# What happens if Trump is indicted in Georgia? (Indicted on August 14, 2023) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [February 17, 2023, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928 "2023-02-17T03:14:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 125
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2481 "2024-02-23T16:54:02Z")
Team Trump is reporting that Wade’s cellphone shows evidence of spending significant time prior to the stated relationship start in Willis’ neighborhood. It also seems to show a large number of texting prior to that date and… > [@](#): > > Mittelstadt highlighted two nights in particular. In September 2021, he said the data shows Wade arrived around Willis’s condo one night at 10:45 p.m. and remained there until almost 3:30 a.m. About a half-hour later, Wade arrived at his home and sent a text to Willis minutes afterwards, the investigator claimed. To be sure, Willis could live near Wade’s prior girlfriend and he could be messaging Willis at 3:30am with work stuff that he just happened to think about on his drive back home from his ex-girlfriend’s. We’ll have to see what explanation is given (if any) but, for the moment, the evidence isn’t in Willis’ favor. [https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4485060-trump-investigator-offers-cell-phone-data-casting-doubt-on-fani-willis-relationship-timeline/](https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4485060-trump-investigator-offers-cell-phone-data-casting-doubt-on-fani-willis-relationship-timeline/) ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2482 "2024-02-23T19:43:23Z")
I haven’t read enough to comment on the merit of this, but does it seem bonkers to anyone else that someone charged with a crime can get the prosecutor’s phone records? Is that normal or is there some special reason that they were able to do that in this case? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2483 "2024-02-23T19:47:51Z")
I was wondering the same thing . And I was also thinking about all the late night conversations I had in my apartment with my late fiancé, and the nights he slept on my sofa, all which occurred after we became close friends and before we had any sort of intimate relationship. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2484 "2024-02-23T20:04:51Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > To be sure, Willis could live near Wade’s prior girlfriend and he could be messaging Willis at 3:30am with work stuff that he just happened to think about on his drive back home from his ex-girlfriend’s. We’ll have to see what explanation is given (if any) but, for the moment, the evidence isn’t in Willis’ favor. I’m reading the evidence as much less strong: > **[Trump lawyers: Cell data may show Georgia prosecutors meeting late at night](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/02/23/fani-willis-nathan-wade-cellphone-data/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzA4NjY0NDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzEwMDQ2Nzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MDg2NjQ0MDAsImp0aSI6IjBmZDA0NGM5LWViYTYtNDk5NS1iZTRhLTAwNzU3ZjVmMjUxNSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9uYXRpb25hbC1zZWN1cml0eS8yMDI0LzAyLzIzL2Zhbmktd2lsbGlzLW5hdGhhbi13YWRlLWNlbGxwaG9uZS1kYXRhLyJ9.AJbvNQwN8fF5ttopZhangOFHTSGbq0VoV3A7G_kkuOM&itid=gfta)** > > Donald Trump’s lawyers in the Georgia election interference case presented cellphone data that they suggest contradicts the testimony of two prosecutors accused of engaging in an improper relationship. > [@](#): > > The data does not definitively prove that Wade was visiting Willis — or, if he was, what happened during those visits. The Hapeville area where Willis rented the condo is a busy commercial stretch adjacent to the Atlanta airport, filled with restaurants and major highways. It is also among the more densely populated, predominantly Black neighborhoods in the region and is home to a concentration of businesses that are open late, including bars, night clubs and strip clubs. > > It’s unknown low large of an area Trump’s investigator examined around the condo. He explained in his affidavit that he drew the data from two cellphone towers, one 2,000 feet from the condo and the other about 3,000 away. An area many thousands of feet across could capture large swaths of territory well beyond Willis’s former condo. If there’s triangulation that narrows the area down to, say, 100’ around the apartment, that’s one thing; but if it’s possible that Wade had a different girlfriend in the area, or was a regular at a bar, or something like that, that could account for a less precise finding. Then there’s this: > [@](#): > > According to the filing, the cellphone data shows 2,000 voice calls and 12,000 text messages between Willis and Wade over an 11-month period in 2021. A “heat map” shows that “a prevalence of calls” were made in the evening, the filing states. That’s about six phone calls a day _on average_ and about 25 text messages a day _on average_. Is that remotely within reason? Like, when my wife and I first started dating, we talked on the phone almost every night (we were long-distance)–but that’d be about one phone call a day on average. And this was pre-texting. This data comes across really weird to me. And then consider the fact that, if they were texting and spending this much time with each other, _they knew the records would show that_. It would be incredibly stupid to lie on the stand about it if they’d engaged in this behavior, or at least not to tell a different set of lies. Maybe they’re both incredibly stupid, but that’s not the vibe I’m getting. An alternative theory–that Trump’s team’s data analysis isn’t always airtight–seems much likelier to me. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2485 "2024-02-23T20:05:57Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > does it seem bonkers to anyone else that someone charged with a crime can get the prosecutor’s phone records? Yes. I think I recall that the Trump team also seemed to have access to the private divorce proceedings, earlier. The ex-spouse could be getting revenge on Wade? Someone in the system that’s MAGA could be sharing things? Or there’s some technicality where they were able to properly get access to this info. For the moment, I have to assume the last but I am curious. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2486 "2024-02-23T21:28:38Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > …does it seem bonkers… Yes, this whole thing is **insane**. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2024, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2487 "2024-02-24T17:11:41Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > That’s about six phone calls a day _on average_ and about 25 text messages a day _on average_. Is that remotely within reason? Like, when my wife and I first started dating, we talked on the phone almost every night (we were long-distance)–but that’d be about one phone call a day on average. The other thing that kind of dashes the argument is that all that phone and text content literally represents time they were not spending in person together. If there was actual dalliance going on, phone use would almost certainly be much lower. Unless it is a crime to have feelings. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2488 "2024-02-27T14:56:50Z")
Former Wade law partner and putative divorce attorney, Terrence Wade, will be testifying again today: > **[Former law partner testifying today about Fulton DA Willis, Nathan Wade](https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/27/former-law-partner-must-testify-tuesday-about-nathan-wades-relationship-with-fulton-da-fani-willis-sources-say/)** > > Terrence Bradley testifying at 2 p.m. hearing in Atlanta in hearing related to Donald Trump's Georgia indictment. 2:00 PM EDT > Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee notified attorneys in the case late Monday that some communications between Bradley and Wade are not protected by attorney-client privilege, sources said. McAfee made his decision after a closed-door meeting with Bradley on Monday, the sources confirmed. One hopes that Bradley can corroborate the timelines given by both Wade and Willis. If not, that would be A Bad ThingTM. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2489 "2024-02-27T20:03:08Z")
I don’t believe this is going like defence was hoping. Judge just said he was cutting this off by 3:05 pm. Ah, he was cutting off one of the defence lawyers. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2490 "2024-02-27T20:12:50Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > I don’t believe this is going like defence was hoping. > > Judge just said he was cutting this off by 3:05 pm. Ah, he was cutting off one of the defence lawyers . **[This is a quick 2-minute clip](https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5107749/terrence-bradley-recall-timing-willis-wade-relationship-began)**. It moves slowly … Bradley doesn’t say a lot, but it’s clear that his feet are firmly planted. Has it been going like this all day? EDIT: > ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2491 "2024-02-27T20:21:48Z")
Yea, defence keeps hammering on wade’s texts. Wade is saying he does not have firm knowledge on when the romantic relationship started. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2492 "2024-02-27T20:22:40Z")
I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Bradley apparently told Merchant, back in January, that Wade and Willis were having an affair before Wade was hired. Now he’s stonewalling the everloving shit out of her (and now the other defense attorneys). I can think of a couple of scenarios to explain this behavior: 1. He was telling the truth originally, but since then, someone powerful has gotten to him, and intimidated him into shutting up. 2. He was talking shit earlier about someone he’s mad at, and now that he’s on the stand, he’s really worried about perjuring himself. The second is seeming more and more likely to me. Bradley is not exactly coming across as the Guard Who Always Tells the Truth, but it sure seems like he was talking shit earlier. That said, I’m inclined to favor Wade & Willis, so my bias might be showing. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2493 "2024-02-27T20:32:46Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > Yea, defence keeps hammering on wade’s texts. **Wade is saying** he does not have firm knowledge on when the romantic relationship started . “Wade is saying” or “Bradley is saying”? Or did both testify today? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2494 "2024-02-27T20:35:18Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The second is seeming more and more likely to me. Bradley is not exactly coming across as the Guard Who Always Tells the Truth, but it sure seems like he was talking shit earlier. > > That said, I’m inclined to favor Wade & Willis, so my bias might be showing. Either way, if Bradley changed his story, his testimony probably isn’t going to be reliable. If this was something the defense was counting on, oops! ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2495 "2024-02-27T20:36:04Z")
I believe that Willis and wade were friendly after meeting at a conference, I don’t believe that it became romantic until after they started working together. To give Mr Bradley a big benefit of the doubt, he knew they met at x, became friendly, and at some point it became romantic. The only things he knows for sure is the meeting point. The rest of it is defence speculation and Bradley’s speculation. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2496 "2024-02-27T20:36:38Z")
Sorry, Bradley, not wade. Good grief, now the defence is going after Bradley. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2497 "2024-02-27T20:50:09Z")
I’m not an attorney and I can’t follow all the details–but given how completely losing their everloving shit the defense attorneys are, I’m starting to suspect this hearing isn’t making them extra happy. Like, at this point there’s zero chance they’re going to get him to say anything useful; they’re just saying, with fancy (but not very fancy) lawyer words, “LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE” ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2498 "2024-02-27T20:50:21Z")
I was once approached to testify in a civil case, from both the plaintiff and the defense. I told the lawyers on both sides that I would be willing to testify if they want me to, but that my testimony would be truthful, and the truth is that I can only give speculation and opinion, I can’t give any factual testimony either for or against the defendant. I was not asked to testify. (It was my former boss at a job being sued for something he was accused of. I’m pretty sure he did it, and have good reason to think that, but that’s still just an opinion.) If only Bradley and/or the defense counsel did that, they’d have avoided this mess. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2499 "2024-02-27T21:32:23Z")
It is over for the day. The judge will have another hearing on Friday regarding cell phone records. This is starting to get into the weeds hoping for a wild water fowl. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2024, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928/2500 "2024-02-27T21:57:44Z")
So… It sounds like the Trump defense teams attempt to smear Willis and Wade was a nothingburger, and the secret sauce turned out to be a dude speculating that maybe they were together before the trial based on a conversation he had but can’t remember the date. Q’elle Surprise. Just another bunch of horseshit designed to obfuscate and delay. I’m just shocked that Trump’s attorneys didn’t show up with a known Russian agent to deliver testimony, and come up with a picture of Wade’s penis to show their audience of mouth-breathers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928.md?page=124) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-trump-is-indicted-in-georgia-indicted-on-august-14-2023/979928.md?page=126)