Fani Willis admits relationship with prosecutor on Trump Georgia case
Source: Washington Post
In a 176-page court filing on Friday, Willis called the claims against her “meritless” and “salacious.” She asked a judge to reject motions from Trump and other co-defendants that seek to disqualify her and her office from the case and to do so without a hearing. Willis denied claims of misconduct and said there was no evidence that the relationship between her and special prosecutor Nathan Wade had prejudiced the case.
Willis’s response came more than three weeks after Mike Roman, one of Trump’s remaining 14 co-defendants in the criminal case and a former high-ranking campaign aide during the 2020 election, alleged in a court filing that Willis was engaged in a “personal, romantic relationship” with Wade, whose firm has been paid more than $653,000 by the district attorney’s office since he was tapped as an outside prosecutor on the case in November 2021.
Roman claimed Willis may have broken the law by hiring Wade and then allowing him to pay for “vacations across the world” with her that were unrelated to their work on the case. Wade and Willis, Roman’s filing claimed, were “profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers.” Roman’s filing, which offered no proof to back up the sensational claims, called for the prosecutors to be disqualified and for the charges against him to be dismissed.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/02/02/fani-willis-response-accusations/
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Probatim
(3,286 posts)If it's consensual - aside from the pearl clutchers on the right, who cares?
bucolic_frolic
(55,143 posts)As long as his compensation was in line with what any other prosecutor would have been paid, there is nothing to look at there. People have private lives. It doesn't ruin or taint everything they touch in their profession. She brought charges based on a grand jury. Her office hired a prosecutor.
former9thward
(33,424 posts)This is an extremely complicated case with multiple defendants and numerous felonies. Why was he hired?
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)Serving on this case requires unpending your life and receiving death threats from Trumpanzees on a daily basis. Not an easy ask. Atlanta prosecutors willing to risk their lives are few and far between. Wade was Willis' third choice, after 2 others said no.
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/fani-willis-trump-2020-election-case-prosecutor-nathan-wade/
Wade was not in a relationship with Willis when he was hired. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fani-willis-filing-confirms-romantic-relationship-denies-conflict/
Wade is a good trial lawyer and has done excellent work shepherding this complex case through the grand jury process. The grand jury thought he did a good job:
be charged with election conspiracy. Wade ran the grand jury process for Willis over more than six months, guiding the jurors through hundreds of hours of testimony, thousands of documents and a thicket of legal and evidentiary issues.
Interviews with some of those grand jurors indicate they were impressed with Wade. One member of the panel, the only lawyer among them, told CBS News Wade was "in command" and "highly skilled." The source, who asked not to be identified discussing what occurred inside the grand jury room, described Wade as a deft performer in front of the grand jury.
"He had a lightness of tone when that was appropriate and was very serious when it was time to be serious," the grand juror said.
That is why he was hired.
former9thward
(33,424 posts)Your links provide no information. Just this:
He is always a presence in the courtroom, with natty attire that includes colorful pocket squares and occasionally ascots. But he generally defers to deputies for courtroom arguments.
Wade's reputation as a lawyer in Georgia presents a mixed picture because there is no doubt that his resume is thin when it comes to criminal law. He had no experience trying complex felony cases, let alone a multi-defendant racketeering prosecution like the one he is now in charge of.
His criminal work appears to be limited to relatively minor misdemeanor and traffic cases that he handled both as prosecutor in the Cobb County solicitor general's office and later as a municipal judge in Marietta, Georgia. Those cases almost always ended in plea deals rather than trials.
In private practice, his bread and butter was civil litigation, contract law and family disputes. By most accounts he acquitted himself well with those kinds of cases.
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/fani-willis-trump-2020-election-case-prosecutor-nathan-wade/
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)The link I provided you states the DA's office filed a response to the Roman motion that established (via affidavit) that Wade in fact had tried felony cases in state and federal court:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fani-willis-filing-confirms-romantic-relationship-denies-conflict/
My link is more up to date than the older, and inaccurate, articles you are relying on to assert Wade never tried a felony case.
Now you want to change the subject from your earlier assertion that, "He has never tried a felony case in the state." The fact is, you were wrong.
former9thward
(33,424 posts)Again, I ask, what felony cases? That seems to be silent.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)The link I provided does not list the cases. So what? The point is, you falsely asserted he never tried a felony case.
LiberalFighter
(53,544 posts)former9thward
(33,424 posts)I think she could find a prosecutor somewhere in the U.S. And what about the prosecutors in her office? That is what they are getting paid to do? What are they doing?
LiberalFighter
(53,544 posts)So you think it wasn't okay to go with Wade but okay to find someone else in another part of the country?
There was no relationship between the two prior to the assignment. Not sure it hasn't stopped either.
Nobody has the full story outside of what Willis and Wade have provided. And the ones challenging her have not provided anything to support their claims.
IamHappy
(461 posts)She offered the position to two other attorneys and they both declined. One said it was an enormous amount of work and he did not want to here a body guard. The second did not give a reason to the media.
former9thward
(33,424 posts)brush
(61,033 posts)
Fiendish Thingy
(23,240 posts)In many companies, it’s a fireable offence.
This easily avoidable issue may cost Willis her re-election bid, right in the middle of the trial. She could be replaced by a DA who could drop the entire RICO case.
“It’s not illegal” shouldn’t be our low bar for appropriate conduct.
It didn’t have to be this way.
Still think “So what?”
emulatorloo
(46,155 posts)From the article:
Fiendish Thingy
(23,240 posts)We must have higher standards besides "it wasn't illegal!".
emulatorloo
(46,155 posts)JohnSJ
(98,883 posts)and that Willis is being subpoenaed in the divorce case is obviously to cast blame against, whether valid or not, for breaking up their marriage.
and while it may not have any bearing on the case against trump, anyone who thinks there is nothing to see, if it is shown that favoritism was applied to him in the work environment, whether through salary or privilege, this could be very problematic.
moniss
(9,056 posts)and that is the use of the word "employee". People have a common impression about that word when it comes to the question of dating on the job. That impression is nuanced when you are not an actual come to work every day employee but rather more like a contractor hired for a specific job. The terms of his engagement with Fulton County may give us more of the context and nuance.
Apparently the relationship began some time after his appointment which would be, again different nuance and context, a different examination than if they were working together every day for years in the same office and then she picked him to be the prosecutor and did so over more qualified people in her office. All evidence is that nobody in her office was remotely as qualified as this man.
Too many people fall for and give credit to allegations of "impropriety" giving bias to a case etc. It is common for lawyers to run across each other in bars and restaurants and even share meals or drinks. Does that mean that, when they find themselves on opposing sides in a case, the fact of having shared a meal or a drink means they are "tainted" with bias? Not in the rational world but we have a media and political environment that is anything but rational.
It apparently is too much for many people to believe that 2 highly educated professionals could keep work and their personal relationship separated. It would be a different matter if people were giving evidence of Willis and this man talking about how "we're going to get this guy and make names for ourselves" etc. sort of thing. Nowhere does anybody purport to have evidence of this sort of thing or a tit for tat aspect.
Lawyers and judges try cases with each other all the time where there is previous bad blood and fireworks between them. They have to carry on and be professional and if those previous or recent incidents were enough to disqualify you would pretty quickly run out of judges and lawyers.
How about if we are worried about "inappropriate" conduct in the case we examine the idea of how these various lawyers on the defense came to "represent" these various defendants. "Mr. Defendant had you ever heard of this attorney before he contacted you?"......... "Well no Your Honor". .........."Did you make an arrangement to pay his fees?" ............... "Well no Your Honor he told me it was all taken care of."........... "Did you meet with him and explain to him your story relative to these charges?"........... "Well no Your Honor he said it wasn't necessary because it was all figured out already."........... "Sir did you really think that someone was looking out for your best interests alone by not even asking you to explain your story?"......... "Your Honor I was just happy that someone was paying for a lawyer so I'll do whatever they say."
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)Fiendish Thingy
(23,240 posts)He may be an independent contractor, but she is still his boss.
I wish folks would stop making excuses for Willis’s poor judgement.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)He did not contract with her, he contracted with a government agency to do a specific job. That agency is who ultimately decides if his contract is extended or terminated. Regardless, as an independent contractor, Wade himself controls how he does that job. He is his own "boss."
I am not making "excuses" for anyone, I am correcting inaccurate assertions of fact. If you are going to attack Willis, then please do it with actual facts. Willis and Wade have already been attacked by right wing Republicans with inaccurate assertions of fact. We don't need to pile on with more falsehoods.
MichMan
(17,151 posts)and who is the individual in charge of it that chose Wade?
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)How in the world did you find me here?
TeamProg
(6,630 posts)
angrychair
(12,285 posts)Keep it in your pants and don't hire people you are in a relationship with to run legal proceedings.
Is it illegal? Maybe not. Is it ethically questionable? Yes. Should not date people you supervise.
These two could blow up a softball case because they could just simply avoid controversy by not dating while involved in this case.
This is how Trump gets away with this. Damn. This world is so fucked up. I'm done. Hell with all this shit
50 Shades Of Blue
(11,391 posts)Trumpers this kind of ammunition to use against her.
neohippie
(1,267 posts)In Willis' filing she states there was no relationship until after he was hired. Also he wasn't even her first or second choice of people to hire. None of that has anything to do with the crimes committed
TexasBushwhacker
(21,204 posts)until after the trial was over.
angrychair
(12,285 posts)She had a romantic relationship with a direct report. It looks shady and that is all Republicans need
Fiendish Thingy
(23,240 posts)In many companies, it’s a fireable offence.
Ponietz
(4,331 posts)Now it’s spectacle.
agingdem
(8,849 posts)Fani Willis is an adult...she and her partner were in a consensual relationship long before the indictments...she brought him on because her staff of assistant DA's were too scared to prosecute the case...
Donald Trump is a adjudicated rapist, an adulterer, a confessed pussy grabber, a salacious Peeping Tom, and has a thing for his daughter..
Lauren Boebert was caught giving a guy a handjob in a movie theatre..
Marjorie Taylor Greene had affairs while she was married and displayed dick pics on the House floor...
Matt Gaetz is accused of human trafficking and sex with a minor...
Jamie Comer assaulted a former girlfriend and demanded she have an abortion
Mike Johnson (and his son) monitor online porn sites..
Nancy Mace openly speaks of her sex life to her office staff...
Jim Jordan knew of (but ignored) multiple college wrestler complaints of sexual assault by the team doctor...
As adults we are allowed a private life...and we cannot walk the razor's edge of impropriety all of the time (it's exhausting)...the pain of divorce and the urge to "get even" is not uncommon particularly when one's ex is high profile...let it rest and toss the clutched pearls and set fire to the fainting couch...
Fiendish Thingy
(23,240 posts)“It’s not illegal” shouldn’t be the bar for appropriate conduct.
We shouldn’t be making excuses and moving the goal posts when Democrats engage in inappropriate conduct.
Outside of small family businesses, bosses hiring someone they are dating or dating someone they supervise is not just frowned upon, in most companies it is forbidden without prior consultation with HR, and can result in transfer or termination of one or both parties.
This easily avoidable issue could cost Willis her re-election bid, and she could be replaced with a DA who will simply drop the entire RICO case.
It didn’t have to be this way.
speak easy
(12,598 posts)it is prohibited to have a romantic relationship with a direct report, in countless businesses and agencies for good reasons: Ethics, responsibility and performance are, or maybe compromised. And it's tacky.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)Please cite the prohibition in Georgia that you are referring to that applies here.
speak easy
(12,598 posts)not 'the prohibition in Georgia' - but 'countless businesses and agencies' - their internal rules. The reason is obvious: A romantic relationship breaks down, the business /agency suffers.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)Romantic relationships do not kill a business; "mom & pop" businesses form the bedrock of American small business.
speak easy
(12,598 posts)we wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place.
CTyankee
(68,202 posts)Silent Type
(12,412 posts)
Groundhawg
(1,218 posts)
Qutzupalotl
(15,824 posts)This is going nowhere. But we will have to keep hearing about it as though it mattered.
Fiendish Thingy
(23,240 posts)This could cost Willis her re-election bid and she could be replaced by a DA who would simply drop the entire RICO case.
It didn’t have to be this way.
Qutzupalotl
(15,824 posts)and she has huge name recognition. It remains to be seen whether having a relationship at work will end her career.
neohippie
(1,267 posts)
SKKY
(12,801 posts)...this will be played like another Lisa Page and Peter Strzok episode.
Fiendish Thingy
(23,240 posts)Willis is Wade’s boss.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)Fiendish Thingy
(23,240 posts)She is his supervisor, with the ability to hire and fire him. Whether he gets a W-2 or 1099 is irrelevant.
I’ve worked as both employee and independent contractor, and I always knew who my boss was.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)He did not contract with her, he contracted with a government agency. An independent contractor by definition has no "supervisor," the independent contractor controls how he does his own job. An independent contractor is legally not the same as an employee:
If you had a "boss" as an independent contractor who told you how to do your job, then you were really an employee and your employer was screwing you over by calling you an independent contractor so they could avoid paying you overtime, and other employment obligations.
SKKY
(12,801 posts)...is going to ruminate over the minutia of Wade's employment status and whether he was an employee or doing 1099 work. The optics still suck and I had hoped Fani Willis would be more careful.
Demobrat
(10,299 posts)A high profile case like this, and she didn’t think every move she made would be scrutinized?
ArkansasDemocrat1
(3,213 posts)Clarence & Ginni Thomas, anyone? That doesn't seem to bother the MAGAS. We need to put Clarence & Ginni on the stand.
speak easy
(12,598 posts)
BigDemVoter
(4,700 posts)But the problem lies in perception, and the Repigs are going to beat this drum until there is nothing left to beat. That is just the way they are. I felt the same way about Clinton & Monica Lewinsky. It was none of my business, but the Repigs did the same thing; they clobbered Clinton in the courtroom of public opinion.
I just wish Fani Willis hadn't given them ANY ammunition to use.
Think. Again.
(22,456 posts)...I must come clean myself also.
I have had personal relationships, too.
I know, I know. It's a really huge deal and a devastating announcement, but there it is.
Drum
(10,678 posts)It’s just handing ammunition to an opponent, one who has great influence on the noise machine.
It diminishes the credibility of the Prosecution, which we DON’T need. The hill was steep enough before this.
moniss
(9,056 posts)brought by the grand jury and not by either of the people in the relationship the existence of guilt or innocence to the charges is not affected by the relationship. However the judge may see the process going forward as being best handled by having Willis replace the prosecutor.
moniss
(9,056 posts)that she appointed him to be the prosecutor over someone in her office more qualified. Wade says they had no relationship prior to or at the time of his appointment. This bullshit accusation of "bias" is so laughable in the face of lawyers for the other defendants being handpicked and paid for by the main conspirator. If there were ever a chance for a situation to be ripe with "bias" it is precisely there.
Jacson6
(2,014 posts)This will kill the case against Trump! YMMV! IMHO!
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)I have not heard any legal experts who think so. Willis has no intention of recusing herself and I have not seen anyone point to any legal basis for forcing her off the case. Nor has anyone cited any legal basis for dismissing the case based on Willis and Wade's personal relationship.
zanana1
(6,488 posts)
Blue Owl
(59,107 posts)Yawn.....
Polybius
(21,902 posts)So much so, that she won't make the top 3 in her own primary. MTG's case in entirely different, having an affair isn't the big deal that it was in the 90's, unless there's a conflict of interest. Her fitness trainer doesn't make the cut.
MorbidButterflyTat
(4,512 posts)Now there's no case against Slobby for conspiring with MAGAts to overturn the election. 
zanana1
(6,488 posts)Period.
Their relationship did not start until about 6 months after he was contracted to serve as Special Prosecutor. Even if it existed before then, there is absolutely no evidence he was hired over more qualified prosecutors because of their relationship.
He was her third choice, after 2 others said no. https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/fani-willis-trump-2020-election-case-prosecutor-nathan-wade/
The job requires unpending your life and receiving death threats on a daily basis. Not an easy ask. There is no Fulton County prosecutor complaining they should have gotten the job but didn't because Wade got it.
No, the person complaining is the DEFENDANT. Think about it. A DEFENDANT is claiming the County should have hired a more experienced prosecutor to go after him harder. I'm pretty sure that's the first time a defendant has ever made that argument, lol.
And there is nothing inherently unethical for 2 co-counsel on a case to have a personal relationship. It happens all the time. I've known partners of a major law firm who were married. I've known attorneys who work for the same state attorney general office develop a personal relationship and get married, and continue to work in that office. Here's a successful personal injury law firm that actually advertises itself as "The Husband and Wife Law Team": https://www.breyerlaw.com/about-us.html
zanana1
(6,488 posts)SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)zanana1
(6,488 posts)Zeitghost
(4,557 posts)Having an undisclosed intimate relationship with a vendor/contractor with a government contract might be a bigger ethics issue than a relationship with an employee.
The issue is her influence on his personal financial compensation.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)Are you suggesting he was paid for work he didn't do? There is certainly no evidence of that. That would be fraud.
Zeitghost
(4,557 posts)It sets up a conflict of interest. Her decisions directly affect his government contract. When you are a government official, you are supposed to disclose any potential conflicts and removes yourself from the decision making process.
I've had seasonal, hourly government jobs and I had to disclose relatives I had working in the industry we were associated with. This is government ethics 101 type shit that anyone at her level of public employment knows well.
If you're the head of the county public works dept., you shouldn't be secretly dating the owner of the local paving company with government contracts.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)He was contracted to shepherd the case throught the grand jury process and through trial, well before they developed a romantic relationship. That is what he is doing and that has not changed as a result of their relationship.
And how is this grounds for Roman to dismiss the case (which is what Roman's motion is all about)?
Zeitghost
(4,557 posts)So that others in the Dept. without a conflict could be inserted into any decision making process regarding his performance or compensation/billing. As a contractor, his periodic billing for hours worked needs to be approved by someone, that someone can not be his romantic partner for obvious reasons.
This should not affect any cases he is working on, it is an internal Dept. issue, not a reason to dismiss any criminal charges. It is however a huge distraction that could have been easily avoided by those who damn sure knew better.
FBaggins
(28,706 posts)… for the same reason that she said she would never do it when she was running against her predecessor who was accused of ethical lapses.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)FBaggins
(28,706 posts)“There’s nothing I can say on it other than that it is distracting, it is certainly inappropriate for the No. 1 law officer in this state, and it really really saddens me,”
"I will certainly not be choosing to date people that work under me,"
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)Zeitghost
(4,557 posts)There is no crime being committed.
It is however a breach of every code of conduct I have seen for public employees and I'm positive Fulton County is not the lone exception.
Calista241
(5,633 posts)No active case, no employment. Her significant other is a direct beneficiary of what Trump will term a political prosecution of an opposing political party. And it's a lot of money. Yes, it's in line with the going rate, but it's still a lot of money.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)And it is incorrect to say "no active case, no employment." I can't think of a special prosecutor who didn't have an existing job when they were appointed, including Wade, who has his own law firm. The affidavit pointed out he received substantial compensation from his law firm both before and after his appointment.