(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee said Monday that he would proceed with a hearing about District Attorney Fani Willis’s relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, casting doubt that the trial against former President Donald Trump and 14 others related to their efforts to challenge the 2020 election will proceed as planned.
“It’s clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one,” McAfee said, according to the New York Times.
“Because I think it’s possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations,” he added.
McAfee’s ruling followed another bombshell filing late Friday from Mike Roman, a co-defendant in the case against Trump whose legal team had initially revealed the relationship between Willis and Wade.
The most recent filing alleged that Willis had lied previously about the length of her affair with Wade, the New York Post reported.
The affidavit contained a statement from Wade’s former law partner, Terrence Bradley, alleging that the relationship began in January 2021.
Willis previously stated that she and Wade struck up the relationship in 2022, after Wade accepted the special prosecutor’s position.
“Bradley can confirm that Willis contracted with Wade after Wade and Willis began a romantic relationship, thus rebutting Wade’s claim in his affidavit that they did not start dating until 2022,” the document said.
If true, the discovery would prove a serious ethical violation for both lawyers.
Willis, Wade, Bradley and several others, are expected to testify under oath at a Feb 15 hearing, unless previously submitted subpoenas release them from the obligation.
The filing from Roman’s lawyers also included additional details about the couple’s exorbitant vacations, with new evidence of a trip to Belize and two cruises to the Bahamas.
“When the lines get blurred between a prosecutor’s interest in her personal fame and publicity and her public duty, the system breaks down, as does the public’s confidence in the process itself, which threatens to undermine the public’s confidence in the outcome,” the filing said.
Willis also faces investigations from the Fulton County commissioner and a bipartisan Senate committee. The State Bar of Georgia may also launch an investigation into her suspected ethics violations.
The House Judiciary Committee also issued Willis a subpoena last week seeking documents tied to her use of federal funds, which U.S. Marshals were forced to hand-deliver after she refused to accept an emailed version.
Wade is currently working through divorce proceedings with his wife, Joycelyn, as well.
Joycelyn accused her husband of concealing his Fulton County income from her and demanded financial support. Willis resisted a subpoena for her case.
