Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the lead prosecutor she appointed in Trump’s election fraud case should both resign over allegations of extramarital affairs, legal experts told the Post. .
Former federal prosecutor Neema Rahmani called Willis’s alleged “secret” romantic relationship with special counsel Nathan Wade “a terrible take.”
“You’re prosecuting probably the most politicized trial in American history. And to do something stupid like this, you’re a public servant, so you have to make sure the public can trust our criminal justice system.” We need to,” Rahmani said.
“Prosecutors should be held to a higher standard,” he added.
Willis has no plans to recuse himself from the case, and Wade has no immediate plans to step down from leading the prosecution. CNN reported this, citing people involved..
Mr. Willis is concerned that if he resigns, the case may disappear because there is no guarantee that another prosecutor will take on this difficult legal task and the trial will inevitably be postponed. Sources said there are some concerns that it could be postponed, possibly until after the 2024 presidential election.
But Rahmani said the extramarital affair raises “ancillary issues” and “is an eye-opener for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.”
“This is incredibly stupid, potentially unethical, and in some cases even criminal,” Rahmani said. “If I were her, I would say, ‘I’m going to recuse myself from this case.'” Wade is no longer working on the case. Career prosecutors in my office will continue to handle this case, and I have no involvement whatsoever,” the attorney said.
Still, Rahmani said attempts by Trump’s co-defendant Michael Roman to have criminal charges against him dismissed because of a conflict of interest stemming from the extramarital affair are unlikely to succeed. Case. ”
The former president and at least one other of the 14 co-defendants accused of trying to overturn the results of the state’s 2020 presidential election have since joined Roman’s motion. Willis’ office has until Friday to submit a written response, and oral arguments are scheduled for Feb. 15.
“Whether Fani Willis hired an unqualified person, whether Fani Willis overpaid someone, whether Fani Willis had an affair, all of that is tied to Mr. Trump and this incident. There is no conflict regarding the other co-defendants,” Rahmani said. “Therefore, no disqualification is necessary, even though other ancillary issues may arise for Willis and Wade.”
Roman’s bombshell motion last month alleges that Willis hired her married boyfriend, who had no experience as a prosecutor, at a much higher salary than she normally would, and that Wade benefited from her salary when he treated her to vacations. This could be considered a crime of honest service. scam.
Mr Rahmani said Mr Willis had put himself in the position of defending himself and was now “on the run” due to a “lapse in judgment”.
Rahmani believes both prosecutors should resign, but said the greater responsibility lies with Willis.
“In fact, the fraud here lies more with Willis than with Wade,” he said. “She’s the one making this decision. She’s the one most guilty.”
Mr. Rahmani and Robert Hockett, a professor at Cornell University School of Law, agree that the legal argument of conflict of interest will not be an issue in court because Mr. Willis and Mr. Wade are on the same side.
“The term conflict of interest is pretty straightforward,” Hockett said. “You have an interest in both sides when it is your duty to take sides, but you cannot take sides. As a matter of Georgia law. [the affair allegation] It’s completely unrelated. ”
Hockett agreed that “the optics aren’t all that great,” but said that shouldn’t affect Trump’s case. Rather, it is up to voters to decide whether to re-elect Willis, and the government can decide whether there are ethical issues.
The scandal also brought attention to Wade’s divorce from his estranged wife, Joycelyn Wade. Wade called Willis to testify in her divorce case, alleging that Nathan was wasting money on his alleged monthly payments to Joycelyn.
The judge decided to postpone a ruling on whether Willis will have to testify in the nearby Cobb County divorce case until he first hears from Nathan. This settlement most likely occurred during a Wednesday hearing that was canceled the night before, when the estranged two reached a tentative settlement.
However, Willis and Wade have also been subpoenaed to testify at a Feb. 15 hearing in the Fulton County criminal case. The two may try to avoid public testimony.
Willis is reportedly privately working on court papers in the case, which are scheduled to be filed tomorrow, and may not actually deny the affair allegations, but instead seek to address Trump’s legal claims. He will focus on debunking the claims, sources told CNN.
Willis has not directly addressed the affair allegations, but has maintained that she was targeted for racially motivated reasons.
Willis is being audited by the Fulton County Commission for allegedly failing to disclose financial information about Tripp Wade allegedly entertaining her.
And the Georgia General Assembly is considering a bill that would reinstate a commission to discipline and fire prosecutors for misconduct.
