Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County in the US state of Georgia who brought election interference charges against Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, has been subpoenaed in a divorce case involving a special prosecutor she hired in the Trump case.
A court clerk served the subpoena on Monday at Willis' office, according to a court filing obtained by The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the subpoena. The subpoena asks Willis to testify in the divorce proceedings involving her lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade, and his wife, Joycelyn Wade.
According to a court record, the Wades filed for divorce in November 2021 in Cobb County, just outside Atlanta. Files in the case have been sealed since February 2022.
Earlier this week, Mike Roman, a former Trump campaign employee and co-defendant in the election interference case who faces seven charges, filed a motion accusing Willis and Nathan Wade of having an “inappropriate, secret personal relationship during the course of the case.” The motion contained no evidence of the relationship or any wrongdoing.
The motion alleged that the alleged relationship between Willis and Nathan Wade resulted in “the Special Counsel and, in turn, the District Attorney, profiting substantially from this prosecution at taxpayer expense.”
“Willis has profited and continues to profit substantially and directly from this litigation as Wade receives hundreds of thousands of dollars to prosecute this case on her behalf,” the motion states.
“He will continue to be motivated to prosecute this case because of his personal and financial motives, such that he has acquired a unique and personal interest or stake in the continued prosecution of Mr. Roman. That is, he is motivated to prosecute Mr. Roman for as long as possible because he will continue to earn exorbitant amounts of money,” the motion continues.
According to county records viewed by Congress, Nathan Wade received nearly $654,000 in legal fees for his work on the election interference case in 2022 and 2023.
The motion further alleged – without evidence – that Willis and Nathan Wade had traveled together to vacation destinations such as Florida, Napa Valley and the Caribbean.
The Guardian has asked Willis and Nathan Wade for comment. Neither has yet commented publicly on the summons.
