Who is Nathan Wade? Trump Georgia case special prosecutor and DA Fani Willis alleged relationship scandal explained

Nathan Wade, a Georgia lawyer, was accused of engaging in an inappropriate romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis while working as a special prosecutor in the 2020 election case filed against former President Donald Trump and his associates.

The allegations were made by Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the Georgia racketeering (RICO) case against former President Donald Trump, who filed a document asking the court to dismiss the charges against him. Roman, who was a senior staff member for Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, also asked the court to bar Fani Willis and Nathan Wade from the case.

While the document did not provide any evidence, it alleged Willis and Wade engaged in an “improper, clandestine personal relationship” while working on the case. The romantic entanglement allegedly resulted in the prosecutor and the DA profiting from the case at the expense of the taxpayers.

In the court filing, Michael Roman’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, also cast aspersions on Willis’ intention to hire Nathan Wade as a prosecutor in the case, alleging the DA failed to adhere to normal procedure.

Merchant said that the DA's appointment was motivated by her purported interest in Nathan Wade, a "married man," with whom she had allegedly gone on multiple trips, including one to Napa Valley, which was paid by the prosecutor after receiving county funds.

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Nathan Wade filed for divorce from his wife Joycelyn Wade in 2021

Nathan Wade, a private attorney with the Atlanta-based Wade & Campbell Firm, who assisted DA Fani Willis in securing the Georgia grand jury indictment against former President Donald Trump, is accused of carrying an “improper” and “clandestine” relationship with Willis while he was married.

Wade’s biography on the law firm website for Campbell & Wade said that Nathan J. Wade is a Former Prosecutor who has served the citizens of Cobb County as an Associate Municipal Court Judge and as a Pro Has State Court Judge. Part of the bio read:

“A Former Prosecutor and natural-born trial Attorney, Nathan J. Wade is a seasoned attorney licensed to practice in all of Georgia’s courts. He is a skilled negotiator who knows when to take a case to trial.”

According to Law.Com, Wade served as the first Black male judge in Marietta after he was appointed to the city’s municipal court in 2011. The publication also reported that Wade, who lost a seat on the Cobb County Superior Court bench three times between 2012 and 2016, was married to Joycelyn Wade, and they have two children together. The couple filed for divorce in November 2021.

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Allegations against Nathan Wade and Fani Willis explored

The recent accusations against DA Fani Willis and prosecutor Nathan Wade were made in a court filing by Trump Co-Defendant, Michael Roman, accused of playing a role in the fake or “contingent” electors scheme, while he was a senior staff member for Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign.

In the court document asking to disqualify Willis and Wade from the case and toss out his charges, Roman alleged that the special prosecutor and DA had an ongoing fling before he was hired in the case. The document claimed Nathan Wade filed for divorce in Cobb County a day after his first contract with Willis began in November 2021.

The filing alleged that since being appointed as special prosecutor, Wade was paid an estimated almost $654,000 in legal fees, which he allegedly used to take Willis on lavish vacations to “Napa Valley, California, Florida, and the Caribbean.”

The document also accused Willis of using the COVID backlog funds to pay for Wade’s work as a special prosecutor. It is important to note that the filing did not provide any evidence to support these claims.

The document continued by accusing Willis of not following the correct protocol when designating Wdae as a special prosecutor in the case and asserting that there is no proof that she requested Fulton County's consent beforehand, as required by Georgia law.

While the filing did not provide any direct evidence to support the claims, the documents refer to Wade’s ongoing divorce proceedings. Merchant told NBC that she could not disclose further details as the divorce proceedings are sealed, adding, that she has asked a Cobb County judge to unseal the documents.

In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump accused Willis and Wade of professional improprieties amid these allegations. DA Fani Willis, who divorced her husband Fred Willis in 2005, has yet to respond to the allegations made in the court filings.