- Georgia prosecutors admit relationship
- Disqualification requests denied
- Allegations threaten Trump case
Two prosecutors in Georgia have refused requests to be dismissed from their election case against Donald Trump following their admission of a romantic relationship.
Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, has labelled allegations of a conflict of interest as “slanderous” and “made in bad faith.”
Nathan Wade, an external prosecutor appointed to the case by Ms. Willis, stated in an affidavit that the two had “become romantically involved” in 2022.
Co-defendants and Mr. Trump are seeking their disqualification from the case.
In their Friday filings, the prosecutors publicly acknowledged their relationship for the first time.
Mike Roman, one of Mr. Trump’s co-defendants, claims the prosecutors had an adulterous affair and benefitted from it.
These charges threaten the arrest of the former president and his aides for trying to overturn the 2020 Georgia election.
The former president has exploited the admission, writing on Truth Social on Friday, “By targeting the highest-ranking individual… she managed to secure significantly more money for her ‘lover’.”
Prosecutors Fight Disqualification Claims
Ms. Willis claims in her filing that they do not meet Georgia state law’s exclusion threshold.
She has requested that Judge Scott McAfee dismiss the legal motions seeking her removal.
She writes, “The petitions spin completely unremarkable circumstances surrounding the appointment of Special Prosecutor Wade and entirely irrelevant allegations about his personal family life to fabricate a conflict of interest on the part of the District Attorney. This attempt must fail.”
A hearing concerning the allegations is scheduled for February 15th by the judge.
In his affidavit, Mr. Wade denies any suggestion that his compensation for the case was shared with Ms. Willis.
He clarified that he and Ms. Willis never cohabited, shared domestic expenses, or had a joint account, and that “personal travel expenses were roughly split between us,” with personal funds covering these costs.
Ms. Willis designated Mr. Wade special prosecutor for the probe in 2021, following which he divorced his twenty-year-old wife.
In January court documents, Mr. Roman accused Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis of profiting from a “illicit, secret personal relationship.”
He alleged that Ms. Willis also “substantially” favoured Mr. Wade at “taxpayers’ expense.” The complaint says they took extravagant vacations together, but there is no proof.
Since then, Mr. Trump and another co-defendant, Bob Cheeley, have supported Mr. Roman’s motion to disqualify the district attorney.
Divorce Proceedings Intertwine with Case
These allegations coincide with Mr. Wade’s divorce proceedings. Joycelyn Wade, his ex-wife, subpoenaed Ms. Willis to testify in the divorce case.
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The Wades settled their divorce on January 30, shortly before the court date.
Should Mr. Roman’s efforts succeed, they could severely undermine Ms. Willis’s case.
“A disqualification poses a grave threat to the work of the Fulton County DA’s Office,” said Anthony Michael Kreis, a professor at Georgia State University College of Law.
Due to a conflict of interest, Ms. Willis and her office were difficult to remove from the case.
Prof. Kreis said that if the defendants win, the entire Fulton County District Attorney’s office would need to be replaced, potentially leading to the new prosecutor offering lenient plea deals or dropping the case altogether.
