Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is accused in a new court filing of lying about the timing of an “inappropriate” romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the Georgia election interference case against former President Trump, made new allegations Friday in a filing in Fulton County Superior Court. Roman’s lawyer, Ashley Merchant, told the court that Wade’s former law partner testified that the relationship between Wade and Willis began before he was appointed to prosecute Trump and his 18 co-defendants. I gave notice.
“Willis and Wade maintain that they had no personal romantic relationship prior to Willis appointing Wade as special counsel, but Terrence Bradley disputes that claim. Deaf,” Merchant wrote.
Georgia attorney Terrence Bradley is a friend and former business partner of Wade, according to the filing. Wade and Willis’ romantic relationship began before Willis was sworn in as Fulton County district attorney in January 2021, Merchant wrote.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a press conference at the Fulton County Government Center on Monday, August 14, 2023 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
“Thus, Bradley can confirm that Willis signed Wade after Wade and Willis began their romantic relationship, thus refuting Wade’s affidavit’s claim that they did not begin dating until 2022. “can be done,” the application states.
Roman, a Republican operative who worked on President Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, asked the court to bar Willis from the election case, saying his personal relationship with Wade created a conflict of interest.
In a legal filing last month, Roman said Wade billed Fulton County for 24-hour work days in November 2021, shortly after he was appointed special prosecutor, and that Willis and his girlfriend He claimed that he received financial benefits from inflated salaries paid for by taxpayers. Spend a luxurious vacation together on his teenage money.
According to court documents, Wade, who has no prior experience in racketeer-influenced corrupt organizations law or felony prosecution, has bilked taxpayers out of $654,000 since January 2022.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade. Wade reached a temporary divorce settlement with his estranged wife. (Getty Images)
Willis responded to the allegations in a court filing earlier this month, acknowledging he had a “personal” relationship with Wade but denying any conflict of interest. She also argued that under Georgia law, for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest must be detrimental to the defendant’s case.
Willis denied in his filing that he had any personal relationship with Wade at the time he was appointed to lead Trump’s case in November 2021.
Roman’s lawyers insist that Bradley “refutes” the allegations. The filing states that Bradley learned of the affair directly from Wade before he decided to file for divorce from his wife of 26 years.
“Bradley also has personal knowledge that Wade and Willis were regularly together at her home until Willis’ father moved into her home in 2020,” Merchant said. wrote.
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This handout provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office depicts Trump campaign staffer Michael Roman, right, posing for a booking photo at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on August 25, 2023. There is. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, via Getty Images)
Roman also added new details to the claim that Wade spent thousands of dollars on vacations with Willis. That includes a Royal Caribbean free ocean cruise to the Bahamas in October 2022. Trip to Aruba in November 2022. Norwegian New Year Cruises from December 2022 to January 2023. Trip to Belize in March 2023. And we are planning a vacation to Napa Valley in May 2023.
“If Willis and Wade were romantically involved prior to taking office, as Bradley acknowledges, it is likely that Wade provided other significant gifts and benefits to Willis,” the filing alleges. ing.
“Of course, the State and Wade are now filing motions to quash Mr. Roman’s lawful subpoenas in an effort to prevent these revelations.”
Willis claimed in her response last week that she and Wade split the cost of the trip, but she only provided a receipt for one flight from Atlanta to Miami.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (center) speaks during a press conference at the Fulton County Government Center on Monday, August 14, 2023 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
The new motion comes after Willis’ office filed a motion to block Roman’s subpoena calling for Willis, Wade and others to testify at a Feb. 15 evidentiary hearing presided over by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. This took place two days after it was submitted.
Roman also alleged in his filing that Willis intentionally made statements to the media about Roman to “improve his public image” and “poison the jury pool.” This echoes claims made last week by Trump’s co-defendant, former Georgia Republican David Shafer. He is the chairman and the Peach State’s Republican presidential elector in the 2020 election.
In a court filing, Schaefer accused Willis of a “pattern of prosecutorial and forensic misconduct” and said she, her office and all of her staff should be disbarred from election interference cases. insisted. He alleges that Willis has a “pattern of making prejudicial public statements” about the case through various media interviews and public speeches, and that he has He claimed he intended to “influence and infect the jury pool.”
Roman’s lawyers made similar arguments in their filings.
“If the line between a prosecutor’s personal reputation and public profile becomes blurred and the line between public duties is blurred, there is a risk that the system will collapse, as will public trust in the process itself, and public trust in the outcome.” Mr. Merchant wrote. .
Mr. Trump, who is represented in the Georgia case by attorney Steve Sadow, asked for Mr. Willis to be disqualified, along with Mr. Roman and two other co-defendants.
Ms. Willis also faces a separate lawsuit from Ms. Merchant, who alleges that she failed to produce records in compliance with Georgia’s Open Records Act and “deliberately withheld information” in advance of the hearing.
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Additionally, the district attorney is under investigation by both the Georgia Republican Party and the House Judiciary Committee over whistleblower claims that the office misappropriated taxpayer funds.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
Fox News’ Brianna Herilhy and Claudia Kely-Bazan contributed to this report.
