House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has called on Nathan Wade—an attorney until recently involved in prosecuting former President Donald Trump—to provide records and testimony to the House committee regarding his role in the case.
Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis had hired Mr. Wade to assist her in prosecuting President Trump on charges he engaged in a conspiracy to unlawfully challenge the 2020 election results. Mr. Wade’s involvement in the case became the subject of controversy after one of President Trump’s co-defendants—Michael Roman—raised allegations Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis were romantically involved and that he unduly profited from the case.
Fulton County Superior Court Scott McAfee concluded Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade’s relationship did not necessarily create a conflict of interest but did create a “significant appearance of impropriety” surrounding their prosecution of President Trump and his co-defendants. Judge McAfee concluded either Ms. Willis or Mr. Wade would cure this appearance of impropriety, and Mr. Wade subsequently resigned from the case.
“To date, you have failed to comply with, or even respond to, the Committee’s request. We write to reiterate our requests and ask again for your voluntary cooperation with our oversight,” Mr. Jordan’s latest letter to Mr. Wade reads.
In his new letter, Mr. Jordan refers to the FCDAO’s ongoing case against the former president as “politically motivated.” The Republican lawmaker raises further allegations that Mr. Wade, Ms. Willis, and the FCDAO coordinated with President Trump’s political opponents as they advanced the case.
Mr. Jordan specifically alleged the team prosecuting President Trump in Georgia met in secret with members of the now-defunct Democrat-controlled House Jan. 6 investigative committee to review information the congressional panel had gathered, and that he or other members of the FCDAO team attended two separate White House meetings with members of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Mr. Jordan’s new letter also alleges the FCDAO’s prosecution against President Trump has played out while they’ve received about $14.6 million in federal grants.
The Republican committee chairman said the Judiciary Committee is considering legislative reforms regarding the uses of federal grant funds by local prosecutors and penalties when those funds are misused.
“Additionally, the Committee has considered legislation broadening the existing statutory right of removal of certain criminal cases from state court to federal court as a remedy against politicized prosecutions by popularly elected state or local prosecutors,” Mr. Jordan added.
Mr. Jordan called on Mr. Wade to provide records of his work with the FCDAO as soon as possible but not later than May 16, and to make himself available to provide related testimony.
Georgia Court Agrees to Hear Trump Appeal
Mr. Jordan’s letter to Mr. Wade comes a day after the Georgia Court of Appeals granted a request by President Trump and eight of his Georgia co-defendants, to review Judge McAfee’s decision to let Mr. Wade resign from the FCDAO prosecution team. President Trump and his co-defendants have argued Judge McAfee’s decision didn’t go far enough and that the judge should have also forced Ms. Willis to resign.Should the appeals court side with President Trump and his allies, a state board would need to appoint a new prosecutor to lead the FCDAO office handling the case.
Even if the appeals court doesn’t ultimately side with President Trump and his allies, the appeals process could push back the start date of any potential criminal trial in the case.
President Trump’s legal team is also arguing that allowing a trial that overlaps with the November 2024 general election would create a clear case of “election interference.”
Along with the Georgia case, President Trump is also facing an ongoing state-level criminal prosecution in New York, and is dealing with other pretrial procedures stemming from two more federal criminal indictments brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
