Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis responded to conflict allegations in the Donald Trump election racketeering case, not only denying them, but also arguing that they should be rejected without holding an evidentiary hearing on the matter.
To get a question people are wondering about out of the way, Willis’ court filing Friday admits a personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. In a sworn affidavit accompanying the filing, Wade says that in 2022, “District Attorney Willis and I developed a personal relationship in addition to our professional association and friendship.” But more importantly for legal purposes, he denied having that relationship when Willis hired him as special prosecutor in 2021 and said that none of his special prosecutor compensation has been shared with Willis.
That’s important because the mere fact of a personal relationship wouldn’t necessarily result in a legal conflict. “Conflict arises when a prosecutor has a personal interest or stake in a defendant’s conviction,” Willis’ filing observes. The sworn statement that Wade’s hiring didn’t stem from his personal relationship with Willis and that she hasn’t financially benefited from his hiring cut against the conflict claim.
The issue was first raised by Michael Roman, one of 19 defendants charged in Georgia with seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. In a Jan. 8 motion, he sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that Willis had a conflict of interest.
A question now is whether Judge Scott McAfee agrees that Willis’ written response and accompanying evidence are enough to settle the issue, or whether he thinks taking further evidence in a hearing is needed. With that hearing having previously been set for Feb. 15, we may know more about the judge’s thinking before then.
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