Fulton County DA Fani Willis Faces Subpoena in Trump Election Case Relationship Allegations

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis finds herself at the center of a legal storm surrounding her investigation into alleged election interference by Donald Trump and his associates. Michael Roman, one of the individuals indicted alongside Trump, has subpoenaed Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade to testify at a hearing next month. Roman alleges an improper romantic relationship between the two prosecutors, claiming it creates a conflict of interest and warrants Willis's disqualification from the case.

 

Roman's accusations center around financial arrangements and personal interactions between Willis and Wade. He claims Wade received an excessive sum from the DA's office and vacationed with Willis, suggesting potential bias and undue influence. Willis vehemently denies these allegations, maintaining Wade's "impeccable credentials" and asserting transparency in their professional relationship.

 

This development adds another layer of complexity to the already intricate investigation. Trump has joined Roman's efforts to dismiss the indictment and remove Willis and her team from the case. Meanwhile, the judge overseeing the proceedings has granted Willis's office until early February to respond to the allegations.

 

Several uncertainties cloud the immediate future. Whether Willis and Wade will testify at the upcoming hearing remains to be seen. The potential impact of these accusations on the investigation's trajectory is also unclear. Ultimately, the judge's decision on Roman's motion to dismiss the charges and disqualify Willis will hold significant weight in determining the case's course.

 

It's crucial to remember that these are merely allegations, and their veracity has yet to be established. As the legal proceedings unfold, it's important to stay informed through reliable sources and avoid drawing definitive conclusions based on unproven claims.

 

02.02.24

Source

 

[jerrymahoney]

As noted in the CBSNews Source document but not in the above summary:

 

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

[Tug]

Another trump ploy he will try anything personally I doubt it will matter

[Danderman123]

Https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24401430/da-willis-roman-response.pdf

 

This is Fani Willis' response. It's pretty convincing.

 

"Under GA law, "personal relationships among lawyers -- even on opposing sides of litigation -- do not constitute impermissible conflicts of interest."

Counsel for Ray Smith and counsel for Kenneth Chesebro are in a personal relationship. Jenna Ellis' lawyers are married law partners.  The State has not made note of these relationships because they do not raise a conflict & until now, "private lives" were not a topic."

[Danderman123]

Fani Willis is in the clear, legal expert says.

[jerrymahoney]

The above comments from Raw Story -- this from the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

 

Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead Atlanta attorney, said Willis omitted key information from her response, including relevant financial details and an explanation of why Wade filed for a divorce the day after he was hired on the Trump case. Sadow said the DA also needs to respond to comments she recently made at Atlanta’s Big Bethel AME Church, which Sadow alleged was meant to create “racial animus” against the defendants.

 

https://www.ajc.com/politics/breaking-fulton-special-prosecutor-admits-personal-relationship-with-da-in-trump-case/

[Tug]

5 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

The above comments from Raw Story -- this from the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

 

Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead Atlanta attorney, said Willis omitted key information from her response, including relevant financial details and an explanation of why Wade filed for a divorce the day after he was hired on the Trump case. Sadow said the DA also needs to respond to comments she recently made at Atlanta’s Big Bethel AME Church, which Sadow alleged was meant to create “racial animus” against the defendants.

 

https://www.ajc.com/politics/breaking-fulton-special-prosecutor-admits-personal-relationship-with-da-in-trump-case/

Trumps fishing for an opening it doesn’t change the fact that trump tryed to intimidate Georgia for more votes /steal the election lock that fraud up!

[jerrymahoney]

5 minutes ago, Tug said:

Trumps fishing for an opening it doesn’t change the fact that trump tryed to intimidate Georgia for more votes /steal the election lock that fraud up!

All this Willis-Wade dustup only potentially affects the mechanics of the case -- not the underlying facts or indicments.

 

But this just this morning's head line on the NY Times website:

 

Judge Scraps Trial Date for Trump Election Subversion Case

Judge Tanya Chutkan removed the planned March 4 start for the trial from her calendar, formalizing a delay that had become increasingly likely in recent weeks. It remains unclear when the trial might start.

[jerrymahoney]

Prosecutor in Trump Georgia Case Admits Relationship With Colleague

 

Feb. 2, 2024 Updated 4:48 p.m. ET via NY Times

 

But if nothing else, the optics have not been good for Ms. Willis’s team. During her campaign for district attorney in 2020, Ms. Willis ran against an incumbent facing allegations of sexual harassment. During one campaign appearance, Ms. Willis said: “I certainly will not be choosing people to date that work under me, let me just say that.” (Her opponent, Paul Howard, was found not guilty of harassment allegations in December.)  ...

 

But disappointment has also been palpable among some critics of Mr. Trump, who are hoping he will face consequences for his attempts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. Late last year, the digital publication The Root named Ms. Willis No. 1 on its list of the 100 most influential Black Americans, and feted her at a ceremony at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

 

Then, after the allegations emerged last month, The Root published an article criticizing Ms. Willis for poor judgment, even as it said that Black people in high-profile positions were held to harsher standards than their white counterparts. “We all love Willis here at The Root, which is why she got the top spot at last month’s The Root 100 ceremony,” the article stated. “But she absolutely should’ve known better than to put herself in this position.”

 

https://archive.is/v1Heh

 

[Chomper Higgot]

6 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead Atlanta attorney, said Willis omitted key information from her response, including relevant financial details and an explanation of why Wade filed for a divorce the day after he was hired on the Trump case.

You’re the Legal Beagle, explain how Willis omitting ‘an explanation of why Wade filed for divorce’ is of any legal significance whatsoever.

 

Anything she has to say in the matter is only her opinion or what she’s been told, which may or may not be true.

 

The person to answer the question is Wade.

 

 

[jerrymahoney]

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

You’re the Legal Beagle,

And you're the Interlocutor.

[Yellowtail]

Anyone thinking it inappropriate to hire your lover and pay him eight over $800K in a year is a racist. 

[nauseus]

19 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Anyone thinking it inappropriate to hire your lover and pay him eight over $800K in a year is a racist. 

 

Especially if wasn't her money.  

[jerrymahoney]

As I ran out of time, this is the kinda stuff that happens:

 

< The state said it did not alert the court to these relationships as potential conflicts because they constitute no legal conflict and “until Roman’s motion was filed, the private lives of the attorney participants in this trial was not a topic of discussion.”

 

<  (Merchant's) filing infers that Willis’ and Wade’s personal relationship began in 2019, two years before he was appointed special prosecutor. Even though Wade, in his affidavit, said he had never “cohabitated” with Willis, Merchant’s reply said she has witnesses who will testify that they lived together for a period of time at her Fulton County home and later at an apartment in East Point and a safe house for Willis in Hapeville.

 

< The response notes that two sets of defense lawyers in the case have personal relationships: Amanda Clark Palmer, who represents Ray Smith, and Scott Grubman, who had represented Kenneth Chesebro; and Frank and Laura Hogue, the husband-and-wife legal team that represented Jenna Ellis.

 

< (Grubman quickly responded on social media that he and Clark Palmer have never jointly “made a decision to charge someone with a crime,” nor has he been in a position “to direct lucrative publicly funded contracts” Clark’s way.)

 

https://www.ajc.com/politics/breaking-fulton-special-prosecutor-admits-personal-relationship-with-da-in-trump-case/

 

So now, what might have amounted to little or nothing if there was more up-front disclosure, is a problem of false statements in an affidavit filed IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FULTON COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA

[Chomper Higgot]

50 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

And you're the Interlocutor.

Who asked uncomfortable questions of someone who professes knowledge on a subject. 

 

 

[jerrymahoney]

37 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Who asked uncomfortable questions of someone who professes knowledge on a subject. 

My answer is that I don't know what Wade said to Willis or Willis said to Wade. Or Willis overheard Wade talking to someone else or Wade hearing Willis talking to someone else. There's gonna be a hearing next week which Wade and Willis may or not show up. Maybe there will then be some answers. But in the meantime

 

Fani Willis Still Hasn’t Responded To Commissioner’s Request For Information Relating To Alleged Misuse Of Funds

 

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did not respond to a request for information from a Fulton County commissioner relating to allegations she misused county funds as of late Friday night.

 

Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis said Willis had not responded to his Jan. 19 request for information about whether or not county funds were “misused” by Willis. Ellis set a Friday deadline for Willis to respond, according to a letter provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

 

“Given that the majority of the Audit Committee is made up of Fulton County citizens, the lack of a response by the District Attorney is an affront to not only the Board of Commissioners but also to all Fulton County residents,” Ellis said.

 

https://dailycaller.com/2024/02/02/fani-willis-still-hasnt-responded-to-commissioners-request-for-information-relating-to-alleged-misuse-of-funds/

 

ADDENDUM

 

 

Updated 6:36 AM GMT+7, February 3, 2024

Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State University law professor who’s been following the case, said this was “as strong a response as she could have made,” noting that the filing acknowledged the relationship, explained the timing and addressed the financial issues.

 

“I’m just left with the question of why did they not respond sooner,” he said. “As a legal matter, I think it’s done. As a political matter, it still seems a little messy.”

 

https://apnews.com/article/fani-willis-nathan-wade-trump-indictment-493165c4614761d4b965923696134c09

 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, jerrymahoney said:

Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State University law professor who’s been following the case, said this was “as strong a response as she could have made,” noting that the filing acknowledged the relationship, explained the timing and addressed the financial issues.

 

“I’m just left with the question of why did they not respond sooner,” he said. “As a legal matter, I think it’s done. As a political matter, it still seems a little messy.”

Heading into nothing burger territory,

[ozimoron]

2 hours ago, nauseus said:

 

Especially if wasn't her money.  

 

Especially rich considering the historic degree of nepotism which occurred in the white house under the previous guy.

[Danderman123]

5 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Anyone thinking it inappropriate to hire your lover and pay him eight over $800K in a year is a racist. 

Nathan Wade was not in a relationship with Fani Willis when she hired him.

[Danderman123]

4 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

As I ran out of time, this is the kinda stuff that happens:

 

< The state said it did not alert the court to these relationships as potential conflicts because they constitute no legal conflict and “until Roman’s motion was filed, the private lives of the attorney participants in this trial was not a topic of discussion.”

 

<  (Merchant's) filing infers that Willis’ and Wade’s personal relationship began in 2019, two years before he was appointed special prosecutor. Even though Wade, in his affidavit, said he had never “cohabitated” with Willis, Merchant’s reply said she has witnesses who will testify that they lived together for a period of time at her Fulton County home and later at an apartment in East Point and a safe house for Willis in Hapeville.

 

< The response notes that two sets of defense lawyers in the case have personal relationships: Amanda Clark Palmer, who represents Ray Smith, and Scott Grubman, who had represented Kenneth Chesebro; and Frank and Laura Hogue, the husband-and-wife legal team that represented Jenna Ellis.

 

< (Grubman quickly responded on social media that he and Clark Palmer have never jointly “made a decision to charge someone with a crime,” nor has he been in a position “to direct lucrative publicly funded contracts” Clark’s way.)

 

https://www.ajc.com/politics/breaking-fulton-special-prosecutor-admits-personal-relationship-with-da-in-trump-case/

 

So now, what might have amounted to little or nothing if there was more up-front disclosure, is a problem of false statements in an affidavit filed IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FULTON COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA

Unless you can cite a law that was broken by Fani Willis, Trump is still on track to be tried and convicted in this case.

[Chomper Higgot]

9 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Unless you can cite a law that was broken by Fani Willis, Trump is still on track to be tried and convicted in this case.

Not simply a law broken, but a law that infringes on the rights of the accused to a fair trial.

 

 

[nauseus]

2 hours ago, ozimoron said:

 

Especially rich considering the historic degree of nepotism which occurred in the white house under the previous guy.

 

The USS Enterprise couldn't deflect as well as that. Bravo!

[Danderman123]

11 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Not simply a law broken, but a law that infringes on the rights of the accused to a fair trial.

 

To be clear: nothing in the current accusations impacts Trump's right to a fair trial.

 

My feeling is that Wade needs to resign to defuse the PR issue, however. If he could be replaced.

[jerrymahoney]

10 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

Nathan Wade was not in a relationship with Fani Willis when she hired him.

In a reply filed Friday afternoon, Merchant said she needs to question Willis and Wade at the upcoming hearing on grounds they may not have been truthful about when the relationship began and whether they had lived together.

 

Her filing infers that Willis’ and Wade’s personal relationship began in 2019, two years before he was appointed special prosecutor. Even though Wade, in his affidavit, said he had never “cohabitated” with Willis, Merchant’s reply said she has witnesses who will testify that they lived together for a period of time at her Fulton County home and later at an apartment in East Point and a safe house for Willis in Hapeville.

 

https://www.ajc.com/politics/breaking-fulton-special-prosecutor-admits-personal-relationship-with-da-in-trump-case/

[Danderman123]

6 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

In a reply filed Friday afternoon, Merchant said she needs to question Willis and Wade at the upcoming hearing on grounds they may not have been truthful about when the relationship began and whether they had lived together.

 

Her filing infers that Willis’ and Wade’s personal relationship began in 2019, two years before he was appointed special prosecutor. Even though Wade, in his affidavit, said he had never “cohabitated” with Willis, Merchant’s reply said she has witnesses who will testify that they lived together for a period of time at her Fulton County home and later at an apartment in East Point and a safe house for Willis in Hapeville.

 

https://www.ajc.com/politics/breaking-fulton-special-prosecutor-admits-personal-relationship-with-da-in-trump-case/

Let me ask you a question:

 

If they had had a one night stand, would that be sufficient to disqualify her?

 

If they had had a one night stand and he bought her dinner, would that be sufficient for disqualification?

 

How about two nights?

 

At what level of the relationship is disqualification merited?

 

Spoiler alert: this is a legal issue, so you need to refer to legal statutes.

 

[jerrymahoney]

10 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

10 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Not simply a law broken, but a law that infringes on the rights of the accused to a fair trial.

 

To be clear: nothing in the current accusations impacts Trump's right to a fair trial.

 

My feeling is that Wade needs to resign to defuse the PR issue, however. If he could be replaced.

I would say only the mechanics of the charges in the Georgia Trump trial are in play. But the greatest chance for any criminal sanctions may come from the Fulton County Auditor

 

“To date, Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis has been non-responsive to the requests for information which I made of her in my capacity as Chair of the Audit Committee of Fulton County on January 19, 2024,” Ellis said in a statement given to the DCNF. “Despite multiple follow-up requests for this information which should be made available for public review and consumption, the District Attorney has provided no response to our County Auditor or me as to when this information will be provided.”

 

https://dailycaller.com/2024/02/02/fani-willis-still-hasnt-responded-to-commissioners-request-for-information-relating-to-alleged-misuse-of-funds/

[jerrymahoney]

1 minute ago, Danderman123 said:

Let me ask you a question:

Go ahead. 

[jerrymahoney]

13 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Spoiler alert: this is a legal issue, so you need to refer to legal statutes.

2022 Georgia Code
Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses
Chapter 10 - Offenses Against Public Administration
Article 2 - Obstruction of Public Administration and Related Offenses
§ 16-10-20. False Statements and Writings, Concealment of Facts, and Fraudulent

 

Documents in Matters Within Jurisdiction of State or Political Subdivisions
Universal Citation: GA Code § 16-10-20 (2022)

 

A person who knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or makes or uses any false writing or document, knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of state government or of the government of any county, city, or other political subdivision of this state shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, or both.

[jerrymahoney]

2 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

2 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

Let me ask you a question:

Go ahead. 

And then you ask 4.

[sirineou]

When you can't disprove the message, try and damage the reputation of the messenger.

It's a true and tried legal strategy,

In the end what would matter would be the facts. And we all know what the facts are in this case.