Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was told by the judge in the Georgia election case against former President Donald Trump that she can only remain the lead prosecutor on one condition.
She can stay on the case but must get rid of her former lover, special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said Friday that Willis must step aside from Trump case or remove Wade, the special prosecutor she hired with whom she also had a romantic relationship, before case can proceed.
Willis and Wade testified last month at a special hearing that they had engaged in a sexual relationship before Wade was hired using taxpayer money for the Trump case. But the two denied that Willis improperly benefited from it financially despite lavish vacations.
McAfee said that the “allegations and evidence legally insufficient to support a finding of an actual conflict of interest” between Willis and Wade.
However, he said that their sexual relationship and financial entanglements had an “appearance of impropriety.”
“Even if the romantic relationship began after SADA Wade’s initial contract in November 2021, the District Attorney chose to continue supervising and paying Wade while maintaining such a relationship,” McAfee wrote in his ruling.
“She further allowed the regular and loose exchange of money between them without any exact or verifiable measure of reconciliation,” he said.
An lawyer representing Trump’s co-defendant Michael Roman asked McAfee to throw out the entire indictment and prevent the District Attorney’s office from continuing further prosecution on the case.
The attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, pointed out evidence that Willis had paid Wade large sums of taxpayer money before the two used that money to take a romantic getaway at luxury resorts, which would be an improper — and potentially illegal — conflict of interest.
Despite originally failing to disclose that she’d hired her lover, Willis repeatedly insisted that their relationship created no conflict of interest that justified removing the Fulton County District Attorney’s office from the Trump case.
Willis and Wade both told the court that their relationship had begun in early 2022, but ended last summer — after Wade was hired.
They also both insisted, while under oath, that Willis paid for her part of the vacation travel expenses out of pocket and used large lumps of cash to reimburse Wade.
The judges ruling that Willis can remain on the case without Wade caused outrage among Trump supporters on social media.
Take a look —
BREAKING: Judge Scott McAfee rules DA Fani Willis can remain on the Trump Georgia case as long as her lover, prosecutor Nathan Wade steps aside.
Someone with the judgement of Fani Willis should be nowhere near this case.
McAfee said that no “disqualification of a constitutional… pic.twitter.com/KX2stkVetK
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 15, 2024
I thought this headline was a joke:
Fani Willis and her office can stay on Trump Georgia 2020 election case if Wade steps aside, judge rules
What world are we living in? #Rigged #WitchHunt
— Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) March 15, 2024
Even leftwing networks knew Fani Willis deserved to be removed from this case. Judge McAfee instead chose to be a coward and protect a woman he’s donated to in the past. It’s time for Georgia to use SB 332, which Gov Kemp signed into law just this week, and remove the rogue… https://t.co/EYAg6uWNvs
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 15, 2024
The Horn editorial team