Special prosecutor Nathan Wade conveniently reached a settlement in his divorce case Tuesday, sparing him in the eleventh hour from testifying about his alleged affair with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who had hired the underqualified private-practice attorney—despite his little prosecutorial experience—to prosecute former President Donald Trump.
Wade temporarily settled matters with his estranged wife, Jocelyn, on the eve of his much-anticipated testimony, according to a temporary order granted by Cobb County Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson. Wednesday's hearing, where Wade was set to answer questions under oath regarding reports of his "clandestine" relations with Willis, was thereby automatically canceled.
His last-minute salvation arrived shortly before 5 p.m. in the hours leading up to Wade's questioning Wednesday morning.
"The parties [...] agree that the necessity for hearing set for January 31st, 2024, is hereby resolved by this Consent Temporary Order and, as such, there is no need for said hearing," the two-page court document decrees, noting that Wade and Jocelyn have formally agreed to the resolution's terms. However, the conditions will be kept private and may not ever be made public.
"All of the issues we pled for temporary support and attorneys fees have been resolved by this agreement," one of Jocelyn's attorneys, Andrea Hastings, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement. "The case is not resolved on a final basis. We still have a lot of work to do to be able to resolve this case through either a final settlement or a trial," Jocelyn's counsel added.
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Did #JoycelynWade get a big pay day or did someone scare her?
— Angie Wong (@angiewong) January 30, 2024
Special counsel #NathanWade settles divorce case, cancelling court hearing@ajc #FaniGate #FaniWillis #TrumpIndictment https://t.co/J1L7l8WYzg
Jocelyn's team of lawyers likewise told The Daily Beast: "While this negates the immediate need for a hearing, it does not settle the case [...] Now that our client has the financial resources to support herself while this case is pending, we are focused on the hard work of moving the case toward resolution, whether that is through settlement or trial. We are continuing to work to obtain information from Mr. Wade to ensure that the couple's assets are divided properly after more than twenty-six years of marriage."
This means Willis will also likely evade having to testify in the divorce proceedings.
Willis was subpoenaed in the divorce dispute by Jocelyn's lawyers, who argued that the DA has "unique knowledge" of Wade's finances. Judge Thompson blocked the deposition, stating he wanted to hear testimony from Wade first before deciding whether or not Willis had to testify. Willis had fought to quash the subpoena, claiming that Jocelyn "conspired with interested parties in the criminal election interference case to use the civil discovery process to annoy, embarrass and oppress" her and the Trump probe.
Explosive accusations of the pair's extramarital relationship were first leveled in a bombshell court filing by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, whose January 8 motion to dismiss the sprawling Georgia election interference case claimed that Wade and Willis have both "personally benefitted" and "profited significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers."
Notably, the Democrat DA's alleged lover filed for divorce from Jocelyn, his spouse of 26 years, on November 2, 2021—a day after he was appointed lead prosecutor by Willis. Wade, who's billing the county at a $250-an-hour rate for his work, amounting to more than $654,000 in income, is accused of taking Willis on lavish vacations using the money reaped from his taxpayer-funded gig. Credit card statements submitted in the divorce case document a paper trail of Wade's spending spree on plane tickets he had allegedly purchased for himself and his boss, Caribbean cruises, and high-end resorts, all apparently with Willis in tow.
Roman argues that the conflict of interest is grounds for removing the alleged couple from the case.
A Fulton County judge gave Willis until Friday to respond to the affair allegations in writing ahead of a February 15 evidentiary hearing on the misconduct claims that will determine if she should be disqualified from the prosecution. Willis and Wade have yet to publicly address the scandal, which could ultimately cause the collapse of the unraveling election fraud case against Trump.
The latest development marks a break in the anti-Trump DA's losing streak.
On Friday, Georgia's GOP-led state Senate formed a special committee—comprised of six Republicans and three Democrats—to investigate Willis. The investigative panel has the statutory powers to subpoena witnesses, compel the production of evidence, and require testimony. In accordance, the committee is authorized to "enforce such subpoenas" when parties refuse to obey.
On the same day as the special committee's creation, over in the state's House of Representatives, a Republican state lawmaker officially introduced articles of impeachment against Willis. GOP state Rep. Charlice Byrd, a Trump ally, filed the impeachment papers Friday seeking to remove Willis from office for using her prosecutorial position "not to pursue justice but for political gain."
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