Trump special prosecutor Nathan Wade will avoid testifying about his alleged relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Wade notably filed for divorce from his stay-at-home wife of 20 years, Jocelyn Wade, on Nov. 2nd, 2021, the day after Fani hired him as a special prosecutor in the Trump case, from which he earned more than $650,000 in taxpayer dollars – which he used to take Fani on lavish vacations, according to claims from Trump co-defendant Michael Roman and corroborated by receipts revealed in the divorce case.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson signed a temporary settlement in the divorce case on Jan. 30, then canceled a hearing scheduled for Jan. 31 in which Wade was expected to testify about his relationship with Willis.
The two have been accused of being in an “improper” relationship, with Trump and other Republicans arguing that the case has been a politically-driven prosecution from the start, meant to derail the former president’s 2024 reelection bid.
Fani was also subpoenaed to testify on Jan. 31 after she was unsuccessful in quashing it. Judge Thompson rejected her attempt, however the settlement means that she will dodge testimony as well.
Meanwhile, Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has ordered Willis to respond to allegations of having an “improper” relationship with Wade by Friday, and a hearing has been scheduled for mid-February.
As the Epoch Times reports further, an attorney representing Michael Roman, one of the co-defendants, filed a motion on Jan. 8 to dismiss the Fulton County election interference case, alleging misconduct on the part of Fulton County prosecutors.
Mr. Roman’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, alleged in the 100-plus page filing that Ms. Willis was engaged in an “improper, clandestine personal relationship” with Mr. Wade and of “profiting significantly” from the relationship at the expense of taxpayers.
Court documents show that Mr. Wade paid for Ms. Willis to fly with him to two different cities.
Ms. Merchant also accused Ms. Willis of using funds meant for clearing a pandemic-era backlog of cases in Fulton County to pay Mr. Wade a large sum of money.
Documents show Mr. Wade has been paid at a rate of $250 per hour for his involvement in the case, or around $650,000 in total.
Mr. Roman is seeking to disqualify Ms. Willis and her office from the election interference case, per his attorney’s Jan. 8 filing.
President Trump has also made similar demands, saying that both Ms. Willis and the case have been “totally compromised” and the case against him should be dismissed.
Prosecutors have not yet filed a response to Ms. Merchant’s motion, although they have said they intend to.
The Fulton County Audit Committee has also asked Ms. Willis to address the “improper” relationship allegations.
Bob Ellis, the Fulton County Commissioner, called on Ms. Willis in a Jan. 21 letter to provide explanations, including regarding payments to Mr. Wade, by Feb. 2.
Investigation and Articles of Impeachment
Ms. Willis faces an investigation in the Georgia Legislature over alleged misconduct, while a Georgia lawmaker recently filed a resolution to impeach Ms. Willis, alleging various acts of “malfeasance, tyrannical partiality, and oppression.”
Accusing Ms. Willis of suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” State Rep. Charlice Byrd, a Republican, alleged that Ms. Willis used her office not to pursue justice but for political gain.
Ms. Byrd said in a Jan. 26 statement that she has introduced H.R. 872, a resolution to vote on impeachment charges against Ms. Willis.
The resolution calls Ms. Willis’ indictment “the severest case of gross abuse of discretion” while alleging that the Fulton County DA “grossly violated” her oath of office, in which she swore to be impartial.
Ms. Byrd’s impeachment resolution also accuses Ms. Willis of engaging in an “inappropriate” and “unethical” relationship with Mr. Wade while alleging that she profited from the relationship.
There are a total of 22 articles of impeachment in the resolution, each an alleged violation of Georgia Code 16-10-1.
While the resolution doesn’t go into detail about the allegedly political nature of the prosecution, similar claims have been made by House investigators.
The Georgia Senate adopted a resolution in a Jan. 26 floor vote that establishes a committee to investigate the various misconduct allegations against Ms. Willis.
The alleged misconduct includes ongoing expenditure of “significant public funds for the purpose of hiring a special assistant district attorney with whom District Attorney Willis had, and may yet have an ongoing romantic relationship,” the Senate resolution reads.
If such a relationship were proven to exist, it would amount to a “clear conflict of interest and a fraud upon the taxpayers of Fulton County and the State of Georgia,” potentially leading to Ms. Willis’ recusal, delays in the trial against President Trump, the appointment of a special prosecutor, and disciplinary actions, per the resolution.
Ms. Willis’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
In prior remarks regarding the scandal, however, she suggested racism was the motivation behind the scrutiny.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/01/2024 – 18:00