Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday called the Georgia election interference case against him “totally compromised” and insisted it should be dropped after a bombshell court filing accused the lead prosecutor in the case—District Attorney Fani Willis— of having an “improper” romantic relationship with her top Trump prosecutor.
A co-defendant in the case, former Trump attorney Michael Roman, on Monday filed a motion in court alleging that Ms. Willis had an “improper” relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor, and that she financially benefitted from their alleged relationship.
Mr. Roman alleged that Mr. Wade, who has played a significant role in the case against President Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants, paid for vacations with Ms. Willis while using Fulton County funds that his private law firm had received.
President Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing in the case and has called it a “witch hunt” meant to derail his 2024 White House run, said on Tuesday that Mr. Roman’s court filing revelations mean that Ms. Willis and the case are both “totally compromised” and so the case should be dropped.
“You had a very big event yesterday as you saw in Georgia where the district attorney is totally compromised. The case has to be dropped,” President Trump said on Tuesday after a hearing in Washington over presidential immunity arguments in a separate case against him.
“They went after 18 or 20 people … She was out of her mind. Now it turns out that case is totally compromised,” the former president continued.
“It’s illegal. What she did is illegal. So we’ll let the state handle that, but what a sad situation it is,” President Trump added.
‘Improper Relationship’
Ms. Willis brought the case against President Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a law drafted to fight organized crime.The indictment accuses President Trump, and 18 others, of being part of a “criminal organization” that sought to overturn the Georgia results of the 2020 presidential election by unlawful means.
President Trump and his co-defendants have denied any wrongdoing, with the former president previously calling the case a “witch hunt” and accusing Ms. Willis of corruption.
Mr. Roman, who faces seven charges in the Georgia election interference case, served on President Trump’s 2020 campaign as director of Election Day operations.
In Monday’s court filing, Mr. Roman cited “discussions with individuals with knowledge” about Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade allegedly being “romantically involved” before the special prosecutor was brought onto the case by Ms. Willis.
“Sources close to both the special prosecutor and the district attorney have confirmed they had an ongoing, personal relationship during the pendency of the special prosecutor’s divorce proceedings,” states the filing, which also accuses Ms. Willis of bringing Mr. Wade on as a special counsel without obtaining proper government authorization.
The filing further states that Mr. Wade allegedly had a “lack of relevant experience” although he was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the county.
More Details
Mr. Roman’s filing also accused Ms. Willis of having potentially committed “an act to defraud the public of honest services” due to what he called an “intentional failure” to disclose her alleged relationship with Mr. Wade, which she “personally benefitted from.”Records obtained by a local media outlet show that Mr. Wade was paid over $650,000 in legal fees since January 2022 and that the district attorney is the one who authorizes it.
Mr. Roman’s filing alleges that checks sent to Mr. Wade from Fulton County and vacations that he purchased with Ms. Willis could amount honest services fraud, which is a federal crime.
“Willis has benefitted substantially and directly, and continues to benefit, from this litigation because Wade is being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to prosecute this case on her behalf,” the filing states.
Mr. Roman’s filing states that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade could be prosecuted under a federal racketeering statute.
Besides the public comments President Trump made on Tuesday in response to Mr. Roman’s filing, he also took to Truth Social to post that the case “should be immediately dropped” and that Ms. Willis should apologize.
Earlier court filings by President Trump’s co-defendants have alleged that Mr. Wade’s work is “void as a matter of law” because he allegedly failed to file his oath of office paperwork in time to formally join Ms. Willis’ team.
Ms. Willis’s office did not respond to an earlier request for comment on the circumstances of Mr. Wade’s appointment.
