Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has ruled on the fate of the prosecution in the election interference case involving former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants.
After hearing testimony regarding the allegation that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she appointed to the case, McAfee affirmed on March 15 that this was an "appearance of impropriety.” He has ordered that Willis and her office must be recused from the case or that the DA must dismiss the special prosecutor, Nathan Wade.
“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed,” the judge wrote in his decision. “Put differently, an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences.”
“As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist,” said McAfee.
McAfee did not find that there had been an “actual conflict” because of the relationship.
“Even if the romantic relationship began after SADA Wade’s initial contract in November 2021, the District Attorney chose to continue supervising and paying Wade while maintaining such a relationship. She further allowed the regular and loose exchange of money between them without any exact or verifiable measure of reconciliation,” stated the judge, .
"Without sufficient evidence that the District Attorney acquired a personal stake in the prosecution, or that her financial arrangements had any impact on the case, the Defendants’ claims of an actual conflict must be denied," he wrote.
The accusation against Willis and Wade was brought by Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Michael Roman in the election interference case. Merchant argued that Willis had improperly benefited from the prosecution because she paid Wade significant amounts of money for his work on the case and that Wade used his money to take the DA on vacations.
Willis and Wade, both of whom denied the allegation, said Willis covered her own costs or reimbursed Wade. They also both claim their relationship began in the spring of 2022 and ended in 2023.
During the course of the trial, McAfee heard testimony from a former business partner of Wade’s, Terrance Bradley. Attorneys for the defendants pressed Bradley on the details of his knowledge of Wade’s contact with Willis and the timeline of their relationship.
McAfee found that “inconsistencies, demeanor, and generally non-responsive answers left far too brittle a foundation upon which to build any conclusions” and that, despite other evidence, “neither side was able to conclusively establish by a preponderance of the evidence when the relationship evolved into a romantic one.”
