Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis made a mistake by legally involving the estranged wife of her subordinate whom she is allegedly having an affair with, attorney and legal analyst Jonathan Turley told Newsweek on Friday.
In an investigation launched by Willis, former President Donald Trump and 14 co-defendants were indicted by a Georgia grand jury in August and face criminal racketeering charges for allegedly attempting to overturn Georgia's electoral results in the 2020 election won by Joe Biden. Another four individuals were indicted, but pleaded guilty and said they'd cooperate with prosecutors. Trump, the frontrunner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, and the remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty and have denied the allegations.
Now, Willis has found herself embroiled in her own legal battle, due to potential ethics violations related to her alleged affair with Nathan Wade—a special prosecutor in her office.
Former Trump staffer Michael Roman, who faces seven charges in Georgia, filed a lawsuit presented without tangible evidence alleging that Willis "engaged in a personal, romantic relationship" with Wade and "personally benefited from" the alleged affair, meaning she acted "to defraud the public of honest services."
The Willis-Wade relationship must now be addressed by the district attorney, Georgia Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in a legal filing earlier this week. Willis must submit a written response by February 2 to allegations that she "engaged in a personal, romantic relationship" with Wade, which will be followed by an evidentiary hearing on February 15. Willis has not acknowledged or denied the allegations of her purported affair with Wade, nor has she commented on reports that the pair has partaken in lavish trips.
On Thursday, Willis' attorney, Cinque Axam, filed a motion to stop Willis from being forced to testify by subpoena in the divorce of Nathan and Joycelyn Wade on January 23, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Axam argued that Joycelyn Wade "conspired with interested parties in the criminal election interference case to use the civil discovery process to annoy, embarrass and oppress District Attorney Willis."
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) previously confirmed to Newsweek that it's not investigating Willis for alleged impropriety.
Newsweek reached out to the Fulton County district attorney's office via email for comment.
Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said Willis' accusations against Joycelyn Wade—of aiding Trump and his surrogates in the ongoing criminal case—is "not a smart move" and only adds more fuel to the fire surrounding her relationship with Wade.
"The level of animus and vexatious language in the filing only magnifies the concern over the Willis-Wade relationship," Turley wrote in a blog post on Friday on his website. "By attacking the estranged wife of her alleged lover, Willis only increases concerns over the professional separation between Willis and Wade in making decisions in the case.
He added: "The accusatory motion was a mistake in my view. Willis could have objected to the necessity of the deposition on factual and legal grounds (as she does) without escalating the rhetoric and recriminations."
Turley, meanwhile, told Newsweek via email on Friday that he believes Willis and Wade should recuse themselves from the Georgia election case entirely, adding that Willis' new filing regarding Joycelyn Wade "seemed more cathartic than strategic."
"The tenor of the filing only magnifies the concerns that Willis has little separation from the status and interests of Nathan Wade," he said. "She could not have taken a worse approach to the demand for a deposition."
Willis partially addressed the allegations on Sunday at the Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, insinuating that race played a role in the new allegations.
"It is hard to see what Willis could offer as answers to these allegations, but she will have to do better than labeling the allegations as racist," Turley added. "Since she has yet to deny the allegations of the intimate relationship or the vacations, it is hard to see how she can untie this ethical knot. It is hard to argue that she should have the liberty to pay an alleged lover and accept lavish vacation benefits from her subordinate."
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Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
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