Tipsheet

The FaniGate Plot Thickens

Mia Cathell
Mia Cathell  |  February 01, 2024 6:45 AM

Fulton County DA Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade reportedly have been slapped with subpoenas summoning them to testify about their alleged affair at an upcoming evidentiary hearing on the salacious scandal. The proceeding, formally shining a spotlight on the slew of prosecutorial misconduct claims Willis and Wade are facing, will ultimately determine if the pair is to be disqualified from prosecuting the Georgia election fraud case against former President Donald Trump and his allies.

The subpoenas, which Willis and Wade will likely seek to quash, were revealed in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the law firm representing Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, according to a new report by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Other top staffers working for Willis were additionally served subpoenas, including Executive District Attorney Daysha Young, who's part of the Trump prosecution team; Deputy District Attorney Sonya Allen in the anti-corruption division, who previously worked with Wade; Assistant Chief Investigators Thomas Ricks and Michael Hill; Willis's executive assistant Tia Green; Deputy District Attorney Dexter Bond, the office's chief operating officer; and Capers Green, the department's chief of investigations.

Young had denied another Trump co-defendant's public records request for copies of all communications between Fulton County prosecutors and President Joe Biden's White House after receipts surfaced showing that Wade billed Willis's office a total of $4,000 for two eight-hour meetings (a conference in Athens and an interview in Washington) with White House officials.

Roman's defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant contends that the DA's office is intentionally withholding information sought in a series of public records requests she submitted in order to prep for the February 15 hearing. "Mr. Roman believes that Willis' use of money budgeted to (the DA's office) is of utmost importance in evaluating whether Willis and Wade have an irreparable and fatal conflict of interest and whether, and to what extent, Willis has otherwise used public monies for personal gain," the suit says.

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"It is evidence [sic] that the [Fulton County district attorney] has withheld the records without substantial justification," the 21-page complaint states. "Indeed, it appears that [the DA's office] is acting intentionally and in an effort to hide from public view public documents showing how [the DA's office] has spent public monies related to the operation of the office." The filing outlines inquiries met with either no reply, partial responses, or assertations that the records being requested did not exist.

Willis's office recently rebutted Merchant's claims that the staff is deliberately stalling on responding to inquiries she sent under the state's Open Records Act. Roman's counsel received a response letter Friday, saying "respectfully, we disagree with your disingenuous implication" that the DA's office has violated state law, claiming they've complied with all 14 of Merchant's requests.

Merchant was told that some of the records she is seeking access to are being gathered together for release, others cannot be produced because they're purportedly not maintained by the DA's office, and several have already been turned over to her.

"It is disappointing to have to file lawsuits to obtain access to records that the public is entitled to," Merchant commented in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. "We believe that transparency is vital to an open and responsible government and we hope that this can be resolved quickly so that we can get the public documents we are entitled to receive."

A spokesperson for Willis told ABC News: "We provided her with all the materials she requested and is entitled to."

On behalf of Roman, Merchant had filed a bombshell motion to dismiss the grand jury indictment as "fatally defective," alleging that Willis was—and may still be—involved in an "improper" and "clandestine" relationship with Wade at the time of his hiring. 

The explosive January 8 filing accused Willis of benefiting financially from the suspected fling and Wade of using his taxpayer-funded income to pay for luxury vacations he and his boss-turned-lover allegedly took together in an all-out spending spree.

Wade, a private-practice lawyer with little experience in criminal prosecution, has been paid upwards of $654,000 in legal fees for his work on the Trump case, charging Fulton County at a rate of $250 an hour. Willis awarded Wade the lucrative contract on November 1, 2021, and Wade went on to file for divorce from his wife of 26 years just a day after his appointment.

Merchant also issued subpoenas to Atlanta-area tourism agencies H2O Limited and Vacation Express for documentation of travel expenses tied to Willis and Wade, such as airline tickets, hotels, and rental car reservations stretching back to December 1, 2020. She also sent summons to American Express, Capitol One, and Synovus Bank for Wade's financial records.

In addition to senior employees of Willis, associates of Wade are among the dozen witnesses named in the notice, including Wade's current and previous law partners, Christopher Campbell and Terrence Bradley, and Robin Bryant Yeartie, a longtime Willis associate who used to be the public affairs/media relations program manager at the Fulton County DA's office.

Yeartie abruptly told The Washington Post over the phone, "If I get subpoenaed, that's when I'll talk," before hanging up.

Wade was supposed to answer questions under oath at Wednesday morning's divorce proceeding about reports of his romantic relations with Willis, but on the eve of his much-anticipated sworn testimony, he temporarily settled the divorce dispute with his estranged wife, Jocelyn, canceling the hearing in the nick of time and sparing him from questioning. The eleventh-hour agreement's conditions, however, will not be filed with the court, meaning the terms may not ever be made public.

Willis was also subpoenaed by Jocelyn's lawyers, who argued she had "unique knowledge" of Wade's finances, but the Cobb County judge stayed the deposition, wanting to hear from Wade first before deciding whether or not Willis needed to testify too. Jocelyn alleged that her husband spent his money treating Willis to a life of luxury while leaving her with little to live on.

Roman argues that the alleged romance is grounds for the couple's removal from the election interference case. Willis, who has yet to publicly address the affair allegations, was directed by the court to respond in writing by Friday's approaching deadline.

Last week, Georgia's legislature launched a special committee to investigate Willis, and articles of impeachment were introduced.