When former Trump campaign official Michael Roman, one of the former President’s co-defendants in the RICO case brought against them by Fulton County DA Fani Willis, alleged that DA Willis had an affair from special prosecutor Nathan Wade from which she financially profited, DA Willis mostly remained mum other than to accuse those criticizing her of being racists. Notably, she neither confirmed nor denied, at least initially, whether she was having any sort of relationship with Wade other than a professional DA-special prosecutor relationship. That changed with a recent filing, however.
Her admission came in a court document filed on Friday, February 1. In it, DA Willis admitted that she had a personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, an important admission given that she appointed him to the lucrative position and is alleged to have financially benefited from a relationship with him, as shown by tickets Wade bought in her name.
Specifically, the court filing admits that there was a “personal relationship” between DA Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. At one point, for example, it provides, “To be absolutely clear, the personal relationship between Special Prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis.” What that “personal relationship” between the two was is not spelled out in the document, though many suspect that it was of a sexual nature, particularly given Wade’s current divorce fight.
Further, the included deposition of special counsel Nathan Wade includes him admitting that there was a “personal relationship” between them, with Wade saying, “In 2022, District Attorney Willis and I developed a personal relationship in addition to our professional association and friendship.”
Elseshere, defending her conduct, the defense of DA Willis said, “although District Attorney Willis and Special Prosecutor Wade have been professional associates and friends since 2019, there was no personal relationship between them in November 2021 at the time of Special Prosecutor Wade’s appointment, and Defendants offer no support for their insistence that the exercise of any prosecutorial discretion (i.e., any charging decision or plea recommendation) in this case was impacted by any personal relationship.”
It continued, “Without those additional factors, the existence of a relationship between members of a prosecution team, in and of itself, is simply not a status that entitles a criminal defendant any remedy. Georgia courts have held as much for decades, in both civil and criminal contexts. Personal relationships among lawyers—even on opposing sides of litigation—do not constitute impermissible conflicts of interest.”
It then added, “However, she refuted allegations that the connection compromised the case’s integrity. Willis described the accusations against her as “meritless” and “salacious.” She requested a judge to dismiss the motions from Trump and other co-defendants aiming to remove her and her office from the case, advocating for this decision to be made without conducting a hearing.”
In the filing, both Wade and Willis strenuously deny that they had any financial motive or benefit in the litigation. Wade, for example, said during the deposition, “I have no financial interest in the outcome of the 2020 election interference case or in the conviction of any defendant.” He added, “No funds paid to me in compensation for my role as Special Prosecutor have been shared with or provided to District Attorney Willis. The District Attorney received no funds or personal financial gain from my position as Special Prosecutor.”
Watch DA Willis attack her critics here:
Featured image credit: Fani for DA Campaign website
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