Fani Willis to Be Exposed By Nathan Wade's Business Partner, Lawyer Says

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in her office whom she hired in former President Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case, will be exposed by Wade's business partner, Terrence Bradley, lawyer Ashleigh Merchant said on Monday.

Willis has admitted to a relationship with Wade but denied that there was any conflict of interest that would disqualify her from the case.

The Context

Willis has found herself at the center of a potential ethics violation related to her alleged affair with Wade. It comes amid Willis' case against the former president, in which Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted by a Georgia grand jury in August and face criminal racketeering charges for allegedly attempting to overturn the state's electoral results in the 2020 election won by Joe Biden.

The allegations Willis faces were first made when one of Trump's co-defendants in the case, Michael Roman, filed a motion three weeks ago claiming that Wade and Willis were at one point romantically involved during the investigation of Trump, adding that the special prosecutor and district attorney had been "profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers."

Willis and her office face widespread pushback related to the allegations as the 2020 election interference case pushes on. Trump and his co-defendants have argued that all charges should be dismissed, accusing Wade and Willis of misconduct.

What We Know

On Monday, oral arguments began in an effort to determine whether Willis and Wade will have to testify during a hearing on Thursday that was scheduled to examine allegations of misconduct. Wills and Wade, along with a number of employees in the DA's office, were subpoenaed to testify by Roman.

Merchant, a lawyer for Roman, said in Monday's hearing that Wade's business partner, Bradley, would be able to speak about the relationship between Wade and Willis. Merchant said the relationship began earlier than they disclosed.

"Mr. Bradley was someone who was a former business partner of Mr. Wade, he was also his attorney related to divorce and domestic matters and that relationship began in 2015," Merchant said. "Any allegation relevant to the motions that attorney-client representation continued through and including leave 2022.

"There is has been no waiver of privilege of that and I believe that the evidence or the record before the Court would demonstrate that. Defense counsel knows that this relationship attorney-client relationship exists."

Bradley, who formerly worked with Wade at Wade, Bradley & Campbell Firm, also represented Wade in his divorce case until September 2022.

Newsweek has reached out to the Fulton County court via email for comment.

Views

Since the court order into the allegations against Willis, questions over whether Willis will be disqualified from the election interference case have risen.

In Willis' response, which called the initial court order "a ticket to the circus," her office criticized Roman's lawyers for subpoenaing Willis, Wade and others on the prosecution team. These actions, it said, aimed to draw "more breathless media coverage and intrude even further into the personal lives of the prosecution team in an effort to embarrass and harass the district attorney personally."

Matthew Mangino, a former district attorney in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, previously told Newsweek that he does not think Willis' actions were sufficient grounds for disqualification.

"I don't think Fani Willis did enough to get disqualified," he said. "There doesn't appear to be a conflict of interest or any forensic wrongdoing. With that said, at a minimum, Nathan Wade should step down. Although the mere appearance of a conflict [of] interest is not enough—this issue has created a distraction."

However, attorney and legal analyst Jonathan Turley previously told Newsweek he believes Willis and Wade should recuse themselves from the Georgia election case entirely, adding that Willis' new filing regarding Joycelyn Wade "seemed more cathartic than strategic."

What's Next?

During Thursday's hearing, Judge Scott McAfee will determine if there is a legal conflict that justifies removing Willis' office from the case. His ruling could also cover other areas of dispute, including the details of Willis and Wade's relationship.

Update 2/12/24, 4:35 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.