Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis admitted Friday to having a “personal relationship” with the chief prosecutor she hired for former President Donald Trump’s election meddling case — but rejected allegations the relationship ever tainted the proceedings.
Willis insists there is no reason to dismiss Trump’s case — or disqualify him from it — because he did not spark a relationship with Nathan Wade when he tapped him to lead the prosecution again in 2021, according to a 176-page filing filed Friday. .
“Although District Attorney Willis and Special Prosecutor Wade have been colleagues and professional friends since 2019, there was no personal relationship between them in November 2021 at the time of Special Prosecutor Wade’s appointment,” court papers said.
The filing also includes a sworn affidavit from Wade in which he also confirms their relationship status and backs up the DA’s timeline.
“In 2022, District Attorney Willis and I developed a personal relationship in addition to our professional association and friendship,” Wade wrote in his affidavit.
It marks the first time Willis and Wade have spoken publicly about their romance in nearly four weeks since Trump’s co-defendant, Michael Roman, alleged a conflict of interest in the case over what he described as a “clandestine” relationship between the DAs. and the chief prosecutor.
Fulton County DA Fani Willis admitted to having a “personal relationship” with chief prosecutor Nathan Wade. Reuters
Friday’s filing by the DA’s team was a tit-for-tat response to a motion filed by Roman asking that the case against him be thrown out and preventing Willis, Wade and their office from continuing to prosecute the case.
Willis, in his filing, countered the defendants’ “baseless” claims that he wrongfully appointed an unqualified Wade to lead the Trump investigation and paid him $654,000 in total legal fees through 2022.
The DA vigorously defended Wade’s credentials, arguing in court papers that he has distinguished himself as an “extremely talented” litigator and pointing to a “decade-long successful legal career.”
Willis added that Roman’s own defense attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, was “familiar” with Wade’s resume because she supported his campaign to become Cobb County Superior Court judge in 2016.
Willis insisted that his plea should not invalidate the charges against Donald Trump and his co-defendants. AP
Exhibits attached to the filing include a photo of Merchant wearing a Wade campaign t-shirt and a social media post in which the defense attorney once described Wade as “ethical.”
Merchant acknowledged his previous support for Wade, but told The Post on Friday “that has nothing to do with whether or not he’s qualified to be appointed in this matter.”
The district attorney continued to defend Wade’s salary, arguing that he “earns more money than other special prosecutors simply because Wade does more work.”
Roman had alleged in his motion last month that Willis benefited from Wade’s high income when he took the DA on vacations, including to California and Miami.
But Wade rejected the claim in his sworn affidavit, insisting none of the funds paid to him as part of the job were later shared with Willis and they would split the travel costs.
Michael Roman filed massive court papers seeking to have criminal charges dropped against him on the grounds of a conflict of interest regarding Willis and Wade’s relationship. Mike Roman/Twitter
“There are times when I make and buy trips for District Attorney Willis and myself out of my personal funds. At other times District Attorney Willis has made and purchased trips for him and me out of his personal funds,” the affidavit charges.
Elsewhere in the lengthy filing, Willis argued that Georgia law does not prohibit relationships between attorneys — and complained there were other romantic relationships that occurred between attorneys.
“It should be noted that there are at least two personal relationships among the group of defense attorneys representing the defendants that, under the standards urged by Rome’s motion, would almost certainly require disqualification,” Willis’ filing said.
Judge Scott McAfree, who is overseeing the election case, has already set a Feb. 15 hearing on Roman’s motion.
Willis and Wade were among a dozen witnesses Roman’s attorneys had subpoenaed to testify at the trial, but Friday’s filing urged the judge to throw out the subpoenas and deny the motion without a hearing.
Trump and one of 14 other co-defendants charged with trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the Peach State have joined Roman’s motion.
Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in the Georgia case, said Willis asked the judge “to turn a blind eye to his alleged personal and financial misconduct.”
Trump and a co-defendant are accused of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. AP
“The sole objective is to try and stop the court from holding the evidentiary hearing set for February 15,” Sadow said in a statement.
“Although the DA admitted to having an intimate relationship with his employee’s Special Assistant. DA Wade, he failed to provide the full transparency and financial details required.”
In a subsequent filing just hours later, Merchant responded by saying Willis and Wade were trying to “abandon accountability.”
“If they had nothing to hide in the first place because they did nothing wrong, then why did they deliberately not tell anyone about it until they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar?” The merchant wrote.
Meanwhile, Willis’ team’s filing argued that Willis had no financial or personal conflicts of interest that would justify removing him or his office from the case.
The filing called the allegations “disgraceful” and said they “got the media attention they were designed to get.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
