Former President Donald J. District Attorney Fannie D. is prosecuting the Georgia election interference case against Trump. Willis acknowledged Friday that he had a “personal relationship” with the attorney he hired to manage the case, but argued that was not a reason to disqualify him. Or her office from it.
Mr. The admission comes nearly a month after allegations of an “improper, secret personal relationship” between the two surfaced in a motion from one of Trump's co-defendants. The motion seeks to disqualify prosecutors and Ms. Willis's entire office from handling the case — a move that, if successful, would disrupt the state's criminal prosecution of a former president like never before.
“Although the allegations raised in the various motions are salacious and have received the media attention they were designed to receive, none have provided this court with any basis to order the relief they seek,” Ms. Willis' filing said, adding that “the relationship between Ms. Willis as an individual and attorney Nathan J. Wade, Ms. Willis “directly or not directly or indirectly involved in financial gain”.
Mr. In the Willis filing, Mr. Mr. Wade said the personal relationship began only after he was hired.
The original motion, which included allegations filed by Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official, alleged that Ms. Willis appointed her “boyfriend” as special counsel, offered him lucrative contracts even though he was ineligible, and benefited from the move. Mr. Wade Paid Holidays.
But Ms. Willis said in her post that “the financial responsibility for personal travel is roughly equally divided,” and Mr. Wade echoed that language in his affidavit. Lawyer.”
In November 2021 at the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, Mr. Mr. Wade said the relationship began before he started working. Roman's motion is to blame. But in his filing on Friday, Mr. Mr. Willis in 2022. He also included an affidavit in which he said he had “developed a personal relationship” with Wade.
The allegations, and Ms Willis's silence about them until now, have thrown the high-profile prosecution off balance, given Mr Trump a new attack and raised the prospect of delays or serious damage to the case. Ms Willis sought to have the trial open in August, but no date has been set.
Mr. The allegations do not change the underlying facts of the alleged affair involving Trump and his associates. Four of the 19 original defendants pleaded guilty, including Mr. One of them, Jenna Ellis, tearfully told an inquest late last year that she looked back on what she had done with “deep regret”.
Last month Mr. Roman's movement provides no evidence of a romantic relationship. But a few weeks after it was filed, Mr. Wade's estranged wife produced credit card statements that showed he had purchased plane tickets for himself and Ms. Willis, although those purchases occurred after he began working at the Fulton County Prosecutor's Office. The records show flights purchased from Atlanta to San Francisco on April 25, 2023, and from Atlanta to Miami on October 4, 2022.
But Ms. Willis also bought plane tickets for herself and Mr. Wade, according to the filing Friday, which also shows copies of her email communications with Delta that show travel arrangements to and from Miami.
This is a growing story. Check back for updates.
