Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis filed a motion to quash a subpoena seeking her testimony in the divorce proceedings involving a prosecutor she hired for her case against former President Donald Trump and whom she is accused of having an undisclosed relationship with.
Willis filed the motion on Thursday in response to a court filing from last week, which accused Willis of having an improper relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade. He has allegedly been paid roughly $654,000 in legal fees by Fulton County since January 2022, which the filing claims he used for extravagant vacations with Willis.
The conflict of interest claims were raised by Michael Roman, one of Trump’s 14 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case. Roman’s attorney claims sealed court records in the pending divorce case between Wade and his wife, Jocelyn, contain documentation of his and Willis’s relationship. Jocelyn Wade’s lawyer subpoenaed Willis for testimony on Jan. 23, which Willis is now seeking to dismiss.
On Thursday, Willis said she “lacks personal knowledge of any matter that is relevant” to the divorce, but she did not directly acknowledge the accusations against her. She said there was no reason for her testimony as the Wades had declared their marriage “irretrievably broken.”
“It is well-established that when both parties in a divorce proceeding assert that a marriage is irretrievably broken, which is a legal conclusion signifying that there is no hope for reconciliation, there is no genuine issue of fact that remains to be decided concerning the divorce,” Cinque Axam, lawyer for Willis, wrote in the filing.
Willis’s legal counsel also claims Jocelyn Wade’s team has “conspired” with “interested parties” in Trump’s case “to annoy, embarrass, and oppress” Willis, noting the timing of Jocelyn Wade’s subpoena aligning with Roman’s attorney’s motion to remove Willis and Wade from the election interference case.
Andrea Dyer Hastings, a lawyer for Jocelyn Wade, told the New York Times that she was preparing a response that she would file in court.
“Ms. Willis alleges that her deposition is being sought in an attempt to harass and damage her professional reputation. Why would her truthful testimony risk damaging her reputation?” Ashleigh Merchant said in a text to the outlet.
Merchant has challenged Wade’s credentials, stating he has no experience in felony cases. Roman’s team also accused Willis of breaking the law through his appointment, as it allegedly wasn’t approved by the Fulton Board of Commissioners.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Trump, set a hearing to examine the allegations on Feb. 15. Willis had to submit any response to the allegations by Feb. 2, per a court order. A hearing on the unsealing of the divorce files is set for Jan. 31 in Cobb County, which is outside of Atlanta.
If the allegations against Willis are proven, it could derail proceedings against Trump and his co-defendants, which are one of four separate legal cases against the former president.