Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks out over the affair allegations against her and special prosecutor Nathan Wade amid the state's case against Donald Trump.
On Sunday, Willis defended Wade's qualifications, marking her first public remarks since the allegations of misconduct between the two of them surfaced last week. The district attorney did not directly address the allegations of improper relationship with Wade during a congregation at the Big Bethel AME Church.
However, she fiercely rejected claims that she acted improperly when she hired Wade in the state's election interference case involving former President Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants.
Last week, the allegations against Willis and Wade came from one of the Republican businessman's co-defendants, Mike Roman. He is a political operative who served as the former president's director of Election Day operations on his 2020 re-election campaign. He accused Willis and Wade of engaging in an "improper romantic relationship."
Roman's lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant cited "sources close" to both Willis and Wade who claimed that the two have been involved in an "ongoing, personal, and romantic relationship." The two allegedly went on vacations together, as per The Hill.
The filings also argued that the relationship, which Merchant claimed began before the election interference started, makes the indictment "fatally defective" and requested it to be dismissed. On Sunday, Willis said that she was confused because it was her right to appoint the three special counselors and pay them all the same hourly rate.
While not directly naming Wade, Willis defended the special prosecutor by saying that he had been a judge for more than 10 years and had run a private practice for more than 20 years. He is said to represent businesses in civil litigation and served as a prosecutor, a criminal defense lawyer, and a special assistant attorney general.
In the filing last week, Merchant pointed out the payment made to Wade, who received nearly $654,000 in legal fees in 2022 and 2023. The payment was made for his work on the investigation as shown by county records.
Having an Improper Relationship
Willis' emotional speech on Sunday lasted for more than 30 minutes where she also detailed the difficulties that she faced in her position as Fulton County DA as well as prosecuting the Trump case. She detailed feeling "isolation," "loneliness," "backstabbing," and facing constant death threats, according to ABC News.
She noted that the threats made against her were often fueled by her race, noting that she and her family members' lives have been "threatened so regularly" that it was normal to receive two death threats every week.
The Fulton County district attorney claims that the allegations against her and Wade are because they are both Black. She said that the opposition was playing the race card in trying to tell her how to do her job properly.
However, Roman was unfazed by Willis' accusations that the issue was racially charged against the district attorney. He noted that the biggest difference between Wade and the other two prosecutors in the case is that the first two were not in a relationship with Willis, said the New York Post.
