Fani Willis, the first female district attorney in Fulton County spearheading the criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged election interference, is confronting accusations of providing false information about the timeline of her romantic involvement with Nathan Wade, a key attorney on the case, as reported by BBC on Thursday.
Last week, Willis acknowledged a personal relationship with Wade, a former federal prosecutor hired in November 2021 to assist in the Trump probe. However, she contended that their affair commenced only after Wade joined her office and insisted it had no bearing on the inquiry’s integrity.
Contrary to Willis’s account, a former colleague and friend, Robin Yeartie, testified in a court hearing on Thursday that the romantic involvement between Willis and Wade dated back to 2019, well before the initiation of the Trump case. Yeartie, a former investigator in the Fulton County district attorney’s office, claimed to have witnessed the pair “hugging, kissing,” and traveling together on multiple occasions.
This testimony contradicted a sworn affidavit submitted by Wade last week, wherein he denied any pre-existing personal relationship with Willis at the time of his appointment to the Trump case.
The court hearing was initiated at the request of Michael Roman, a co-defendant accused by Willis of conspiring with Trump to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Roman, a former Trump campaign official, is seeking to disqualify Willis and her entire office from the case, citing a conflict of interest and bias arising from her affair with Wade.
During Thursday’s proceedings, Roman’s lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, interrogated Wade about his role in the Trump investigation and his travel history with Willis. Wade, appearing nervous and evasive, claimed no recollection of travel with Willis in 2021 and emphasized a limited role in the case, primarily involving document review and interviews.
Wade maintained that his relationship with Willis commenced around March 2022 and asserted its irrelevance to the case. Judge Scott McAfee, presiding over the hearing, announced intentions to scrutinize when the relationship began, its current status, and potential financial conflicts of interest before deciding on Willis’s disqualification from the case.
The hearing is set to resume on Friday, with additional witnesses and evidence expected to be presented. Willis initiated the criminal investigation in February 2021, marking one of several legal challenges faced by Trump regarding his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
