Fani Willis Faces Pivotal Week for Her Future

Fani Willis will take part in a formal hearing this week regarding her relationship with Nathan Wade in relation to their efforts to prosecute former President Donald Trump.

Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, is leading the case against Trump and 18 others who are accused in a 41-count indictment of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges against him and said the case is politically motivated.

But in recent weeks, it has been Willis, not Trump, who has come into the spotlight, coming under pressure amid allegations about her relationship with Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the case.

Newsweek reached out to Willis via LinkedIn for comment.

Former Trump staffer and co-defendant Michael Roman first made the accusations about Willis and sought to disqualify her and Wade from the trial, saying the pair benefitted financially from taxpayer's money. Willis and Wade later admitted they had a romantic relationship but denied it was a conflict of interest. Roman, in response, issued new claims saying the pair's relationship started earlier than they disclosed.

In response to the noise, Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the case, scheduled a hearing on February 15 to address the claims.

When this hearing takes place on Thursday, McAfee will determine if there is a legal conflict that justifies removing Willis' office from the case.

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."

Glenn Kirschner, a former assistant U.S. attorney and frequent critic of Trump, called the alleged scandal "much ado about nothing" in a YouTube video.

"It's a bad look in the court of public opinion, but it looks like it will be much ado about nothing in the court of law," Kirschner said. "Based on what I've reviewed and what I've read, what I've seen. I don't think it will have any impact on the RICO [racketeering] prosecution of Donald Trump and his [alleged] criminal associates down in Georgia."

But if she is removed from the case, the prosecution will have to hand it over to another lawyer and some commentators have said this will affect the optics and credibility of the prosecution, therefore giving Trump a boost as he fights the indictment.

Whether that happens or not, is for Thursday's hearing to determine.