Fani Willis Catches a Break as Her Alleged Boyfriend Reaches Agreement in Divorce Case
The district attorney, though, is hardly out of the woods as she has until Friday to respond to allegations that her prosecutorial choices are motivated by romance and riches.
The “temporary agreement” in the divorce proceedings between Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade and his wife of 26 years, Joycelyn, doubles as a welcome piece of good news for Mr. Wade’s alleged girlfriend and the woman who appointed him to lead her case against President Trump — the district attorney of Fulton County, Fani Willis.
The accord was struck just hours before the lawyer was due to be deposed in a case that gained criminal salience when one of Mr. Trump’s co-defendants, Michael Roman, moved to disqualify both the district attorney and Mr. Wade and dismiss the charges against him. Mr. Trump has joined that motion, which alleges that Mr. Wade’s appointment was motivated by a “romantic relationship” between him and Ms. Willis.
The agreement reached by Mr. and Mrs. Wade, which covers “all issues presently before the Court,” means that Ms. Willis will not be deposed in the divorce proceeding. She had been subpoenaed, but the presiding judge, Henry Thompson of Cobb County, wanted to first hear from Mr. Wade. Now, neither of the alleged paramours will be heard from.
Judge Thompson writes that the “terms and provisions” of the agreement “shall not be filed with the Court,” meaning that the lineaments of the deal between Mr and Mrs. Wade will not, at least through official channels, surface. Mr. Roman’s motion points to the divorce archive as possibly holding the details that would substantiate his allegation that the two prosecutors were “profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of taxpayers.”
The judicial determination that the agreement is “just and proper in the circumstances” is hardly a panacea for Ms. Willis, but it does mean that she can turn her attention to Mr. Roman’s challenge, which is lodged with Judge Scott McAfee, of Fulton County’s district court. Her response to the disqualification request— which alleges she has been motivated by romance and riches — is due on Friday, with a hearing set for February 15.
The district attorney, whose office has paid Mr. Wade more than $650,000 so far for his services, is facing scrutiny from a variety of quarters. Fulton County is investigating her handling of the case, and Republicans in Georgia’s House of Representatives are rumbling about impeachment. A state Senate panel has been tasked with investigating her, and granted subpoena power. A commission created in October to supervise prosecutors could theoretically remove her from office, but it is still in legal limbo.
Ms. Willis, who had accused Mrs. Wade of “interfering” in the criminal case, has also faced threats of a more menacing nature. A new book, “Find Me the Votes,” discloses that after the prosecutor indicted Mr. Trump and 18 others in August, her security team feared that “assassins might be lurking outside the courthouse” and tasked a “female investigator on Willis’s staff, with a similarly petite frame as the DA and wearing a wig to match her hair” to serve as a body double.
Ms. Willis has thus far struck a defiant note to the growing criticism of her stewardship of one of the most anticipated cases in American history, calling Mr. Wade’s credentials “impeccable” accusing her critics of being motivated by racial animus. A lawyer for Mr. Trump, Steven Sadow, writes to her that “You know that the matter raised before the court has nothing to do with race. If it’s truth you seek, tell it!”