Circumstances aren't looking good for Fani Willis. The Fulton County, Ga., district attorney who has made a personal crusade out of trying to prosecute Donald Trump now has to give account to a judge regarding the allegations that she is in an improper relationship with one of the special counsels she hired for the Trump case.
"The judge overseeing the election interference case against former president Donald Trump in Georgia has reportedly scheduled a hearing for Feb. 15 to examine recent allegations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her lead prosecutor 'engaged in an improper relationship and mishandled public money,'” reports Nicole Bennett at WSB Radio.
The Washington Post has a more detailed report explaining that Judge Scott McAfee has ordered Willis to respond in writing to the allegations by Feb. 2, and he has called a hearing about the accusations and scheduled it for Feb. 15.
McAfee is also presiding over the RICO case involving Trump and 18 other co-defendants. Willis is alleged to be in a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, an attorney with little experience in corruption cases whom the DA hired to serve as a special counsel in the Trump case.
"Willis has declined to address the accusations directly so far," reports the Washington Post's Amy Gardner and Holly Bailey. "McAfee’s order appears to be forcing her to do so in televised court proceedings, a development that could at the least be embarrassing for the district attorney and at worst derail the investigation completely."
Related: Whatchu Talkin’ ‘Bout, Willis? Fani Goes to Church to Grandstand.
Willis spoke out indirectly about the allegations in a speech on Sunday at Atlanta's Big Bethel AME Church. She insinuated that the accusations are steeped in racism, and she defended hiring Wade without addressing the reported relationship between them.
The prosecutor has also addressed the issue in another indirect way by accusing Wade's estranged wife of interfering with the Trump case by subpoenaing Willis to testify in the Wades' divorce proceedings. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on a court filing on Thursday in which Willis' attorneys claim that Joycelyn Wade “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.”
Willis has also accused Joycelyn Wade of “obstructing and interfering with an ongoing criminal prosecution.” The motion claims that because the Wades' marriage was beyond repair to begin with, dragging the DA into the proceedings is a needless distraction.
“If, however, media reports are any indication, (Joycelyn Wade) may intend to ask questions regarding the nature of any relationship with (Nathan Wade),” the motion stated. “Because the parties agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken and the concept of fault is not at issue, there is no information that District Attorney Willis could provide that might prove relevant to granting or denying the divorce.”
The divorce court filing and McAfee's motion for a hearing and written response came within hours of each other on Thursday. This is a developing story, and we'll have more details as they become available.
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