Trump prosecutor in Georgia, Fani Willis, accused of 'improper' romantic, financial relationship

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the attorney hired to prosecute former President Donald Trump are accused of having an improper romantic relationship and benefiting financially from the situation, according to a new bombshell court filing from one of Trump's 18 co-conspirators seeking to have the case dismissed. 

Willis hired her alleged romantic partner, private attorney Nathan Wade, to prosecute Trump, and he has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees from January 2022 through December 2023, according to the 127-page motion to dismiss filed Monday. 

"In turn, Wade is taking Willis on, and paying for vacations across the world with money he is being paid by the Fulton County taxpayers and authorized solely by Willis," an attorney for former Trump campaign official Mike Roman said in the court filing. Roman's attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, is seeking to dismiss the charges against her client and to disqualify Willis, Wade and their entire offices and firms from participating in the prosecution. 

Willis spokeswoman Pallavi Bailey said that the district attorney's office would respond to the allegations "through appropriate court filings," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 

Merchant also said she could not find any indications that Wade has ever prosecuted a felony. 

The motion to dismiss does not provide direct evidence of allegations against the duo but states: "Upon information and belief, and based on discussions with individuals with knowledge, Willis and Wade were romantically involved prior to Willis awarding a contract for legal services with Wade.  It is not entirely clear when the relationship began, but it began while Wade was married."

Wade started his special prosecutor contract with Willis the day before he filed for divorce in Cobb County in November 2021, but the filing was improperly sealed, the court document also states. Merchant said she was able to review the divorce documents but she is seeking to have them unsealed before discussing them publicly.

Wade, Willis and their offices should be disqualified from further prosecution of the case "on the grounds that the district attorney and the special prosecutor have been engaged in an improper, clandestine personal relationship during the pendency of this case, which has resulted in the special prosecutor, and, in turn, the district attorney, profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers," Merchant also wrote.

"Accordingly, the district attorney and the special prosecutor have violated laws regulating the use of public monies, suffer from irreparable conflicts of interest, and have violated their oaths of office under the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct."

Roman, the former president and 17 other co-conspirators were charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, among other Georgia state counts, for their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in favor of Trump.

Three former Trump attorneys, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, as well as Republican poll watcher Scott Hall, have all pleaded guilty in the case, while everyone else who was charged has pleaded not guilty.

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