The top prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump paid for at least two airline trips with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis during his investigation, court documents show.
The stunning disclosure, which came to light in bank statements filed Friday as part of Georgia prosecutor Nathan Wade’s divorce case, raises more ethical questions surrounding Ms. Willis. She is suspected of violating rules of professional conduct by accepting gifts from Mr. Wade, her employee and alleged boyfriend.
Attorneys for Mr. Wade’s estranged wife, Joycelyn Mayfield Wade, filed the documents to force Ms. Willis to testify in the divorce proceeding. Ms. Willis, who is accused of having an extramarital affair with Mr. Wade, filed court documents Thursday laying out the case for why she shouldn’t have to testify.
The plane tickets may add credence to claims that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade were involved in an improper personal relationship.
Mr. Wade purchased round-trip tickets for Ms. Willis from Atlanta to San Francisco in April on Delta Airlines and bought Ms. Willis and himself round-trip tickets from Atlanta to Miami in October 2022 on American Airlines, the bank statements revealed.
The statements do not disclose whether Ms. Willis reimbursed Mr. Wade for the tickets or explain the purpose of the trips.
Two other line items on the statements show that Mr. Wade made payments to the DoubleTree Napa Valley hotel on May 14, one month after purchasing the tickets to San Francisco. The statements show he purchased two tickets on a Royal Caribbean cruise the same day he purchased tickets to Miami.
Neither Mr. Wade nor Ms. Willis responded to a request for comment from The Washington Times.
Mr. Wade, who is working as a special prosecutor, and Ms. Willis are at the center of a legal firestorm. Trump co-defendant Michael Roman has accused Mr. Wade of having an affair with Ms. Willis. He said Mr. Wade took vacations with Ms. Willis and earned more than $650,000 in taxpayer money over the past two years.
On Thursday, a judge in the Trump case set a Feb. 15 hearing on the matter.
Mr. Wade filed for divorce from his wife of 26 years, Joycelyn, the day after Ms. Willis hired him in 2021. The three-ring circus of nasty divorce proceedings has taken center stage in the politically charged Trump case.
On Aug. 17, a judge in the divorce case held Mr. Wade in contempt for failing to turn over financial information.
Ms. Willis said the allegations are an “attempt to harass and damage her professional reputation,” according to a motion filed by her private attorney to avoid testifying in the divorce case.
“Joycelyn Wade has conspired with interested parties in the criminal Election Interference Case to use the civil discovery process to annoy, embarrass, and oppress,” her attorney wrote.
In the Trump criminal case, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee will hear arguments next month on Mr. Roman’s request to dismiss the indictment or remove Mr. Wade, Ms. Willis and the district attorney’s office from the case.
Mr. Trump has used the sordid allegations to attack Ms. Willis on social media.
Ms. Willis defended herself at a Jan. 14 church service in Atlanta. She didn’t name Mr. Wade but praised him as a “superstar, great friend and great lawyer.” She suggested the allegations were racially motivated because Mr. Roman singled out the Black prosecutor in the case but not the two White prosecutors.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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