Fani Willis May Have Caught a Break After Prosecutor Settles in Divorce

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may have caught a break after a settlement was reached in divorce proceedings involving the county's special prosecutor leading the election interference case against former President Donald Trump.

The settlement between special prosecutor Nathan Wade and his estranged wife spares Wade from having to testify this week about his alleged romantic relationship with Willis, his boss. Wade was hired by Willis in 2021 to head the investigation into Trump, who is facing charges connected to efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential loss to President Joe Biden in the state of Georgia.

One of Trump's co-defendants in the case, Michael Roman, filed a motion three weeks ago claiming that Wade and Willis were at one point romantically involved during the investigation of Trump, adding that the special prosecutor and district attorney had been "profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers." Bank statements filed in the divorce case by Wade's wife, Joycelyn Wade, also alleged that the special prosecutor had purchased tickets on two separate occasions for himself and Willis during the time of Trump's investigation.

According to court documents, Wade reached a "temporary agreement" in his divorce case on Tuesday, which canceled a hearing scheduled for Wednesday in which he was expected to testify about his purported relationship with Willis.

Newsweek reached out to Willis' office via email for comment on Tuesday night.

Willis and her office face widespread pushback related to the allegations as the 2020 election interference case pushes on. Trump and his co-defendants have argued that all charges should be dismissed, accusing Wade and Willis of misconduct. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges against him in the sprawling 41-count racketeering indictment brought by the district attorney's office against Trump and 18 others in August.

Willis also faces an ethics complaint over accusations that her office refused to comply with several public-records requests filed by Greg Mantell, founder of Substack blog Investigative News Service. The requests were related to her purported relationship with Wade.

Georgia State Representative Charlice Byrd, a Republican, added to Willis' woes last week after introducing a resolution to impeach the district attorney. Byrd said in a statement at the time that the impeachment articles were because Willis had used her office "not to pursue justice but for political gain." The state lawmaker added that Willis had also "come under scrutiny for possible conflict of interest in hiring a potential paramour in the case against Trump."