Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor in the Donald Trump election fraud case in Georgia, have been issued subpoenas to testify in court later this month. This development follows allegations of a covert romantic relationship between Willis and Wade, which is set to be a key point of discussion in a hearing scheduled for February 15th.
The legal team representing Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the Trump case, is pushing for the dismissal of charges against their client, citing the purported affair between Willis and Wade as grounds for prosecutorial misconduct. Ashleigh Merchant, Roman’s attorney, has filed a lawsuit against the DA’s office, claiming it has not been forthcoming with information required under the Open Records act, essential for the upcoming hearing.
Despite the DA’s office stating on Friday that it had complied with Merchant’s request for information, Merchant insists that the office has been evasive. The DA’s office clarified that some records are still being compiled, some are unavailable, and others have already been provided.
In a separate but related development, the nonprofit group Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit seeking all records pertaining to Wade’s hiring. The group’s president, Tom Fitton, suggests that Willis might be hiding something related to Wade’s appointment as special prosecutor. This lawsuit alleges that Judicial Watch has faced obstacles in obtaining public records relating to Wade’s appointment from January 1, 2021, to January 11, 2024.
These allegations of a clandestine affair between Willis and Wade emerged last month, potentially impacting Roman’s efforts to have criminal charges against him dropped due to perceived prosecutorial misconduct. The controversy has also brought Wade’s ongoing divorce proceedings into the public eye, with his estranged wife, Joycelyn Wade, seeking to compel Willis to testify under oath in the divorce case.
A hearing in Roman’s criminal case has been set for later this month to address questions about the alleged misconduct and conflict of interest. Additionally, Willis is currently under investigation by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners’ audit committee for potential misuse of taxpayer funds. The DA’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment on these matters.