Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who made a commitment during her 2020 campaign not to engage in romantic relationships with her subordinates, is facing allegations of having an undisclosed affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Wade was appointed by Willis to prosecute the high-stakes election interference case against former President Donald Trump.
In a 2020 interview on "The Patricia Crayton Show", Willis firmly stated, "I will certainly not be choosing to date people that work under me." Despite these claims, Willis is now under scrutiny for potentially overstepping this boundary. According to the FOX 5 Atlanta report, Willis is accused of not just being romantically involved with Wade but also of granting him a hefty salary and enjoying vacations funded by the prosecutor's wages.
Michael Roman, co-defendant in the Trump RICO Act case, has called these vacations into question. Roman's legal motion suggests that the charges against him should be dismissed due to the alleged misuse of public funds and conflicts of interest. In the words dug up from Willis' 2020 appearance, "There’s nothing I can say on it other than that it is distracting, it is certainly inappropriate for the No. 1 law officer in this state, and it really, really saddens me." This quote was echoed in The New York Post's coverage of the current scandal.
Controversy further escalated when allegations surfaced that Wade had tried to seal his divorce records to keep his split from his wife hidden, just after being appointed by Willis. Joycelyn Wade, the ex-wife, claimed she was oblivious of Wade's involvement in the Trump case and the substantial financial compensation he received for his legal services. Trouble in the Wade matrimonial home goes back years; in a court filing, Jocelyn Wade's lawyers dismissed Willis' assertions of infidelity, stating that Jocelyn "was experiencing a profound sense of disconnection in her marriage" due to past instances of Nathan Wade's unfaithfulness, sources relayed to The Post.
As the court awaits a scheduled hearing on the accusations on Feb. 15, Willis has neither confirmed nor denied the claims of an improper relationship. However, she suggested at the Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta that the scrutiny she and Wade are facing could be racially motivated, asking, "But no God, isn’t it them that’s playing the race card when they only question one," according to her statement obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta. While the legal developments unfold, Nathan Wade remains the lead prosecutor in the case against former President Trump.
