Fulton County DA defends attorney she’s accused of improperly hiring for Trump case

On Sunday, District Attorney Fani Willis spoke publicly for the first time about the Jan. 8 court filing. An attorney for one of former President Donald Trump’s co-defendants alleged Willis had been involved in a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Willis presented much of her speech at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta as a “letter to my heavenly father.” Willis said she hired two white special prosecutors along with Wade, who is black. She said her critics have only taken issue with Wade as the black special prosecutor, whom she characterized as a “lawyer of impeccable credentials.”

What exactly is the criticism of Wade? The attorney for one of Trump’s co-defendants in Georgia, Michael Roman, alleged in a court filing that Willis and Wade had been involved in a romantic relationship. It cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. Wade was married while in a relationship with Willis but was also seeking a divorce, according to the court filing. The filing claims Willis and Wade had vacationed together while her office was paying him. Numerous searches of the 127-page document found no references to the skin color of any of the special prosecutors.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew about Willis’ prosecution of Trump in Georgia.