Fani Willis’s Ex-Lover Blames ‘Cultural Differences’ for Judge Ordering Him To Resign From Trump Case

The declaration of District Attorney Fani Willis’s former boyfriend and special counsel, Nathan Wade, that their relationship “had no place in the courtroom. Not now and not then” could soon find a prominent debunker — the Georgia Court of Appeals. Mr. Wade made those comments to host Joy Reid on MSNBC on Wednesday evening. He added that he and Ms. Willis handled their romance “in a manner that was professional.” He previously told ABC News’s “Good Morning America” that workplace romances are as “American as apple pie.” Ms. Willis, of course, is prosecuting Mr. Trump and several co-defendants for, allegedly, seeking to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 vote in Georgia. Her case was upended when one of Mr. Trump’s co-defendants claimed Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade were romantically involved. The secret romance then became the subject of an extraordinary hearing in February in which the judge overseeing the Trump election case, Scott McAfee, evaluated whether to boot Ms. Willis off the case. Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade insisted that their romance was only kindled once he’d been hired by the D.A.’s office, an assertion that was contradicted under oath by a former friend and roommate of Ms. Willis, and that bore “the odor of mendacity,” according to Judge McAfee. He eventually said Ms. Willis could stay on the case, but only if Mr. Wade would resign, which he did.Mr. Trump appealed the ruling, and the appeals court will, at a date unspecified, hear his request to disqualify the district attorney of Fulton County because of her relationship with Mr. Wade, whom her office has paid more than $650,00, and with whom she took vacations. Her rhetoric — she has accused the defendants in her case of “playing the race card” — is another proposed grounds for removal because, Mr. Trump’s lawyers assert, it could taint the jury pool at Fulton County, a majority-minority district which comprises much of downtown Atlanta.The Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, and her then-special prosecutor and lover, Nathan Wade, on August 14, 2023, at Atlanta. Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesThe Democratic voters of Fulton County, though, handed Ms. Willis a resounding victory in Tuesday’s primary. At a speech marking the occasion, she promised that she is “in this fight for the long haul” and that “this election is bringing into focus very important matters.” In a somewhat stunning display of defiance, Mr. Wade was in attendance at Ms. Willis’s party. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that he was “all smiles” at the event. Mr. Wade filed for divorce the day after he was hired by Ms. Willis. Mr. Trump, however, insists that the romance blossomed before Mr. Wade joined the D.A.’s office. The Trump attorneys point to cellular data that shows thousands of calls and text messages between the pair before Mr. Wade was named special prosecutor. Before he was hired to try Mr. Trump and 18 others, Mr. Wade had never prosecuted a felony case before. Ms. Willis insists that she paid him back — in cash stored at her house — for their excursions. From the witness stand, Ms. Willis’s father said that storing large amounts of cash at home was “a Black thing.”Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee listens to a variety of pre-trial motions during a hearing on January 19, 2023 at Atlanta, Georgia. Jason Getz-Pool/Getty ImagesJudge McAfee ruled that either Mr. Wade or Ms. Willis was required to step aside from the case because their behavior, in addition to emitting the aforementioned “odor of mendacity,” also evinced a “significant appearance of impropriety.” Mr. Wade suggested to Ms. Reid that “cultural differences” could explain those findings, which the Court of Appeals will consider when they assess if Judge McAfee erred. Mr. Wade, on MSNBC, accused his former law partner and divorce lawyer, Terrence Bradley, of “collusion” with Mr. Trump’s campaign. Mr. Bradley had texted a lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, for one of the 45th president’s co-defendants, Michael Roman, about the relationship between Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis. Texts from Mr. Bradley to Ms. Merchant showed him telling her that he knew Ms. Willis was amorously involved with Mr. Wade before he joined the DA’s office, and before he’d separated from his wife. But when pushed under oath to disclose what he knew, Mr. Bradley hesitated and said he was just engaging in “speculation.”Nathan Wade, who was forced to resign from Fani Willis’s prosecution team over his romance with Ms. Willis, claims there was nothing improper about the relationship. MSNBCJudge McAfee was also an electoral winner on Tuesday, coming out on top in a general election contest. A conservative Republican who’d been appointed by Georgia’s governor to fill an empty seat, he will now serve a full four year term in January. The mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickers, said at Ms. Willis’s celebration that “she’s been going through fire and coming out like a Phoenix.” Her resurrection, though, could yet be cut short if the Court of Appeals discovers that her behavior in the case she brought merits her removal. Mr. Wade told Ms. Reid that he and Ms. Willis are now the “best of friends” and talk nearly every day about their personal lives and the threats they’ve been receiving since their love affair became public.

Fani Willis’s Ex-Lover Blames ‘Cultural Differences’ for Judge Ordering Him To Resign From Trump Case

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