Nathan Wade, who led the Fulton County election interference case against Donald Trump while having an affair with District Attorney Fani Willis, admitted to congressional investigators he met with White House officials several times but claimed he couldn’t remember the details.
Mr. Wade, who served as special prosecutor in the case against Mr. Trump, was interviewed earlier this month by the House Judiciary Committee in its probe of Ms. Willis’ and Mr. Wade’s relationship and whether the duo profited off of the prosecution of Mr. Trump.
House Republicans also are investigating collusion between Ms. Willis’ prosecution of Mr. Trump and the White House.
Ms. Willis hired Mr. Wade even though he was a divorce lawyer with little experience prosecuting criminal cases. In 2022, he was paid nearly $700,000 to oversee the case against the former president, according to a co-defendant seeking to have the charges dismissed.
Mr. Wade, according to a transcript released Monday, told lawmakers Ms. Willis began planning the prosecution of Mr. Trump “sometime after” the November 2020 election and before Jan. 1, 2021, the day she took office.
That’s when Mr. Wade served on a “search committee” for Ms. Willis that was tasked with identifying a lead counsel for the election interference case. Mr. Wade was eventually tapped for the job despite his limited experience.
Mr. Wade acknowledged the Biden administration’s involvement in the case during the interview that was conducted on Oct. 15 by committee investigators. He verified the existence of invoices he submitted in which he billed for a “Conf. with White House counsel” in Athens, Georgia, on May 23, 2022.
When asked about each of the invoices obtained by investigators, Mr. Wade responded 58 times that he couldn’t remember details.
He said he had no recollection of meeting with anyone from the White House counsel’s office, who attended or whether the meetings took place in person or by telephone.
Mr. Wade gave similar answers when asked about an “Interview in D.C./White House” on Nov. 18, 2022,” for which he billed the county $2,000.
Mr. Wade said he did not remember the meeting, who attended or whether it was by phone or in person.
“If you billed eight hours for the interview with D.C./White House, it’s safe to assume that you would have taken part in the interview,” a Judiciary Committee investigator asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Mr. Wade answered.
A Fulton County grand jury charged Mr. Trump and 18 others last year with dozens of felony counts for trying to overturn Mr. Biden’s narrow win in Georgia in 2020. The case stalled thanks in part to the revelations of Ms. Willis’ and Mr. Wade’s affair, which forced Mr. Wade off the case.
Separately, a judge tossed out half a dozen charges against Mr. Trump, but Ms. Willis is attempting to get the charges reinstated.
Mr. Wade acknowledged having meetings with “lawyers” involved in the House January 6 committee, a Democrat-led panel probing the attack at the Capitol.
Mr. Wade told investigators he “did not know who they were lawyers for,” but they were working for the Jan. 6 investigation.
Mr. Wade billed $6,000 for “research legal issues to prep for interview, April 18, 2022, to April 21, 2022.” Mr. Wade billed the county for 24 hours at a $250 hourly rate.
Mr. Wade said he did not know where the conference took place or who attended. “I don’t recall,” he told investigators.
He said that despite his role as lead prosecutor, he was unfamiliar with the racketeering charges Ms. Willis planned to use to charge Mr. Trump and associates and had to take hours of lessons from a lawyer who wrote a book on the subject and who was also involved in the case.
“It’s a very complicated legal concept, but the dubbed godfather of RICO, the gentleman who wrote the book … spent hours and hours teaching me RICO, if you will,” Mr. Wade said.
Mr. Wade testified to the committee despite efforts by Ms. Willis to block him from appearing. She wrote to the panel that his testimony “would force him to improperly divulge confidential information that is protected by privileges held by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and demands that Mr. Wade violates State Bar of Georgia rules that govern conduct of attorneys.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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