"Sorority sisters?": Fani Willis sorority claim surfaces amid testimony in Nathan Wade scandal

On February 15, 2024, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is fighting multiple criminal cases against Donald Trump, took the witness stand to testify about her former romantic relationship with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, as part of misconduct allegations against her.

Fani Willis defended herself by saying that, unlike a previous witness’ testimony, her relationship with Nathan Wade, the lead Donald Trump prosecutor, did not begin earlier than the official records, and there was no conflict of interest in Trump’s 2020 election interference case that she is overseeing.

She even claimed that “lies” were being spread against her to have her removed strategically.

“Do you think I’m on trial? These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial,” Willis told defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant who’s investigating her.

The Fulton County DA even accused Merchant of having “interests” which were against “democracy.”

In the wake of this hearing, rumors have arisen on social media platforms that Fani Willis was the sorority sister of Vice President Kamala Harris when the duo attended Howard University together. X user @BrendanMcInnis joked about the speculation under his own post.

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Exploring Fani Willis and Kamala Harris’ sorority sister claims amidst the latter’s misconduct allegations

According to various media sources including Politico, both Kamala Harris and Fani Willis attended the private, federally chartered historically black university called Howard University in Washington D.C.

However, at no point were they together at the school. Kamala Harris attended the university from 1982 until she graduated in 1986 with a B.A. degree in political science and economics. During her time at the institution, she was part of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

In contrast, Fani Willis started attending Howard University in 1989 and graduated with cum laude in 1993. She earned a B.A. degree in political science and government.

As per the Chicago Defender, the DA was a member of the school’s Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society and the President of the Golden Key National Honor Society. But there’s no evidence that she was ever a sorority member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Former Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman, who served in the post during the January 6 attack, has also been named as one of Willis' sorority sisters. So far, there is no proof of the same.

In the wake of Willis’ fiery testimony on Thursday, claims arose on the internet that she was the sorority sister of the Vice President. While that may not be true, here are some of the mixed reactions on the same from X.

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A dive into Fani Willis’ latest controversy

According to the New York Post, one of Fani Willis’ longtime friends Robin Yeartie testified over a Zoom call on Thursday that she allegedly saw the Fulton County DA “hugging” and “kissing” Nathan Wade back in 2019 on multiple occasions, even when the latter was married.

Yeartie added that there was “no doubt” the duo was in an intimate relationship way before Wade charged Donald Trump with the election fraud case in November 2021 on the advice of Willis.

However, as per Willis and Wade’s prior statement to the court, their personal relationship only began in 2022 and ended in the summer of 2023, thus contradicting Yeartie’s testimony.

To clear the air, Fani Willis, who earlier refused to take the witness stand, finally agreed to testify on Thursday about the exact timeline and nature of her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade.

She slammed back against the allegations of Yeartie and accused DA Ashleigh Merchant of trying to ruin her reputation. Merchant is currently probing into the misconduct allegations against Willis and Wade and is incidentally also the criminal defense attorney of one of Trump’s co-defendants.

“I’ve been in my office pacing. You lied on Monday and yet here we are. How dishonest you were with the court on Monday. I’m actually surprised the hearing continued. But since it did, here I am,” Willis stated.

Earlier this week, it was Merchant who pushed the court to compel Willis and Wade to take the stand under oath.

Willis further said that she wasn’t a “hostile witness” and wanted to say her side of the story, adding that the allegation that she was intimate with Nathan Wade at a conference in October 2019 was “extremely offensive.”

Trump’s lead prosecutor and special counsel also testified, “There is nothing secret or salacious about having a private life.” He also added that contrary to Yeartie’s claims, he was not in any romantic relationship between 2019 and 2021 as he was battling cancer during that time.

He also stated that it was way after his appointment by Willis to lead the case against Trump that they began dating briefly and that there was no conflict of interest at present, arguing that neither of them should be removed from the former President’s election fraud trial.

As per the Associated Press, if Willis and Wade’s latest testimonies prove to be false, they will be facing perjury charges, will get disqualified from the trial, and even may upend the criminal cases against Donald Trump altogether.