ATLANTA (Scripps News) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been accused of an “improper” romantic relationship with a key prosecutor in Donald Trump’s election interference case.
Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official charged in the fake electors’ scheme along with Trump and 16 others in the state, asserted these statements in a court filing, first obtained and reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, on Monday.
FILE – Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is photographed in her office in Atlanta, on Jan. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, File)
The public court document, aiming to dismiss charges that Roman broke the state’s RICO act among many other forgery and conspiracy charges, alleges that Willis was in a “romantic” relationship with lawyer Nathan Wade, who received over $600,000 as a special prosecutor aiding her office’s extensive investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.
The document also says that the funds Wade received from the DA’s office, sourced from Fulton County funds, were used for extravagant vacations with Willis. Reportedly, they took trips together to Napa Valley and Florida, and went on two Caribbean cruises.
The document further states that the pair has been “profiting significantly from [Trump’s] prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers.”
However, the filing lacks documentary evidence supporting the allegations; it simply alleges that “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.”
Fulton County District Attorney Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade watches as defendant Kenneth Chesebro accepts a plea deal during a hearing in front of Superior Judge Scott McAfee at the Fulton County Courthouse Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP)
These sources say, according to the filing, that the relationship began before the DA appointed the special prosecutor and that they are still currently in a relationship, and that the “special prosecutor is seeking a divorce in Cobb County and sought successfully to seal those records, hiding them from public view.”
Roman’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, stated that the “motion is not filed lightly. Nor is it being filed without considerable forethought, research, or investigation.”
Scripps News has reached out to the DA’s office for comment but has yet to hear back.
This story was originally published by Scripps News, an E.W. Scripps Company.
