Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. Donald Trump and several allies have been indicted in Georgia over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Friday acknowledged that she is in a “personal relationship” with the special prosecutor overseeing the racketeering (RICO) and election subversion case against former president Donald Trump and others.
The revelation was contained in a 176-page filing, inclusive of exhibits, obtained by Law&Crime that was submitted to the Fulton County Superior Court by the district attorney, several members of her office, and the three special prosecutors hired specifically for the RICO case: Anna Green Cross, Nathan Wade, and John E. Floyd.
Friday’s filing comes in response to an early January filing by co-defendant Michael Roman, a staff member for Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, arguing Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the proceedings due to a “conflict of interest” because of alleged self-dealing by way of a nepotistic, romantic relationship.
“To be absolutely clear, the personal relationship between Special Prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis,” the filing argues.
“Defendants have done nothing to establish an actual conflict of interest, nor have they shown that, in the handling of the case, District Attorney Willis or Special Prosecutor Wade have acted out of any personal or financial motivation,” the Willis filing concludes. “The record before the Court falls far short of requiring disqualification or dismissal of the indictment.”
The district attorney’s office, more or less presenting a unified front, is withering in its estimation of the legal argument advanced by Roman – if not the legal acumen of his attorneys themselves.
The Willis filing argues that “criticism of the process utilized to appoint and compensate the special prosecutors in this case demonstrates basic misunderstandings of rudimentary county and state regulations, and provides no legal basis for dismissal of the indictment or disqualification of any member of the prosecution.”
“The motions are based on guesswork and public relations strategy, not legal argument,” the filing says.
Roman’s motion to disqualify Wade and Willis was later joined by Trump and co-defendant Robert Cheeley. The heart of the allegation is Willis “chose to appoint her romantic partner” to a position that has “yielded substantial income to the special prosecutor.”
Willis, however, directly disputes those allegations.
First, the filing argues, “there was no personal relationship between them in November 2021 at the time of Special Prosecutor Wade’s appointment.”
The Willis filing also argues, in a footnote, that “Wade has agreed to work with the District Attorney’s Office at a steeply reduced hourly rate compared to the metro Atlanta area legal market.”
In an affidavit attached to the response, Wade claims his prior work “for a governmental entity” was billed at a rate of “$550 per hour.”
“In 2022, District Attorney Willis and I developed a personal relationship in addition to our professional association and friendship,” Wade says in the affidavit. “I have no financial interest in the outcome of the 2020 election interference case or in the conviction of any defendant. No funds paid to me in compensation for my role as Special Prosecutor have been shared with or provided to District Attorney Willis. The District Attorney received no funds or personal financial gain from my position as Special Prosecutor.”
Willis responded to the destination vacation allegation that “personal travel taken is divided roughly evenly between the two,” that neither she nor Wade is “primarily responsible for expenses of the other,” and that all their expenses are “paid for with individual personal funds.”
The district attorney’s response also muses about something not entirely unlike hypocrisy from the co-defendants in the case.
The prosecution notes that “there are at least two personal relationships among the collection of defense attorneys representing” some of the myriad defendants in the wide-ranging case.
“Amanda Clark Palmer, counsel representing Defendant Ray Smith, and Scott Grubman, representing Defendant Kenneth Chesebro, are publicly known to be in a personal relationship,” the filing reads. “Since Defendant Chesebro has plead guilty and agreed to testify for the State in the upcoming trial against Defendant Smith and the other remaining defendants, one who was ill-informed about the standard for attorney disqualification in Georgia might argue that the personal relationship between Clark Palmer and Grubman could rise to the level of a conflict given potential testimony by Grubman’s client inculpating Clark Palmer’s client.”
The filing also notes that co-defendant Jenna Ellis, another former Trump lawyer, is represented by husband-wife attorneys.
“That the thoughts and views of defense counsel on the qualifications of any of the attorneys on the prosecution team should factor into this Court’s consideration of a legal conflict is, in a word, absurd,” Willis argues.
Willis and Wade have been subpoenaed by Roman over the allegations their relationship constitutes a misuse of public funds.
The district attorney’s response says the state intends to file motions to quash the subpoenas – and complains that the issuance of those subpoenas, and any hearing to discuss them, would not be an efficient use of the court’s time.
“Roman’s counsel has attempted to subpoena Wade’s personal bank records and has gone so far as to subpoena an attorney who at one time represented him in his divorce proceedings; both are incredibly inappropriate efforts to intrude into opposing counsel’s personal life with little to no evidentiary value,” Willis argues.
In no uncertain terms, the prosecution’s response seeks to rubbish Roman’s allegations as not based in law, but, rather, intended to generate an unfavorable media environment for the state.
“Roman seemingly anticipates a hearing that would last days, garner more breathless media coverage, and intrude even further into the personal lives of the prosecution team in an effort to embarrass and harass the District Attorney personally,” the filing goes on. “This is not an example of zealous advocacy, nor is it a good faith effort to develop a record on a disputed legal issue—it is a ticket to the circus.”
In a quickly-filed reply to the state’s response, Roman’s lead attorney Ashleigh Merchant takes issue with several aspects of the Willis filing.
Roman flatly disputes the timeline of the relationship advanced by the two prosecutors.
The reply says the defense intends to depose witnesses with “personal knowledge that Wade and Willis’ personal relationship began before his appointment as a special prosecutor.”
Roman also cites Wade’s own affidavit as evidence of alleged prosecutorial perfidy necessitating further inquiry by the court and defense.
In his affidavit, the special prosecutor avers that he and the district attorney “have never cohabitated.”
The defense reply argues this claim should be interrogated during a cross-examination of the special prosecutor during which the defense anticipates alleging that Wade and Willis “shared a king size bed” for four days in Aruba in November 2022.
“Additionally, witnesses will testify that you cohabitated with Ms. Willis at her home in South Fulton until her father moved in with her and you then began to cohabitate at the apartment of a friend of hers in East Point,” Roman’s response reads – previewing a potential cross-examination question.
A third potential “question” Roman anticipates asking the special prosecutor is listed in the relatively terse reply as follows: “Additionally, witnesses will testify that you cohabitated with Ms. Willis at an AirBNB in Hapeville that was paid for by tax payer money to serve as a ‘safe house’ for you and Ms. Willis.”
A hearing over the Roman allegations is slated to be held on Feb. 15 before Fulton County Superior Court Scott McAfee.
