At long last, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis finally admitted she had an affair with the lead prosecutor she had hired to prosecute former President Donald Trump and his allies in the crumbling Georgia election interference case. Of course, Willis claims the extramarital relationship never tainted the prosecution and there's "no evidence" of an "improper" conflict of interest.
After she was directed by a judge to formally address the affair allegations in writing by today's deadline, in a 176-page court filing Friday, Willis called the claims of prosecutorial misconduct leveled against her "meritless" and "salacious" media fodder.
Accordingly, Willis asked the judge to reject the defense's motions to disqualify her from the Trump case and flat-out deny them without holding an evidentiary hearing on the matter, which she deems "unnecessary" and would cause "further spectacle."
Willis: "Financial responsibility for personal travel is divided roughly evenly between the two."
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) February 2, 2024
They're lying to the Court.
Wade spent thousands - cruises, flights, hotels, etc.
They submitted only one Delta flight provided by Willis. (See receipts.) pic.twitter.com/DHiHLbfWov
"Defendants have produced no evidence to suggest that there is any circumstance that would constitute a financial incentive on the District Attorney's part to pursue a conviction in this case through the appointment of Special Prosecutor Wade," Willis wrote.
Denying any wrongdoing, Willis maintained that the affair had not compromised or corrupted their ability to oversee the election fraud case, reiterating there's "no financial conflict of interest that constitutes a legal basis for disqualification" nor "personal conflict of interest" that would justify her dismissal. "Any personal relationship among members of the prosecution team does not amount to a disqualifying conflict of interest or otherwise harm a criminal defendant," she not-so-subtly referred to the affair.
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Willis characterized the "attacks" on Nathan Wade's qualifications as "factually inaccurate, unsupported, and malicious," noting that her lover "made much more money than the other special prosecutors only because Wade did much more work." She further disputed that the romantic relations between her and the top Trump prosecutor had ever prejudiced the proceedings: "To be absolutely clear, the personal relationship [...] has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis."
According to a sworn affidavit written by Wade, the special prosecutor says he and Willis "developed a personal relationship in addition to our professional association and friendship" sometime in 2022. Wade maintained that nothing transpired between the two prior to Willis's appointment of Wade on November 1, 2021, a day before Wade filed for divorce from his wife of 26 years.
Wade's claim that Willis never received "funds or personal financial gain" from his position is misleading.
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) February 2, 2024
It dances around the truth - that Willis received extravagant gifts from her Special Prosecutor.
Gifts she never reported to Fulton County, as required by law. pic.twitter.com/sdx4DEa3Nq
"The District Attorney and I are both financially independent professionals; expenses for personal travel were roughly divided equally between us. At times I have made and purchased travel for District Attorney Willis and myself from my personal funds. At other times District Attorney Willis has made and purchased travel for she and I from her personal funds," Wade wrote.
Wade additionally declared in the affidavit attached to Willis's filing:
- "I have no financial interest in the outcome of the 2020 election interference case or in the conviction of any defendant."
- "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."
- "I have never cohabitated with District Attorney Willis."
- "I have never shared household expenses with District Attorney Willis."
- "I have never shared a joint financial account of any kind with District Attorney Willis."
Willis similarly claimed that the couple went halfsies on "personal travel" costs:
- "There are no joint or shared finances or financial accounts."
- "There is not now and has never been any shared household."
- "There is no financial dependency or merging of daily expenses."
- "Financial responsibility for personal travel taken is divided roughly evenly between the two, with neither being primarily responsible for expenses of the other, and all expenses paid for with individual personal funds."
- "Both are professionals with substantial income; neither is financially reliant on the other."
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman first revealed the "clandestine" fling in an explosive motion to get the grand jury indictment dismissed as "fatally defective." Roman accused Willis and Wade of "profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers" by taking "vacations across the world" together—trips that were paid for by Wade, whose law firm has raked in over $654,000 in income for his taxpayer-funded work with the Trump prosecution team. Wade, a private-practice attorney with scant experience prosecuting criminal cases, is currently charging the county $250 per hour in legal fees. Damning divorce documents bolstered the claims, uncovering Wade's credit card statements that document the pair's travel expenses.
There's an evidentiary hearing on the motion to disqualify Fani Willis and Nathan Wade on Feb 15.
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) January 20, 2024
In light of the new credit card statements for trips and hotels..
If I'm the defense attorney, I'm putting them both under oath.
Wouldn't be shocked if they recuse before then. pic.twitter.com/Jm8PYmZYQ3
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the case, has scheduled an upcoming February 15 evidentiary hearing on the accusations. Roman's defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant has since subpoenaed Willis and Wade to testify about the affair as well as sent subpoenas seeking testimony from a laundry list of Willis staffers and Wade associates.
She's additionally requesting receipts from travel agencies and financial records from several banks tied to Wade's finances.
Trumo RICO C-Defendant Michael Roman officially serves subpoenas on 9 people, including #FaniWillis "special prosecutor" Nathan Wade for a hearing on 2-15-24
— Phil Holloway ✈️ (@PhilHollowayEsq) January 31, 2024
An additional DA's employee, Thomas Ricks, is alleged to have refused service of his subpoena pic.twitter.com/7ZPNwTy8ZO
In Friday's filing, Willis condemned the subpoenas as "incredibly inappropriate efforts to intrude into opposing counsel's personal life with little to no evidentiary value." Indicating the state will seek to quash the subpoenas, she declared in the filing's footnotes, "The prospect of a prolonged hearing that would require days of testimony on an issue with so little legal or factual merit cannot be an efficient use of judicial resources." Willis accused the defense counsel of attempting to "intrude even further into the personal lives of the prosecution team in an effort to embarrass and harass the District Attorney personally."
"This is not an example of zealous advocacy, nor is it a good faith effort to develop a record on a disputed legal issue—it is a ticket to the circus," the DA argued in her lengthy rebuttal, calling it "distasteful that such allegations require a response."
Trump attorney Steve Sadow said in a press statement Friday that Willis's response "asks the Court to turn a blind eye to her alleged personal and financial misconduct." Sadow stated: "Such hubris for all to see. Nothing has changed. Our requested remedy remains clear: dismiss the case and disqualify the DA, together with her team and office, from any related matters."
He believes her "sole objective" is to avoid the hearing. "[S]he fails to provide full transparency and necessary financial details."
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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