The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (02/15/2024):

3:05pm- On Thursday, a hearing was held to determine whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the Georgia election interference case she brought against former President Donald Trump. According to allegations, Willis engaged in an improper, romantic relationship with the lead prosecutor of the case, Nathan Wade—paying him an estimated $650,000 in taxpayer money. Willis is also alleged to have directly derived financial benefit from the relationship with Wade in the form of several extravagant vacations. During the hearing, Robin Yeartie—a longtime friend of Willis—testified that Willis and Wade had a romantic relationship dating back to 2019.

3:20pm- Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has taken the stand to testify in a hearing to determine whether she should be disqualified from the Georgia election interference case she brought against former President Donald Trump. Reacting to Nathan Wade’s earlier testimony, Federal and White Collar Defense Attorney Caroline Polisi told MSNBC that “if things are going in the direction we think, Fani Willis lied to the court. It’s game over for her. She will be disqualified.”

3:40pm- Flashback: In 2020, while speaking with The Atlanta Voice, Fani Willis explained why Georgians should support her efforts to become District Attorney of Fulton County—ironically explaining “because they deserve a DA that won’t have sex with his employees. Because they deserve a DA that won’t put money in their pocket.”

3:50pm- During his testimony on Thursday to determine if a conflict of interest exists in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump, Nathan Wade told the court that he and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis would regularly travel from Atlanta, Georgia to Tennessee for lunch—and nothing else. But according to Apple Maps, the drive around lunchtime would take roughly 4 hours with traffic.

4:05pm- On Thursday, a hearing was held to determine whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the Georgia election interference case she brought against former President Donald Trump. While being questioned by Trump’s attorney Ashleigh Merchant, Willis was so adversarial that Judge Scott F. McAfee had to warn Willis that he would strike her testimony if she didn’t begin directly answering the questions presented to her. After a 5-minute court break, Willis was asked about her financial situation—she complained about having to spend $50,000 of her own money in an unsuccessful campaign to become a member of the Fulton County Superior Court.

4:20pm- Richard Fausset of The New York Times writes: “Fani Willis’s testimony has a number of audiences: Judge McAfee, who will decide whether she should be disqualified from the Trump election case; the voters of Fulton County, who will decide whether to re-elect her to a second term later this year; the Fulton County residents who could serve on the Trump trial jury; and people around the country, who have to make up their mind about the legitimacy of her prosecution.” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/02/15/us/fani-willis-trump-hearing/eb0398e0-1383-501c-85ec-13b34ee84fe4?smid=url-share

4:30pm-Richard Faust of The New York Times writes: “Fani Willis says her physical relationship with Nathan Wade ended before former President Trump and his allies were indicted by her office in August 2023.” At another point, while being questioned by Donald Trump’s lawyer Steve Sadow, Willis said that although Wade paid for several trips the two took together but she always repaid him in cash—she was unable to provide proof of the reimbursement. Faust continues: “In response to more questions about their spending, Fani Willis, the district attorney, said that when they were dating, Nathan Wade ‘told me one time the only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich. We would have brutal arguments about the fact that I am your equal.’ She added, ‘There was tension always in our relationship, which is why I would give him his money back. I don’t need anybody to foot my bills.’” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/02/15/us/fani-willis-trump-hearing/8ed09cb1-2747-596f-8571-4024686b7aca?smid=url-share

4:45pm- According to NBC Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander, Special Counsel Robert Hur never brought up the death of Beau Biden when he interviewed President Joe Biden as part of his investigation into the mishandling of classified documents. Alexander emphasized: “Hur never asked that question.” President Biden had publicly admonished Hur for asking about his son despite it having nothing to do with the investigation.

5:05pm- On Thursday, a hearing was held to determine whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the Georgia election interference case she brought against former President Donald Trump. According to allegations, Willis engaged in an improper, romantic relationship with the lead prosecutor of the case, Nathan Wade—paying him an estimated $650,000 in taxpayer money. Willis is also alleged to have directly derived financial benefit from the relationship with Wade in the form of several extravagant vacations. During the hearing, Robin Yeartie—a longtime friend of Willis—testified that Willis and Wade had a romantic relationship dating back to 2019.

5:20pm- Judge Scott F. McAfee announced the hearing to determine whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the Georgia election interference case she brought against former President Donald Trump has ended for the day. It will resume at 9am ET on Friday.

5:30pm- While appearing on Fox News with Jesse Waters, reporter Michael Shellenberger speculated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may have raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home to retrieve a binder which included classified details on the Obama Administration’s potentially unlawful surveillance of the Trump campaign.

5:40pm- Richard Faust of The New York Times writes: “Fani Willis says her physical relationship with Nathan Wade ended before former President Trump and his allies were indicted by her office in August 2023.” At another point, while being questioned by Donald Trump’s lawyer Steve Sadow, Willis said that although Wade paid for several trips the two took together but she always repaid him in cash—she was unable to provide proof of the reimbursement. Faust continues: “In response to more questions about their spending, Fani Willis, the district attorney, said that when they were dating, Nathan Wade ‘told me one time the only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich. We would have brutal arguments about the fact that I am your equal.’ She added, ‘There was tension always in our relationship, which is why I would give him his money back. I don’t need anybody to foot my bills.’” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/02/15/us/fani-willis-trump-hearing/8ed09cb1-2747-596f-8571-4024686b7aca?smid=url-share

5:50pm- While speaking at a campaign rally in Charleston, South Carolina, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said that political rival Nikki Haley will never be his Vice President.

5:55pm- Charlie Savage of The New York Times reports: “The White House clashed with the Justice Department in the run-up to the release of a special counsel report last week about President Biden’s handling of classified information, previously undisclosed correspondence shows. The letters, obtained by The New York Times, show that a top Justice Department official rejected complaints from Mr. Biden’s lawyers about disparaging comments in the report regarding the president.” You can read the full report here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/us/politics/joe-biden-special-counsel.html

6:05pm- According to Shannon Thaler of The New York Post, “The US government asked a judge for permission to sell a $300 million Russian superyacht seized in 2022 — citing the fact that it’s been costing taxpayers $600,000 a month to maintain. The hefty monthly tab includes $360,000 in payments to the 348-foot vessel’s crew, plus $75,000 for fuel and $165,000 in other maintenance, like waste removal and food…The superyacht, called Amadea, reportedly belongs to Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, an alleged money launderer sanctioned by the US in 2018 as one of several oligarchs who profited from the Kremlin ‘through corruption and its malign activities around the globe, including the occupation of Crimea.’” You can read the article here: https://nypost.com/2024/02/14/business/seized-russian-yacht-faces-sale-over-600k-monthly-costs-covered-by-taxpayers/

6:20pm- An abbreviated hour of The Rich Zeoli Show due to college basketball— the Temple Owls take on the Florida Atlantic Owls.