The GOP-controlled House Judiciary Committee on Friday subpoenaed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of its probe into allegations that she misused public funds by hiring a former romantic partner to lead the prosecution of former president Trump.
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan issued the subpoena. Willis is accused of hiring her ex-boyfriend, Nathan Wade, to lead the 2020 election-fraud case against Trump and 18 co-defendants, despite Wade’s lack of experience with such cases. The accusations were first reported in a legal filing from one of Trump’s co-defendants, former campaign aide Mike Roman.
Attorneys for Roman called for Willis and Wade to be removed from the case “on the grounds that the district attorney and the special prosecutor have been engaged in an improper, clandestine personal relationship during the pendency of this case, which has resulted in the special prosecutor, and, in turn, the district attorney, profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers.”
Wade has earned over half a million dollars through his involvement in the case. A January motion from Roman’s lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, said that Willis paid Wade “a large sum of money that was originally allotted to clear the backlog of cases in Fulton County following the Covid pandemic.”
The motion claims that Willis and Wade then traveled to California, Florida, and the Caribbean together, and that Wade bought them both cruise tickets. Credit card receipts included in Wade’s divorce records show that Wade and Willis traveled together to San Francisco last April and to Miami in October, National Review previously reported. He paid over $2,600 to Royal Caribbean Cruises in October and more than $3,800 to “Vacation Express” at the same time they traveled to Miami, though those records don’t name Willis.
Since the scandal emerged, Wade’s credentials have come under scrutiny, with Merchant’s motion also arguing that he was unqualified to lead Trump’s protection as he had “never tried a felony RICO case.”
Wade, the motion said, “would not be qualified under Fulton County’s standards to be appointed to represent any defendant in this case.”
Because of her allegedly inappropriate appointment of Wade, Merchant and Trump’s legal team requested that Willis be taken off the case.
Thirty Republican state senators in Georgia in late January also backed a resolution to launch an investigation into the allegations of misconduct by Willis by creating a special senate committee with subpoena power. The GOP-dominated Georgia Senate last week approved the establishment of the committee.
A hearing is scheduled for February 15 in Georgia, ordered by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who gave Willis until February 2 to respond to the allegations.
In August, Willis indicted Trump and 18 other defendants under Georgia’s version of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute, or RICO, for their alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump was charged with conspiracy to commit forgery, filing false documents, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, and violating RICO.