Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis planned to prosecute former President Donald Trump before taking office, her former top prosecutor Nathan Wade revealed in bombshell remarks before the House Judiciary Committee. .
Mr. Willis' prosecution of Mr. Trump for election interference has hit many hurdles both inside and outside the courtroom. Trump, who has maintained his innocence, argued that her case was politically motivated.
Look — ex-convict in case against Trump: If they do that to the president, what chance do we have?:
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Wade's deposition, conducted before the committee led by Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), shows that Willis planned a legal attack on Trump before he took office in January 2021. revealed that it was.
After having trouble remembering the timeline, Wade said Willis told him “some time after the election and before the inauguration” to scout him to lead a search committee for a special counsel targeting Trump. He admitted that he had contacted him. The committee ultimately selected Mr. Wade.
“I think ultimately the committee turned their guns on me and started trying to convince me to take the role,” Wade said.
The day after Wade signed a lucrative contract with Willis, he filed for divorce from his wife. Willis and Wade later testified in court that after their affair began and after Wade began receiving checks from her office, he took her on multiple exotic vacations.
Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Trump could remain in the case only if Willis fires Wade or Wade voluntarily resigns, his only mandate. After sentencing, Mr. Wade officially resigned from the case in March 2024.
The McAfee decision found that the relationship between the ex-girlfriends did not create an “actual conflict,” but wrote that the two had engaged in “conduct that resembled misconduct” that warranted Wade's removal.
In addition to hinting at political motives behind Willis' prosecution of Trump, Wade's testimony raised several other issues that raised more questions than answers about the level of White House involvement. It was included.
Mr. Wade acknowledged multiple meetings with White House officials from Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris, but repeatedly refused to disclose details of those meetings. He repeatedly claimed he could not remember whether important meetings, some of which lasted eight hours, according to the invoice, were held in person or by conference call.
2024-10-15 Nathan Wade Deposition_Edited_Errata by manship On Scribd
The most important meeting took place on November 18, 2022, when Wade spent eight hours in the White House Counsel's Office. The meeting took place on the same day that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith and that Matthew Colangelo, the former No. 3 official at the U.S. Justice Department, resigned to take a position in the Manhattan prosecutor's office. Ta.
All three events occurred a few days after the November 9 press conference. Asked about the possibility of Trump running for president in 2024, President Joe Biden responded, “If he does run, we just need to prove that he won't seize power.'' ” he said. Under the due diligence of our Constitution, we will ensure that he never becomes our next president again. [sic]”
Breitbart News first reported the significance of the Nov. 18 meeting, which took place shortly after Biden's declaration.
Despite the importance of meeting with White House counsel (a privilege rarely afforded to lower-ranking county attorneys), Mr. Wade is not sure whether this meeting, whether it took place over the phone or in person. He testified that he did not remember.
He billed the meeting as a “DC/White House meeting” and was paid $250 an hour for eight hours of work.
It is surprising that Wade is unable to remember the details of an important meeting in his only role in the office. In another example, Wade admitted to billing Willis' office for $2,000 on May 23, 2022, for a “trip to Athens.” Please discuss this with the White House Counsel. ''However, he could not remember who was involved in the meeting, where it took place, or whether it took place over the phone or in person.
During his deposition, he said “I can't remember,” “I don't remember,” and “I don't understand” 58 times.
Mr. Wade also confirmed his office's coordination with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)'s much-maligned January 6th.th Republicans claim the commission was created illegally and is a political sham.
He acknowledged meeting with “officials from the January 6th Committee” on several dates in 2022, but repeatedly could not recall key details. He admitted that he had met with a “lawyer” associated with the committee, but he could not remember who represented him and did not reveal his name.
Mr. McAfee ruled that there was no actual conflict in Mr. Willis' appointment of Mr. Wade, but Republicans and legal experts have criticized Mr. Wade's suitability for the job. His previous experience includes working in private practice as a trial. lawyer Contract disputes and family law, and as a municipal judge. trade With traffic ticket.
Mr Wade admitted in his affidavit that he had no relevant experience for the role and had to undergo remedial training to gain knowledge of the subject matter.
Mr. Wade admitted during his deposition that no one supervised his work as special prosecutor, even though he was clearly unfit to oversee such prosecutions.
According to Breitbart News, Willis told Wade the day before he was to testify under oath not to answer any questions about his office's work on the House Judiciary Committee.
In addition to Mr. Wade's frequent inability to recall details about Mr. Willis' office and Mr. Trump's prosecution, Mr. Wade's lawyers repeatedly interjected to convey Mr. Willis' instructions that the case was “active.” Prevented the committee from knowing the details of the incident.
Bradley Jay is Breitbart News' Capitol Hill correspondent. Follow him on X/Twitter. @BradleyAJay.
