Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is accused of paying one of her special prosecutors $100 less an hour than her allegedly less-than-worthy lover, Nathan Wade.
Court records show Wade billed the Fulton County District Attorney’s office $250 an hour for his work prosecuting Donald Trump and 18 others on state race charges of meddling in the 2020 election in November and December 2021, despite having no experience in that area of the law.
Meanwhile John Floyd – considered the state’s top expert in Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) cases – billed just $150 an hour in the same months, according to a contract obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The revelation came a day after Willis — accused last week of having a “clandestine” personal relationship with Wade in papers calling for both to be fired from the case — said he treated all three special prosecutors he hired equally.
Speaking at a local church service on Sunday, he said: “I appointed three special advisers, as is my right to do so, paying them all the same hourly rate.”
Fani Willis (center) and Nathan Wade (right) have been accused in a court filing of misconduct. Getty Images
A third special prosecutor, Anna Cross, is paid $250 an hour in 2022, according to the Daily Caller, which also said an agreement reached between Fulton County and Floyd after April 2022 may be at a higher rate, but was not immediately available. . A call to Willis’ office on Monday said it was closed for a government holiday.
A representative of Floyd’s office declined to comment, but insisted the three attorneys had joined the case at different times and brought different areas of expertise to the case.
Willis went on to accuse his critics of racism, saying they had singled out Wade as the only black prosecutor he hired.
Speaking at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta on Sunday, he said: “I hired a black man, another superstar, a good friend and a great lawyer … The first thing they said: ‘oh, he gonna play the race card now.”
“But no God, aren’t they playing the race card when they only question one?”
Nathan Wade listens as prosecuting attorney Daysha Young presents arguments in the case against Donald Trump in Georgia ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Michael Roman, the defendant who first claimed Willis and Wade were having an affair, was quick to hit back.
“The biggest difference between Ms. Cross, Mr. Floyd and Mr. Wade is that Ms. Willis has no relationship with Ms. Cross and Mr. Floyd,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunday.
Roman’s filing alleges Wade used money from settling the case to take Willis on vacations in Napa Valley and the Caribbean.
“Willis and Wade were romantically involved before Willis entered into a contract for legal services with Wade,” the filing said, though it offered no evidence to prove it.
Accordingly, Wade’s past stance on conflicts of interest has raised some eyebrows.
Wade was spotted outside his law office after the scandal broke but has yet to comment on the matter. Ben Hendren for the NY Post
He appeared to take a strong stance when asked at a candidate forum sponsored by the Cobb County NAACP about when a judge should recuse himself from a case.
“If there’s an appearance, just an improper appearance, and there’s a request to withdraw, just do it, because by not doing it, what you’re doing is hurting the county in the long run, you’re hurting the taxpayers. a lot of money,” Wade said in 2016, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
Wade referred to Cobb County Superior Court judge Reuben Green — whom he has challenged for his position several times — after he was accused of having a conflict of interest that sparked an ethics complaint.
Wade also sued then Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue (R). appointed Green to the bench in 2010 because she was married to one of the governor’s top aides.
Wade is paid $100 an hour more than any other prosecutor in Willis’ office. Getty Images
Green, a former state and federal prosecutor, previously denied Wade’s allegations.
Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the Georgia election meddling case, said in court Friday that he expects to hold a trial on the alleged relationship between Wade and Willis in early February.
Trump and Roman have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The case has not yet been scheduled for trial.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
