Geolocation data from special prosecutor Nathan Wade's cell phone show he was paying late-night visits to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' condo before he was hired as a special prosecutor, according to attorney Ashleigh Merchant.
"It's pinging from his house all the way down to the condo at midnight, 1 a.m.," Merchant, an attorney for one of former President Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia racketeering case, said Wednesday in court. "And then he calls her when he gets there. And then it goes silent for four or five hours. And then, you know, early in the morning hours, he starts pinging again, driving back, and then he texts her when he gets home."
Attorneys who are trying to keep Willis from prosecuting Trump have floated the claims about the condo visits in court, pointing out the cell phone data showed Wade was near Willis' apartment, The Washington Examiner reported.
State attorneys have argued geolocation data is not reliable as evidence, but Merchant told the state Senate that Georgia is "currently using the same data in another courtroom to prosecute someone, but in their defense in ours was that it's not reliable."
The Senate hearing is separate from the courtroom proceedings to concerning Willis and Wade, and evidence from the hearing will not be admissible for the Fulton County Superior Court proceedings.
However, the committee can still subpoena Willis or other prosecutors during their investigation into whether she misused taxpayer funds.
Willis and Wade have admitted to having an affair, after allegations about them surfaced in January.
The timeline of the affair has come under scrutiny, with attorneys for Trump and his co-defendants arguing they were involved before Willis hired Wade as a special prosecutor, which they say presents a conflict of interest.