Georgia prosecutor on Trump case paid for trips with District Attorney Willis on his credit card, court filing shows

[Jose Garcia]

Source: CNN


The special prosecutor hired by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to pursue the criminal case against former President Donald Trump bought tickets for Willis to accompany him on at least two out-of-state trips, records released Friday show.

A Friday motion filed in Cobb County Superior Court by Joycelyn Wade in her divorce case with the special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, includes copies of credit card statements that show he purchased airline tickets for him and Willis, including trips to Miami in October 2022 and San Francisco in April 2023.

Willis suggested in a court filing Thursday that Joycelyn Wade is using the divorce proceedings to harass the district attorney and damage her reputation and is “obstructing and interfering with an ongoing criminal prosecution.” Willis brought the sprawling racketeering indictment against Trump and his associates last year over their actions in Georgia following the 2020 election.

Willis said in her filing that Joycelyn Wade has been separated from her husband for more than two years and “has conspired with interested parties in the criminal election interference case to use the civil discovery process to annoy, embarrass and oppress District Attorney Willis.”

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/01/19/politics/fani-willis-divorce-documents-fulton-county/index.html

[pwb]

1. Yawn.

Yawn.

[brush]

4. Yep, separated two years but suddenly jealous over the new woman, a high-profile woman.

Whaddya know about that.

[Lovie777]

2. SO..................................

[rso]

3. Tso

Totally irrelevant since they are both on one side . It would be an issue if one was a prosecutor and the other a defense attorney.

[WhiteTara]

6. I just typed that and then read

your post, exactly my thoughts.

[WhiteTara]

5. this is so nothing. If she had a relationship

with defense attorney, I would care. But this? Just nasty hypocritical gqp.

[happy feet]

7. OK

This is impt enough to be broadcast as news, Why?

[maxrandb]

72. A tan suit wasn't "news" either

Nor a emailed risotto recipe, but this is just how the media rolls today.

[Mz Pip]

8. So?

People have office romances. As long as it was consensual what’s the problem?

[kelly1mm]

30. Generally in government and corporate settings it is not allowed between a supervisor and a subordinate/direct

report, even if both agree it is/was consensual. The theory is that the boss in a relationship with a subordinate is inherently coercive. That was one of the main takeaways from the Me Too movement. I work for the state judiciary and this type of relationship would violate our ethics rules of my state (not sure of GA).

None of this directly has anything to do with the cases against President Trump and his associates. The worst that could happen would be a recusal of the Special Prosecutor and possible change of venue to another GA county.

[mopinko]

41. he's a contractor, not an employee.

[Joinfortmill]

9. Ok, so I'm not sure what she did wrong legally.

Not the best look, but the guy is getting divorced. Maybe there's a policy rule that was broken. More to come on this, I'm sure.

[ificandream]

10. SO?????

[3Hotdogs]

11. So? So she hires a guy with no prosecutorial experience to handle one of the most important cases in U.S. history.

The guy bills $600k and she is the beneficiary of his spending money on trips, restaurant visits and so forty.

If it was a Republican a.g., we would be all over it.

It ain't illegal. But it smells, almost as bad as Trump on the golf course on a 95 degree day and the drug store ran out of Imodium.

[oldmanlynn]

13. Wade isnt the only Prosecutor on the team

Wade was not hired to be the lead prosecutor but a helping prosecutor. In this scenario it doesn’t make a difference if he did have prosecutorial experience.

If Willis started investigating in early 22 then it’s possible after hiring that they developed a closer relationship.

Not sure this is a bad scenario like the GOP are making it seem

[JT45242]

15. But he has experience...and being paid standard rate

He is not a neophyte. He is being paid the standard rate for when the DA hires outside lawyers to prosecute cases.

[blm]

21. It's a prosecution TEAM of 3 paid standard rate, not just Wade.

[Sedona]

23. IIRC Wade was making WAY more money in private practice

before Willis added him to the team.

[Silent Type]

12. trump's still guilty, but prosecutors should have avoided this distraction.

[captain queeg]

14. Another nothing burger. Much like Hunter's situation.

[Freethinker65]

16. Let me know when he uses the State issued credit card for a personal trip.

Anyone checking Ms. Wade's recent financials? Any unusual spending because of increase in undocumented cash flow? Any recent contact with those related to Trump or his defense team (one can assume Lindsey Graham declined making a phone call this time and Rudy was preoccupied with more pressing matters).

[kelly1mm]

31. Lets assume Ms. Wade was paid by the R's. So what? Is it newsworthy that R's are master rat-f'ers?

Both these two have made a serious lapse of judgement in engaging in a romantic relationship. No to mention that he is her subordinate. In the state judiciary where I work this would not be allowed per our ethics rules.

[Wonder Why]

79. That's an understatement. Did they not think Trump was going to make this look awful?

[Farmer-Rick]

17. It's a former Trump campaign lawyer who filed the complaint

"Those allegations against Willis and Wade came in a 127-page court filing earlier this month from an attorney for Mike Roman, a former Trump 2020 campaign official who was indicted over his role in the fake electors plot in Georgia."

The former wife had an affair that led to their separation 2 years ago.

Seems she had a relationship with her husbands friend, best friend?

"The couple’s marriage was broken in 2017 after Jocelyn confessed to having an adulterous relationship with a longtime friend of her husband."

[Think. Again.]

18. Is this a bad thing in some way?

Was it wrong somehow for them to be together outside of work?

I mean, am I missing something important here?

[former9thward]

22. It depends on the facts.

That is why a hearing has been scheduled.

From the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Standards for the Prosecution Function:

(f) The prosecutor should not permit the prosecutor’s professional judgment or obligations to be affected by the prosecutor’s personal, political, financial, professional, business, property, or other interests or relationships. A prosecutor should not allow interests in personal advancement or aggrandizement to affect judgments regarding what is in the best interests of justice in any case.

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/criminal_justice/standards/ProsecutionFunctionFourthEdition/

[Think. Again.]

25. I see, thanks...

...and the defense is claiming the prosecutor's judgement and/or obligations have been affected in some distinct way by the relationship, I guess. I haven't read anything about the way in which the defence is claiming the prosecutor's judgement or obligations have been affected though.

Would it be legitimate for the defence to claim that the prosecutor is working too hard and doing too good of a job because he really, really likes the D.A.?

[former9thward]

29. One problem is that the prosecutor has never tried a felony case in Georgia.

This is a massive and complex case with nothing but felonies. So presumably these things will be thrashed out at the hearing.

[kelly1mm]

38. The 'argument' if you can call it that is that the DA's office is trying cases against President

Trump that it would not have in order to keep the payments going to the SP for longer. (With the additional argument that the DA is benefitting by going on 'lavish' trips paid for by the SP (indirectly) coming from DA funds) I don't think it passes the smell test but that's the arguments as far as I can tell.

[Diraven]

35. I think the reason for this

Is to prevent prosecutors from failing to prosecute to the best of their abilities. Unless the Trump defense team wants to show that the prosecutor is going too easy on them, then they don't really have an argument here.

[COL Mustard]

24. Let's see what the facts are

Before passing judgement. I know Former President Stinky and his minions won't want to do that, but let's see what the facts are. If nothing, great. If there's something there, unfortunately it will need to be brought out.

I'm not rushing to judgement.

[kelly1mm]

34. in my state judiciary (not GA) it would be against the ethics rules. You are not allowed to be in a

romantic relationship with a an employee you are a supervisor of or is a direct report to you. This is a HR issue though generally although I would not be surprised if the DA/SP has to recuse themselves and/or the court changes venue to another GA county. I highly doubt the case will (or should) be dismissed.

[Silent Type]

61. Let's hope it's not transferred to MTG's district.

[ananda]

19. Eek. Uh oh.

It sure looks like quid pro quo.

Me, I want to see Trump go down, waayy down.

And I don't want anything to stop that from
happening.

Period.

[ProfessorPlum]

20. please explain

what is the quid and what is the quo? They were working together on a case and got close?

[FakeNoose]

26. I don't understand why this is "news" or why it's LBN

When business colleagues ... or in this case government colleagues ... travel together, it's expected that one person books the tickets and puts it on his or her credit card. This is no big deal. Receipts get turned in, the expenses get evened out by the respective accounting departments.

There's no hanky-panky here. It's not illegal. This is how intelligent professionals do their jobs.

[FBaggins]

69. "Business colleagues" don't "travel together" on cruises

Or book their business travel through "vacation express"

[relayerbob]

27. She has seriously screwed the pooch on this.

As a spouse of a GA attorney who also went to Emory Law, I can assure you this is incredibly bad. She hired a person who wasn’t qualified (even though others had turned it down), paid him over $600k so far, including some very questionable billings (eg 24 hours in a single day), and then took vacation trips with him in late 2022 and 2023 on his credit card. All this while he is in the middle of a long and contested divorce. Was sleeping with him legal? Yes. Was it smart? Hell, no. Not in the middle of the trial of the century. Was getting vacation trips from money that came from the state legal? Very questionable. Are the optics going to destroy the possibility of getting a jury conviction in one of the most well documented criminal cases against Trump. Absolutely possible, if not likely. Are the Republicans using this to smear her and did they conspire with the wife to bring this in the open? Of course, that’s what they do. Will that matter? not in the least. She knew that (or should have) and by carrying on this affair with this particular individual, she will be dragged through the coals, likely lose her position, very possibly the entire case and if the Republican county auditor can demonstrate that they used state funds to pay for her trips, and god knows what else at this point, then she may get disbarred and her entire life ruined. And any one who says this is ok, while saying Clarence Thomas should be held accountable for his actions isn’t really paying attention. And no, I’m not bashing a Democrat, nor are these RW talking point, I am stating the actual on-the-ground FACTS from Atlanta, GA.

[pnwmom]

36. What was she supposed to do when others turned the job down? Not hire anyone?

And he was as capable of doing the work -- taking depositions, writing filings -- as any experienced attorney. He didn't have to be an expert in RICO, because they had other people on the team for that.

[kelly1mm]

39. Maybe be a grown up and not start a romantic relationship with him? Not go on vacation trips paid for by

him (and indirectly) by the DA funds you are paying him?

Both of these lawyers have shown incredibly poor judgement.

Does not mean the charges should be dismissed against President Trump and his associates. However the DA and SP may be forced to recuse themselves and there may even be a change of venue.

[pnwmom]

43. The Republican leading the state board in charge of these matters,

who would be the one to appoint a replacement, if there needed to be one, said he wasn't aware of any rules they had broken.

[kelly1mm]

45. Great! We will see where this goes them - hopefully nowhere. That being said,

do you think this shows good judgement on both the DA and the SP part? I certainly don't think so.

[relayerbob]

49. Yep on all counts

The case won't get dismissed, but both will likely have to leave the case, and any evidence that he brought in will be challenged.

[relayerbob]

48. Not fuck him. Not take vacations cruises with him

And look for others, he wasn't the only lawyer in Atlanta

[pnwmom]

52. The Republican who is in charge of the state board that would appoint any replacement

said he's not aware of any state law that would bar two lawyers on the same side from being involved with each other.

[relayerbob]

55. Sigh..... It wasn't illegal, and I stated that. It was, hoever, stupid and prejudicial

And if they find an excuse to link his rather dubious accounting practices to her getting vacation trips on his nickel, then that very well may be illegal.

It may also result in evidence that he handled be viewed as tainted and get thrown out in trial. And, don't, for even a second, think Trump's side won't try. It's ALL we're going to be hearing about.

Given the high profile of the case, and the stakes, they both should have been MUCH smarter about this. She, in particular, should not have been accepting gifts from an outside consultant that she hired. You know, that thing we are supposed to have that the GQP doesn't - ethics and professionalism.

[pnwmom]

56. Why do you think allegations like this -- two lawyers on the same team getting involved --

have never been made before?

Do you really think that white lawyers in GA don't get involved with each other, when there are no rules to prevent it?

[relayerbob]

57. There are no rules preventing the wives of SCOTUS from taking money to support insurrections, either.

Your comments are specious, and clearly intentionally ignoring virtually every point I was making.

[SomedayKindaLove]

63. From Trumps tweets

It looks like what he wants from this is for Willis and Wade to pay him money. Which makes it just another shameless shakedown.

[pnwmom]

65. I don't think we should be predicting the worst and raking her through the coals

when even the R head of the state attorney board said that he was unaware of any laws broken by their alleged actions.

Democrats should have her back while all this is playing out, not be so quick to assume the worst. That's why I "ignore" the specifics of your complaints. Roman and Trump are tossing smoke bombs. Democrats shouldn't be adding their own.

[Silent Type]

37. Former Atlantan. trump is still guilty, but this distraction will make it harder to convict him.

And Willis is up for election this year. This won’t help her.

I think Wade’s questionable billing could force him to resign. He may have done the work to meet deadlines, but billing for 24 hours a day is not smart, especially when you know it will be scrutinized.

Looks like Willis was right when she rescheduled the trial to late August but said it might be 2025.

[relayerbob]

47. I think it likely both will have to resign, or at least break away from the Trump case

Fortunately, there are other good prosecutors in her office capable of handling the case. It will definitely make it harder to convict, even given the strong evidence.

[Botany]

28. So what? They are adults and have a social life. Perfectly legal actions and this has nothing to ...

…. do with Trump’s alleged crimes in trying to flip the results of GA’s 2020 election.

[kelly1mm]

40. In my state judiciary (not GA) it is aganist ethics rules for a supervisor to have a romantic relationship

with a direct report.

Agree it has nothing to do with the charges against President Trump and his associates but could end up with the DA/SP having to recuse themselves and/or a change of venue to another GA county.

[relayerbob]

50. Exactly

[SomedayKindaLove]

58. Ugh

I’m already imagining the Trump tweets if they both have to recuse themselves. But what is the reason for switching counties? Is everyone in the county having an affair?

[kelly1mm]

60. If the DA/SP refuse to recuse themselves and the Court deems that the appearance of

impropriety demands it. Much more likely would be a recusal (especially in the Court hints at a venue change) but I don't think the court can demand a recusal .....

[pnwmom]

76. But that's not relevant because your state is not Georgia, and it's Georgia's rules that apply.

As unlike most blue states, Georgia doesn't have a law banning romantic relationships in these situations.

[kelly1mm]

78. I guess we will see in the next month or two while the Court hearings and the Fulton County Commissioners

investigations move forward. The Court can, even in the absence of an ethical breech make rulings (such as changing venue to another GA county) if it finds there is an 'appearance of impropriety' and the 'interests of justice' require it (as defined by the Judge and any reviewing Courts).

This will probably all play out in public and in the news so it shouldn't be hard to learn the outcome.

I do think there is almost 0% chance of the GA charges against President Trump and/or his associates being dropped.

[DAngelo136]

32. THIS IS PAR FOR THE COURSE FOR TRUMP....

This is a well known tactic used by Trump in order to leverage influence in a trial that he knows is going badly for him or in order to intimidate people into silence. He threatened the same tactic on the late investigative reporter Wayne Barrett when he was on the trail of his shady deals as a New York developer way back in 1979; he hired private investigators to "get dirt" on Barrett and tried to intimidate him into shelving his stories. Needless to say, it didn't work.

He also threatened reporter David Cay Johnston with a frivolous libel suit while he was researching a story about his casino dealings as well. That didn't work, either. And we all know about his attempt to smear President Obama by repeating and amplifying the debunked conspiracy theory regarding his birth certificate.
There are numerous instances where Trump has attempted to smear and intimidate people who displease him or threaten "his brand"; too numerous to name here. So it's not surprising that he dug up some "dirt" on Willis in order to detract from the facts of the trial. Which by this desperate attempt indicates that even he is aware that it's going badly for him.
So, as a reminder....https://www.ajc.com/opinion/mike-luckovich-blog/117-mike-luckovich-not-the-defendant/VUGSVYXDKBDPNCF7AH24BSNLLE/
Trump is on trial, not Fani Willis.

[Barry Markson]

51. Unfortunately the tactic often times works.

“Drag a hundred-dollar bill through a trailer park, you never know what you’ll find,”

[KPN]

62. I agree. We aren't the audience for this BS; trumps base and

Repuke voters are. They lap this stuff up and then spit it out at us as the “both sides” argument in support of Trump and his fight against the “witch hunt”. And it works always with that audience,. They swallow it hook, line and sinker and then call Democrats the hypocrites.

Frankly, when they put this crap out, they don’t care one iota what we here at DU think of the accusations. They know their voters see those accusations as proof that the left are the manipulators. — We on the left don’t have that luxury. We’re too open/minded, thoughtful and therefore objective. The norm for us is to call out those on our side who originate and spread misinformation attacks on our adversaries. We adhere to the high road typically — and of late, it seems more often to dilute our ability to actually be on the offense. Frustrating.

[pnwmom]

33. The divorce was sealed in Feb. 2022. Those trips took place

in late 2022 and in 2023.

They have nothing to do with the divorce, which was filed for on the basis of "irreconcilable differences." The ex-wife had engaged in an extra-marital relationship in 2017.

The ex wife is hoping somehow to get a big payday from this.

[Mike Niendorff]

46. Fani Willis just dropped a *bombshell* response to this

As always, Michael Popok at MTN walks us through it beautifully:

?si=GqIY3viKYsyKUFXT

Highly recommended viewing.


MDN

[Kingofalldems]

42. Ahhh--bad things about Democrats.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

44. Morals and ethics.

The other guy’s problem when you’re with Dump.

[emulatorloo]

53. LOOK! A squirrel!!

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

54. Why is this important in relation to the Trump trial?

eom

[AdamGG]

59. I don't understand the argument that this has relevance

How does it matter what the attorneys in a criminal case do in their private lives? If it's a relationship between a prosecutor and a DA, they're both on the same team, so it can't be argued that it's creating bias. If it was between a prosecutor or DA and the judge, then they'd have something.

If you can't point to how this has tainted the legal arguments presented in the case, then it's just prurient attempts to slander people. It's no different than if someone on Trump's defense team was having a relationship with someone else on the team (or God forbid Trump). It would have zero impact on his guilt or innocence.

[Mr.Bill]

64. If this is all Trump's people could come up with,

Trump is in some real trouble.

[DemMedic]

66. How does this impact the case against Trumpy?

It's just smoke.

[FBaggins]

71. The short answer is that it makes a conviction prior to the election much less likely

And possibly any conviction at all.

[SKKY]

67. Just trying to muddy up the waters for his base...

...Did this trip somehow make TFG more or less guilty?

[samnsara]

68. i used my credit card lots of times to cover group expenses for work etc....

..this is no biggie

[Jose Garcia]

74. For some reason Willis isn't claiming that this was a work-related trip

Can anyone guess why?

[Vinca]

70. Apparently, the people who didn't care less about Trump doing a porn star while Mel

was home with a newborn think this is the moral crisis of the century.

[republianmushroom]

73. And Supreme Court Justices let other people pay for their travels at times, too/

[cstanleytech]

75. I'm not sure if this was illegal or unethical but it is clear that this is being pursued to punish her for defying the

demands for her to drop the investigation into Trump.

[Novara]

77. None of this has any bearing on the grand jury's findings to indict

Take him off the case if it's a problem. Easy solution.