Fani T. Willis, the Atlanta-area district attorney prosecuting Donald Trump for alleged election interference, has acknowledged having a \u201cpersonal relationship\u201d with the outside lawyer she appointed to lead the case \u2014 potentially imperiling it. She recently took the stand to defend herself and the case.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what\u2019s going on and what could happen.<\/p>\n
One of Trump\u2019s co-defendants, Mike Roman, accused Willis of having a relationship with the case\u2019s lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade. Roman, who worked for Trump\u2019s 2020 campaign and has done opposition research for Republicans, alleged that Willis benefited financially from prosecuting Trump because she took personal trips with Wade on his dime.<\/p>\n
Neither Willis nor Wade responded to the accusations for nearly a month. In a court filing, Willis acknowledged the relationship with Wade but denied claims that the relationship had tainted the proceedings. Willis and Wade both testified that they split travel costs. Willis said she paid Wade in cash, because she preferred to travel with cash.<\/p>\n
Roman is charged with helping set up a scheme to create alternative slates of pro-Trump electors in Georgia, and he has asked the judge overseeing the case to disqualify Willis\u2019s office and have the charges against him thrown out. Trump and another co-defendant have joined Roman\u2019s motion. In doing so, Trump\u2019s lawyer also accused Willis of making statements outside a courtroom that could influence a future jury.<\/p>\n
Roman has yet to include evidence to back up the allegations that Willis benefited financially from prosecuting Trump. Here\u2019s what we know, and what Willis has said about it.<\/p>\n
Willis and Wade said they took trips together while they were dating, including two cruises and to Belize. They testified they split travel expenses.<\/span>Wills maintained that she and Wade have completely separate financial lives. \u201cI don\u2019t need anyone to foot my bills,\u201d she testified.<\/span>There\u2019s a question of whether Willis or Wade misled in court filings about when their relationship started. Wade said in his affidavit that there was \u201cno personal relationship\u201d between him and Willis \u201cprior to or at the time\u201d he was appointed. In 2022, as the investigation was underway, Wade said he and Willis \u201cdeveloped a personal relationship in addition to our professional association and friendship.\u201d<\/span>But a friend of Willis\u2019s testified that the relationship began years earlier. That would mean Willis didn\u2019t tell the truth in her original court filling, which could also be grounds for removal from the case.<\/span>Willis wasn\u2019t directly questioned about when the relationship started, but she was adamant she didn\u2019t do anything wrong. \u2018You\u2019ve been intrusive into people\u2019s personal lives,\u201d a defiant Willis said to one of the lawyers questioning her. \u201cYou\u2019re confused. You think I\u2019m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I\u2019m not on trial. No matter how hard you try to put me on trial.\u201d<\/span>The allegations have brought attention to Wade\u2019s limited prosecutorial experience, and Willis said she actually looked for higher-profile lawyers to take the job before hiring Wade. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t my first choice,\u201d she testified. Since hiring Wade to be lead prosecutor in the Trump case more than two years ago, Willis\u2019s office has paid his law firm more than $653,000. Willis has defended Wade. In her court filing, she\u2019s said: \u201cWade has long distinguished himself as an exceptionally talented litigator with significant trial experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Willis is adamant that she and Wade did not break any laws. In her court filing, she said: \u201cConflict arises when a prosecutor has a personal interest or stake in a defendant\u2019s conviction \u2014 a charge that no defendant offers any support for beyond fantastical theories and rank speculation. Georgia law requires far more.\u201d<\/p>\n But Willis\u2019s judgment is now in question. And that alone could influence a future jury, said Robert James, a former district attorney in Georgia.<\/p>\n Even if she didn\u2019t financially benefit from partnering with Wade, Willis campaigned for office on her integrity and ethics and told voters she wouldn\u2019t be romantically involved with subordinates.<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly will not be choosing people to date that work under me. Let me just say that,\u201d she said in 2020. (Willis testified that she considered Wade an appointee, rather than an employee in her office.) <\/p>\n Trump and his allies have seized on all of this to delegitimize the charges against him, both in Georgia and elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a gift to us,\u201d a Trump adviser told The Washington Post.<\/p>\n Willis has accused her accusers of playing \u201cthe race card\u201d in attacking her and Wade, who are both Black.<\/p>\n Trump is accused of heading up a broad scheme to overturn his loss in Georgia, and he is charged under the state\u2019s anti-racketeering law, which was originally used to take down mob bosses.<\/p>\n The indictment against Trump is extensive, with a lot of evidence, and this case carries with it a high possibility of jail time if Trump is convicted, say legal experts. Four of his co-defendants, three of them former lawyers on his campaign, have pleaded guilty. Some legal experts worry that the accusations against Willis will distract from the serious charges facing Trump.<\/p>\n There could be several more days of hearings, and what happens after is up to the judge overseeing the entire Trump case. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee could remove Willis from the case \u2014 or not make any changes and keep the case moving. \u201cWhat we\u2019re here for today,\u201d he said during the first day of testimony, \u201cis the relationship and\/or any financial elements.\u201d<\/p>\n If Willis is essentially fired from the case, a state council that oversees prosecutors could appoint someone else. That could take a while. And a new prosecutor might look at the case with fresh eyes and drop some or all of the charges. All of this will probably delay when Trump\u2019s trial could begin. Right now, there is no trial date, and it\u2019s possible that it won\u2019t start before the November presidential election. Removing Willis from the case could push it back much further.<\/p>\n Willis is also facing potential investigations from various state agencies, many of them controlled by Republicans: the Georgia Senate, a state oversight board and a state ethics commission.<\/p>\n This story has been updated.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Fani T. Willis, the Atlanta-area district attorney prosecuting Donald Trump for alleged election interference, has acknowledged having a \u201cpersonal relationship\u201d with the outside lawyer she appointed to lead the case \u2014 potentially imperiling it. She recently took the stand to defend herself and the case. Here\u2019s what\u2019s going on and what could happen. 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