Fani Willis and top prosecutor Nathan Wade subpoenaed to testify at hearing about relationship allegations

Washington- Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor working on the extensive extortion case in Georgia against former President Donald Trump and others, have been subpoenaed to answer questions at a hearing next month on accusations both were involved in an inappropriate romantic relationship.

The subpoenas were issued on behalf of Michael Roman, who was accused alongside Trump in August and seeks to have the charges against him dismissed. Roman served as director of Election Day operations for Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign and faces seven charges related to what Fulton County prosecutors alleged was a scheme to overturn Georgia’s presidential election results.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the first to report the citations. The district attorney’s office declined to comment.

The subpoenas to Wade and Willis were included in a filing filed in Fulton County Superior Court by Roman’s attorney, who says he intends to call them as witnesses during a hearing before Judge Scott McAfee on Feb. 15. The subpoenas to Willis and Wade were served Thursday, according to the document. Ten other people also received subpoenas, including several employees of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.

The hearing was scheduled to address Roman’s request to dismiss the charges against him on the grounds that the allegation is “invalid and unconstitutional,” as well as allegations of misconduct between Willis and Wade. Willis hired Wade to help with the case against Trump and his co-defendants, and Roman claimed the two prosecutors benefited financially from the deal.

Allegations about the alleged relationship between Wade and Willis were raised in a filing earlier this month, although it did not include any evidence of an affair. Roman also claimed, without presenting evidence, that the district attorney’s office had paid Wade more than $650,000 and taken Willis on vacation. In addition to seeking to have the charges dropped, Roman also wants Willis to be disqualified from the case.

Separately, Willis was scheduled to testify in Wade’s divorce proceedings on Wednesday, but the judge overseeing that case indicated Tuesday that Wade and his ex-wife Jocelyn Wade had reached a temporary agreement to resolve their differences. The judge said he would delay a ruling on whether Willis would eventually have to testify.

Jocelyn Wade previously evidence presented purporting to prove that Nathan Wade had booked two sets of round-trip flights for himself and Willis.

McAfee, the judge presiding over the electoral case, gave Willis’ office until February 2 to respond to the allegations. Neither she nor Wade have commented publicly on Roman’s claims, and the district attorney’s office said she would do so in court papers.

But during a speech at Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic black church in Atlanta, earlier this month, Willis defended Wade’s hiring, saying he had “impeccable credentials.” He did not directly address the allegations against him. Willis also noted that he hired three outside attorneys to work on the case related to the 2020 election and paid them all the same fee.

Last week, Trump joined Roman’s effort to dismiss the indictment and disqualify Willis, the special prosecutors he hired and his office.

Roman was initially among a group of 18 co-defendants along with Trump in the case involving alleged efforts to overturn the results of the last presidential election. Since then, four have accepted plea deals. Roman pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Andy Bast contributed to this report.