Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been accused of lying about the timeline of her “romantic” relationship with the special prosecutor she appointed to Donald Trump’s election interference case in Georgia.
Special prosecutor Nathan Wade previously stated that he and Willis began a “personal relationship” in 2022.
Willis also stated in a legal filing last week that “any personal relationship between members of the prosecution team does not amount to a disqualifying conflict of interest or otherwise prejudice a criminal defendant.”
Now, Trump co-defendant Michael Roman’s legal team has written to Judge Scott McAfee that ‘Mr. Roman believes the special counsel’s statement in his affidavit that the relationship did not begin until 2022 is patently false.’
Roman’s attorneys said Wade’s former divorce attorney, Terrence Bradley, will “rebut” the claim that Wade and Willis “did not have a personal romantic relationship before Willis appointed Wade as special prosecutor.”
Fani Willis has been accused of lying about the timeline of her “romantic” relationship with the special counsel she appointed to Donald Trump’s election interference case.
Fulton County District Attorney faces hearing on whether relationship poses a conflict
“Bradley has personal and non-privileged knowledge that the romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began before Willis assumed office as district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, in January 2021,” the filing filed Friday said.
“Therefore, Bradley can confirm that Willis hired Wade after Wade and Willis began a romantic relationship, thereby refuting Wade’s claim in his affidavit that they did not begin dating until 2022.”
The divorce attorney “obtained this information in his personal capacity as a friend of Wade prior to Wade’s decision to file for divorce,” according to Roman’s team’s filing.
Roman’s lawyers also alleged that Bradley will “confirm” information that Willis and Wade stay together “regularly” at various residences.
It’s the latest twist before a hearing next week on whether Willis and Wade should be removed from the high-stakes case in which both Roman and Trump, who faces 13 criminal charges, have pleaded not guilty.
Willis was accused in a surprising court filing of having an affair with Nathan Wade, who was paid more than $600,000 as a special prosecutor assisting in her office.
Former President Trump addressed the allegations Tuesday, saying they meant the Georgia prosecutor was “totally compromised” and that the case against him “must be dropped.”
Willis and Wade have yet to comment publicly or respond in court papers to the complaint.
Special prosecutor Nathan Wade (right) previously stated that he and Willis (center) began a ‘personal relationship’ in 2022.
Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) speaks with lead prosecutors Donald Wakeford (left) and Nathan Wade during a hearing at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Friday, July 1, 2022.
Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade leaves Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office at the Fulton County Government Building on August 23, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Trump’s co-defendant accuses him of having a personal relationship with Willis
An attorney representing Michael Roman made the explosive allegations in a filing and asked that the charges be dismissed.
“She was crazy,” Trump fumed about Willis, who was already one of his regular targets during the grand jury investigation and since her arrest last summer. ‘Now it turns out that this case is totally compromised. In fact, they say that she has much more criminal responsibility than any of the people she is investigating,” he stated.
“So I think when you look at what happened, they pay a lawyer with absolutely no experience $700,000 who replaces your lover or boyfriend and then they go on trips and vacations together, very expensive vacations together.
“And the reason he got paid so much was because he was after me,” he continued.
Willis admitted to the surprising affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade in her 176-page filing last Friday, saying it posed no conflict.
But among the passages presenting dry legal arguments, he included a color photograph of the lawyer who exposed their affair, including detailing trips on luxury cruises and more than $600,000 in payments Wade received for his work with Willis.
He also dug up the attorney’s own past statements about Wade, which were very complimentary.
Former President Donald Trump has regularly attacked Willis, calling his impeachment in Georgia part of a “witch hunt” against him.
Friday’s court filing by Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis follows attorney Ashleigh Merchant, whose own filing exposed a “personal” relationship Willis admitted to having with a special prosecutor on her team.
Merchant exposed Willis’ affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade in his own explosive filing
The attorney in question, Ashleigh Merchant, even campaigned for Wade at the Greek Festival in his hometown of Marietta when he was running for judicial office in 2016, according to Willis’ filing.
He states that “counsel for defendant Roman, of course, is well familiar with the experience and qualifications of Special Prosecutor Wade, whatever contrary statements are made in Roman’s motion.”
“During a court campaign in 2016, defendant Roman’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, enthusiastically supported Wade’s candidacy and described him in glowing terms,” it said, citing his Facebook posts at the time.
He then quotes Merchant praising Wade and saying, “Nathan is ethical…Experience matters.” He says that he has “practiced in all areas of law and cites some of his awards, which are also included in the presentation.”
The filing states that Merchant “was both a vocal and visual presence in support of Wade’s campaign.”