always be accepted. Now, IMO, personally, if I was traveling with someone and needed to reimburse them for plane fare or hotel, I would do a transfer from my bank account to theirs. But hey. Maybe he preferred cash.

[quote]So for her to have cash or to reimburse Ward by paying cash, would not be unheard of. And truth be told, this is not something unusual in Black households, or Latino, or other ethnic groups who have reason not to trust that their credit card will always be accepted.

After listening to Fani and her dad's testimony for the past two days, all I can say is : Judge Judy owes hundreds of minority litigants a big apology for not believing them over the past 28 years.

Whenever a POC litigant testifies they paid the other person (especially a landlord) in 'cash', JJ always responds with "I don't believe you. No one pays rent to a landlord or settles any other debt such as a car loan to a private person 'in cash'. Never! "

When they insist they do, Judge Judy will ask for 'the bank statement' for them to prove that they withdrew cash on that day. Litigant will respond that they don't have a bank account - they cash their paycheck and keep their cash in the house to pay off any bills. Judge Judy has a big hearty laugh and asks them if they think she's stupid ? "No one keeps that much cash in a house. You keep it in a bank account."

This goes back and forth, and the one who has to prove payment ALWAYS loses because she doesn't believe they keep cash in a house to pay off any debt. You pay with check, credit card or cash app - period.

She owes them a huge national apology.

R162, maybe she does, because we had a neighbor who had no bank account and paid her bills with money orders. We never understood that.

I have a cleaning woman who comes by once a month to clean my bathroom and kitchen. She's a middle-aged woman from Portugal, who has been here a few years. She told me last year when she started that she needs to be paid in cash - she has no bank account here, so she can't cash any check I give her. (I never asked her why, she volunteered the info).

I did ask her if she pays her bills in cash - including rent - and she said yes. I told her she should always get a receipt for everything, especially her rent payment, to prove she paid her bills. She never knew she could get a rent receipt from her landlord, and glad I told her.

So far, Merchant has proved nothing.

So far, Merchant has proved nothing.

So far, Merchant has proved nothing.

[quote] She told me last year when she started that she needs to be paid in cash - she has no bank account here, so she can't cash any check I give her. (I never asked her why, she volunteered the info).

She’s illegal. She overstayed her visa or is illegally here some other way. As someone who lives on an area where all landscapers, painters, handymen etc are illegal, they can’t have bank accounts.

Trump was all “I’m getting these illegals immigrants out of here!” then went to a fundraiser a few blacks away from me where the entire catering and landscaping crew was illegal.

Poor people and people who come from poor people do not trust banks.

R166 She very well could be. I don't care - she does a great job cleaning (I can't believe it's my house when I walk in), and is very affordable. Best housecleaner I ever had. Hope she stays around for a while.

Immigrants in general (those not super-educated and/or recruited by tech or matriculating in post-secondary education) keep cash. They may or may not have bank accounts. This is not completely indicative of "non-documented" status... it's just cultural and class.

I grew up in a community with Latino, Asian, and black working class families. I remember hearing stories of thousands of dollars hidden in the house. This is all a great example of how white, middle class assumptions and values are so "standard", any deviation is doubted... by white middle class folk.

And the case is back in action, as they brought back witness Bradley since they believe he perjured himself on the stand two weeks ago.

Our lovely Ashleigh is being railroaded by Bradley, as she trips over her questioning and becomes rather angry. I think she's about to cry, as the judge keeps correcting her.

She is a horrible lawyer - everything she asks seems to be objectionable, and she becomes very angry. Very unprofessional on her part.

Dude is lying. Even the judge knows it

She is awful, but the judge is also a fucker for allowing this soap to continue beyond the first tow hearings. Everyone in this salacious process is being degraded, him included.

I hate her voice.

A shit show. And that is being kind.

Ashleigh B. Merchant is a yappy little dog, with about the same intellect.

I thought this was over with?!

r177 Witness against Fani and Wade is so bad, they called another hearing because he might have perjured himself. A total shit show.

This is all the fault of Trump.

Sadow is a lot less menacing when he's Zooming in, he's an absolute beast in the courtroom otherwise.

This key witness is lying through his teeth. I think it's pretty obvious to everyone.

Bradley is more respectful toward Sadow; he knows Sadow has the skills to expose his inconsistencies

Yeah, he's a terrible witness, even the dumb Ashleigh got some kicks in.

Sadow is ripping his ass to shreds. He's a no-nonsense lawyer and he's not putting up with his shit.

I hope Fani busts into the courtroom today and whoops everyone's ass again.

This is still going on?

Yup - Continued today. Not looking good for Fani's side.

[quote]Yup - Continued today. Not looking good for Fani's side.

I mean besides the simple fact that the defense's star witness doesn't know jack shit about their relationship.

And was actively sharing evidence-free gossip with the defense attorneys.

Spin little wingnuts, spin!

R187, not even milqtoast CNN sees it that way.

Judge is supposed to rule on Friday, I think. I am appalled that they would attempt this smear job, trying to trivialize the charges against the Former POTUS, serious charges, and impugn the integrity of the Prosecutor. Ward was not her first choice as second chair. The media tends to overlook the fact that Fani asked someone very prominent to be her second, and he turned her down. These fuckers do this with everything. They don't have a case to defend so let's attack the prosecutor and smear them. Just like political campaigns. They have nothing good to propose so let's attack the Dems and smear them.

Katie Phang called it best: “Bradley is a yenta. Defense still hasn’t met their burden.” Nice, succinct, and accurate. All that Trumptard bluster has amounted to zilch. Andrew Weissman said “all this carrying on is because this judge is new.” Lol…the shade!

[quote]I am appalled that they would attempt this smear job

r190 I was one of those who defended this evidentiary hearing, arguing that even someone like Trump deserves a fair trial. But after the third hearing, I've just abot had sufficient. It's turned into an absolute clown show that should be wrapped up now. For fuck sake, we saw attorneys crucifying their own star witness on the stand yesterday.

Having said that, I do still think that in the long run, it's better to have aired this dirty laundry now than having it hang over the whole trial like an albatross.

The judge should give an Engoron verdict, burden not met, take it up on appeal. Moving on.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

CNN thought the witness' testimony fell flat and didn't do anything for the defense.

The media once again gets it wrong. They ought to be looking at this:

@Tristan Snell: THESE are the questions the media should be asking about Fani Willis:

Who is paying to attack her?

Who is paying for the legal fees?

Where is all the money coming from?

The public deserves to know.

And the trial continues today in closing arguments...hopefully a ruling will be made by the end of the day (according to MSNBC).

Apparently, there's a 'surprise witness' that the prosecution wants to bring in (I believe) - a waiter from Napa Valley Grille who remembers waiting on Fani and Wade, and said Fani paid the whole bill - $400 - in cash. This debunks her previous testimony (and his) that whenever they went out (prior to dating) they always went 'dutch'. I believe the Judge won't allow it.

Ashleigh Merchant has sat out the closing argument for now, her older husband has taken over. He does much better than she does.

[quote] Apparently, there's a 'surprise witness' that the prosecution wants to bring in (I believe) - a waiter from Napa Valley Grille who remembers waiting on Fani and Wade, and said Fani paid the whole bill - $400 - in cash. This debunks her previous testimony (and his) that whenever they went out (prior to dating) they always went 'dutch'.

This has gotten so fucking ridiculous. So what if she did pay the bill one time in cash? THAT somehow negates Dump trying to steal an election????? The judge really needs to shut this down. He's let this nonsense go on long enough and given them plenty of opportunities so that this thing can't get overturned by an appeal.

[quote]This has gotten so fucking ridiculous. So what if she did pay the bill one time in cash? THAT somehow negates Dump trying to steal an election?????

Actually, the purpose of this trial is to knock her off the prosecution in Trump's case (nothing to negate Trump's case). If she and her department are disqualified, then they will have to find someone else to take the prosecution - someone who probably is not as prepared as Fani and her team. They have the burden of proof to show she's not qualified as a litigator (did she perjure herself two weeks ago when she said they went 'dutch' ) ?

I have to admit - Hubby Merchant was very good.

I believe the Judge is done. He wants this to end.

Judge needs to rule in favor of DA Willis and make an Engoron ruling... INCLUDE IT IN YOUR APPEAL.

Fani needs to make a surprise appearance again today, and open up a few more cans of 'whoop-ass' on everyone in the courtroom.

trump is courting Atlanta riots this weekend. If I owned a business there, I'd be boarding it up just in case.

I’m watching the closing arguments on MSNBC. I understand what these trumpy scum bag lawyers are trying to prove, but frankly, I would much rather see cutie Judge McAfee disrobe and walk around the courtroom in a tight pair of jeans.

At least r203 has her priorities straight!

How is McAfee going to rule? Listening to these arguments is mind numbing.

R196 Russia Russia Russia

He SHOULD give an Engoron ruling finding that the Defense has not met its burden of smearing DA Willis,

and they should shove it in their ear and INCLUDE IT IN THE INEVITABLE APPEAL.

An appeal AFTER THE TRIAL.

Abbate must be one of us

[quote] Fani needs to make a surprise appearance again today, and open up a few more cans of 'whoop-ass' on everyone in the courtroom.

She hurt her cause enough already.

D.A. Willis is wearing a power-red dress in court today.

R205 It is mind-numbing. I have on cnn in the background while working at home and this trial has become my latest source of white noise.

Katy Tur just broke in to turn our attention to the Miami court case, where Trump just left. Tur seemed rather bored with this Willis case.

Tur just said to another reporter that Abbate is 'difficult to watch' .

I hope Adam Abbate is more interesting in bed than he is in the courtroom. He's putting us to sleep.

It shows how out of his league he is compared to the Trump Sharks.

Downtown Atlanta seeing an increased police presence this afternoon.

The time I served on a jury, the defense attorney was super nervous like Abbate. Once we were allowed to deliberate and talk about the case, all of us jurors started in with bitchy comments about her. Abbate reminds me of that. Take a few deep breaths and calm down, honey.

Willis stayed at a Double Tree in Napa!!!!

Judge, that is A PRIMA FACIE reason to dismiss this bullshit against DD Willis!

He's reasonably attractive but he's quite handsome in profile.

Did Fani go on any paid yacht vacations?

Are we going to get a decision later tonight or will this drag out longer ?

Is his wife an unnamed co-conspirator in the overthrow of the government? Who paid for the crème brûlée?

These poor assholes! All of them! All the Trumpers try SO hard to find some filth on Biden, Hunter ( who brought up Jared's $2Billion Saudi package)) trying to smear Fani with salacious gossip, going after everyone, and the fucking media desperately looking for that shiny object, that "gotcha" moment, and.....crickets...so much time and money wasted on this stupidity.

r221, within two weeks.

R217 - When I served on a jury, the defense attorney was very nervous. In fact, first time I saw him, I thought he was the defendant. The prosecutor was overly emotional & looked like a well fed Elaine from Seinfeld.

Lol @ R215

r221 The judge already said earlier this week he wouldn't rule immediately after Friday's hearing, I don't know why so many posters here kept bringing up this possibility. MSNBC got it wrong in their reporting.

The judge was not winning any great reviews on MSNBC's "The Weekend' this morning with Symone, Michael Steele and guest George Conway (who was excellent in his criticism) - they all said he should have shut this circus down immediately. There was no reason why we had to go so deep into Fani's personal life, as she is not the one on trial. He needed to just stick to the 'facts' , not make this about Fani.

[quote] The judge was not winning any great reviews on MSNBC's "The Weekend' this morning with Symone, Michael Steele and guest George Conway (who was excellent in his criticism) - they all said he should have shut this circus down immediately.

You do know MSNBC is not providing real analysis, right? They tell their audience only what the audience wants to hear. If the investigation of Willis makes sense and if it should legitimately require that she be removed, you know there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that MSNBC would say that and piss off their audience.

[quote]They tell their audience only what the audience wants to hear

Well, they tell their audience none of the lies Fox Entertainment tells their audience.

I think the judge did it in the interest of transparency. Sort of, "let these dogs have their day." I think he was wrong. I think he should have shut it down in chambers. Because they are going to keep filing objections, and attempting to delay stuff and discredit Fani so she will not look legitimate to his MAGAs and others. I have this shit for brains cousin who fancies herself a liberal, and she was all upset because Fani was screwing this lawyer and it was "the appearance of a conflict..." It looked bad. She watched every second of the hearings on TV. I told her I did not watch it and that it was a fucking circus, a smear job, and was totally out of line. She wanted to argue with me! So it goes beyond MAGAs. It's the fact that for many many years a lot of us older people were conditioned to trust what we saw on TV News. We reflexively subconsciously believe that if these are t elevised hearings they must be important and legitimate.

Photos came out showing Ashleigh campaigned for Wade in 2016.

Her breastisses were substantially smaller then.

R233 She was smaller overall.

So she is a woman scorned!!! Ashleigh is having revenge on Ward and Fani because Fani has had him and he spurned Ashleigh. I think we need to promote that. Let's smear the smearer.

I wouldn't want to be the Starbucks barista on Ashleigh's commute. She's probably a total Karen cunt-"I ASKED for almond milk and this is soy!!!! I'd like to speak to the manager!"

[quote] trump is courting Atlanta riots this weekend

Oh yeah, that worked 🙄

She should have stuck to her singing career.

Operation: Destroy Fani, Part Deux

Fanni did this to herself. She should have known the Trumpers would come after her.

She should write soft porn novels like Stacey. She has a lot to draw on from her personal experiences.

She knew. Her answers were fine because there is no legal basis to deny her. None. I think the judge will issue a strongly worded criticism of some kind and then allow her to continue. That's why he threw out the sop of dismissing a few charges. And sure enough the media hyped it without really understanding how "nothing" it was.

I think we are the ones who need to remind ourselves that they would come for her and sling anything they could come up with at her. They have no case. So they attack the prosecutor to discredit them. And the Media falls for it, and the audience, us are vulnerable.

If the judge is going to remove her from the case, he would want to remove the problem charges first so that there would be fewer charges to transfer to her successor.