On Wednesday, when fired former Trump prosecutor Nathan Wade was being grilled about the timeline of his relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Wade’s “media consultant” interrupted a recorded television interview.
The bizarre moment unfolded after Wade revealed he is still in “regular contact” with Willis and that he told the embattled district attorney that his election interference case against former President Donald Trump “will survive” despite Willis’ firing.
“When did your relationship begin?” CNN’s “The Source” host Caitlin Collins asked Wade. Before the Invasion.
“Yes, so there was a move to say that what’s at issue are these exact dates, these exact dates,” the former special counsel began to reply, before apparently realizing his handler was waving off camera.
“I’m getting my signal here,” Wade said.
Later, a man whom CNN identified as Wade’s “media consultant” approached the set and demanded to speak to his client without a microphone.
The two men huddled together for nearly a minute, away from Collins, apparently discussing how to answer the simple question.
Wade smiled as he sat back in his chair after his impromptu consultation.
“Are you OK?” Collins asked Wade.
“Yes,” the former prosecutor replied, dodging the question.
Wade argued after the interim interview conference that the timeline issue was an “open issue” before the Georgia Court of Appeals.
“I will not say or do anything that would jeopardize this case or the court’s decision,” he said when asked about his previously vague answers about when his relationship with Willis began.
Ashley Merchant, a lawyer representing President Trump’s co-defendant Michael Roman in a wide-ranging corporate corruption and influence tactics lawsuit, argues the “inappropriate” and “secret” relationship began as early as 2019.
Wade was hired by Willis to lead the investigation on Nov. 1, 2021, the day before she filed for divorce. He said the affair “Around March” 2022.
Willis, 52, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said: It began “between February and April” of that year.
Neither has revealed the exact date when the affair began.
Both Wade and Willis have given similarly conflicting accounts of when their romance ended.
Wade claims the relationship ended in June or July of 2023, while Willis claims the split occurred in August of that year.
Trump, 77, was indicted by a special grand jury in Georgia on Aug. 14, 2023.
Legal proceedings in the 2020 election interference case, in which Trump faces 13 felony charges, have been paused while the Georgia Court of Appeals considers Trump’s motion to disbar Willis for alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
McAfee had previously ruled that the embattled district attorney could keep working on the case as long as his ex-girlfriend resigned, which she has since done.
Trump’s appeal seeks to overturn McAfee’s decision before the trial begins.
The former president’s lawyers have argued that Willis’ relationship with Wade amounted to a conflict of interest and that prosecutors say she misused public funds by profiting from her boyfriend’s earnings while taking him on lavish vacations.
“The only thing I regret is the timing,” Wade said of his romance with his former boss.
