Judge unseals prosecutor’s divorce case
MARIETTA, Ga. — A judge Monday ordered court records to be made public in the divorce involving a special prosecutor hired in the election case against Donald Trump and others and accused of having an affair with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The judge ordered the unsealing of the divorce case involving special prosecutor Nathan Wade after a request brought by a defense attorney who alleges an inappropriate relationship between Willis and Wade. The judge also put off a final decision on whether Willis will have to sit for questioning in the divorce case, but delayed her deposition that had been scheduled for Tuesday.
Willis has defended her hiring of Wade, who has little prosecutorial experience, and has not directly denied a romantic relationship. She has accused Wade’s estranged wife of trying to obstruct her criminal election interference case against Trump and others by seeking to question her in the couple’s divorce proceedings.
The affair allegations have roiled the case, which charges Trump and 18 allies of working to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The Republican primary frontrunner and others have seized on the allegations to attack the case and Wade’s qualifications as a prosecutor. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the charges politically motivated.
Willis was served with the subpoena to sit for a deposition in the divorce case the day that defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents former Trump campaign staffer and onetime White House aide Michael Roman, filed a motion earlier this month alleging the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade.
Documents filed in court show Wade bought plane tickets in Willis’ name, and Joycelyn Wade’s lawyer has argued there “appears to be no reasonable explanation for their travels apart from a romantic relationship.” Joycelyn’s Wade’s lawyer, Andrea Dyer Hastings, told the judge Monday that they believe Willis has some “unique personal knowledge” related to the divorce case and should be subject to questioning.