Fulton County DA Fani Willis, prosecutor Nathan Wade subpoenaed to testify in upcoming misconduct hearing, per lawsuit

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, one of her top prosecutors in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and 18 others, have been subpoenaed to testify at an upcoming evidentiary hearing scheduled to examine allegations that they were involved in an inappropriate relationship while investigating the former president, according to a new lawsuit filed in Georgia this week.

The claim that Willis and Wade had been subpoenaed to testify was contained in a copy of the lawsuit, obtained by ABC News, which was filed by the lawyer for one of Trump’s co-defendants in the election case, accusing the office from the Fulton County District Attorney. of “intentionally withholding information.”

The lawsuit accuses the office of “obstructing” attorney Ashleigh Merchant in her efforts to obtain records from the office through public information requests.

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said they had not yet received the lawsuit and said, “We provided you with all the materials you requested and are entitled to.”

In a letter sent to Merchant on Friday, provided to ABC News by the district attorney’s office, the prosecutor’s office rejected his allegations that they had failed to fulfill their obligations, writing that they “disagree with your false implication.”

The issuance of the subpoenas could set off a high-stakes battle for both Willis and Wade, who have remained largely silent on the issue but could now have to testify under oath during the televised hearing on Feb. 15, as Trump and others colleagues The defendants seek to use the accusations to have the two removed from the case and the accusation dismissed.

That hearing was scheduled two weeks ago by the judge in the electoral case. The judge also ordered the office to file its response to the allegations in court by February 2.

Merchant, the lawyer for Trump’s co-defendant Michael Roman, made the accusations of misconduct against Willis earlier this month in a filing seeking to dismiss the election interference allegation and disqualify Willis based on allegations that she “had a personal and romantic relationship” with prosecutor Nathan Wade that allegedly resulted in financial gain for both .

Merchant’s new lawsuit accuses the district attorney’s office of “an apparent effort to intentionally stop” his continued effort to gather information on the matter.

“It is proof that the [Fulton County District Attorney] has withheld the records without substantial justification,” the complaint states. “In fact, it appears that [Fulton County DA’s Office] is acting intentionally and in an effort to hide from public view public documents that show how [the office] has spent public money related to the operation of the office.”

The 21-page complaint, reportedly filed in Fulton County Superior Court, accuses the office of violating the state’s Open Records Act. It describes numerous open records requests Merchant submitted to the office, some dating back to September, that the lawsuit says received either no response, partial responses or claims that the records did not exist.

Additionally, Merchant has issued approximately a dozen additional subpoenas, in addition to those issued to Willis and Wade, seeking testimony or documents at the upcoming evidentiary hearing, according to copies of the subpoenas obtained by ABC News.

They include subpoenas to a half-dozen employees of the Fulton County prosecutor’s office requesting their testimony at next month’s hearing.

They include Daysha Young, another lead prosecutor in the election interference case, and Tia Green, who is listed as deputy executive assistant to Willis on the county website.

It is unclear if all subpoenas have been served yet. According to documents obtained by ABC News, Merchant mailed them on January 25.

Merchant declined to comment to ABC News. A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office declined to comment on the subpoenas.

All subpoenas require witnesses to testify on behalf of the defense.

Additional subpoenas for documents were also issued prior to the hearing. Among the other subpoenas, a company called “Vacation Express USA Corp” received a subpoena for any documents related to flights, hotels or rental cars booked in Wade or Willis’ name.

In its new lawsuit Tuesday, Merchant’s says its requests to the office sought a number of documents, including contract records and invoices related to Wade, as well as personal information of attorneys hired by the district attorney’s office during Wade’s tenure. Willis, and requested vacation time. by Willis.

According to the Fulton County government website, the county must produce responses to open records requests “within a reasonable period of time not to exceed three business days.” In some cases, when records are not available within three days, the site says, agencies may take longer if they provide a timeline and description of the relevant records they have.

But in one case, according to the lawsuit, a request to obtain invoice records from Wade took months.

The application was first submitted in September, the lawsuit alleges, but was not recognized within the required three days. The merchant then followed up on the request several times, the complaint says, but the request was “prematurely closed” about two weeks later, despite the office’s “failure to provide numerous invoices and other documents.”

The merchant, according to the complaint, resubmitted the request several times. In January, months after the initial request, he was given contracts for John Floyd, a different special prosecutor in the case.

Days before the lawsuit was filed, Merchant said he was “finally” given some records in response to his request from nearly five months earlier, although he claims there were “numerous documents still outstanding.” Among the records she said were missing were Wade’s invoices from July 2023 to December 2023.

Merchant claims the documents were in the possession of the district attorney’s office, but were “intentionally withheld” due to his motion seeking to disqualify Wade and Willis from the election interference case.

The merchant’s complaint notes numerous other requests for which she was informed there were no records responding to the request, although she believes otherwise.

Merchant said that in September, for example, he filed a request requesting monthly reports on how the office spent the government-provided COVID-19 funds it received from the CARES Act. Merchant said she received a response that the office did not have any responsive records, although, according to the lawsuit, the law would require the office to keep records about the use of CARES Act money.

In January, according to the complaint, Merchant also requested personnel records that included a list of all attorneys hired since Willis became district attorney. Days later, the complaint alleges, Merchant received a message saying “there are no responsive records.”

The complaint also said Merchant had no response to a Jan. 8 request for records of contracts that employees or office staff “have been required to sign regarding speaking to the media and/or confidentiality.”

Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in August to all charges in the Willis case. widespread accusation of extortion for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.

Defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jena Ellis and Scott Hall subsequently accepted plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.