Lawyers for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis formally acknowledged in a court filing that she had a romantic relationship with lawyer Nathan Wade, whom she appointed to lead the Georgia prosecution of Donald Trump, but they vigorously pushed back against allegations of financial conflicts and the contention she should be disqualified from the case.
In an affidavit by Wade submitted Friday with Willis' court filing — both obtained by CBS News — Wade stated, "In , District Attorney Willis and I developed a personal relationship in addition to our professional association and friendship. I have no financial interest in the outcome of the election interference case or in the conviction of any defendant. No funds paid to me in compensation for my role as Special Prosecutor have been shared with or provided to District Attorney Willis. In the filing, Willis' attorneys responded to the allegations by saying, "This is not an example of zealous advocacy, nor is it a good faith effort to develop a record on a disputed legal issue—it is a ticket to the circus.
Willis' response comes after one of Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia election conspiracy case leveled allegations against her earlier this month. Ashleigh Merchant, Roman's lawyer, argued in the motion that Willis and her entire office should be disqualified from prosecuting the case and that all of the charges against Roman should be dropped. The filing provided no supporting evidence of the claims.
However, a separate filing in Wade's divorce case from his estranged wife, Jocelyn Wade, who also alleged that he and Willis had been romantically involved, included credit card receipts from her husband's business account that seemed to show he had paid for the trips.
Willis had not commented directly on the allegations, although at a speech in January at a historically Black church, in which she defended Nathan Wade, she made oblique references to herself as "flawed" and "imperfect.
