ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action News has obtained new information about the court motion in the Georgia election interference case alleging Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the special prosecutor overseeing the case have been engaged in an improper personal relationship.
The defense attorney who made those explosive allegations told Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne that she has eyewitnesses.
The spokesman for the DA’s office said the prosecution has won every major motion and every appeal in the election interference case so far -- then came this motion making incendiary allegations about one of the most prominent prosecutors in America.
Now, people want to know from the lawyer making these allegations – what do you have to back it up?
“I would never have filed something like this if I didn’t have multiple sources to corroborate,” Ashleigh Merchant said about the motion she filed on behalf of her client, Michael Roman, alleging an improper relationship between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, possibly tainting the case.
Merchant told Winne that she has documentary evidence.
“We look forward to litigating this motion in court where we can bring forward all of our evidence,” Merchant said.
She told Winne that she expects to put up eyewitness testimony about the alleged relationship between Willis and Wade.
Fulton County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Jeff DiSantis said the office will respond to Merchant’s allegations in court filings and in court “We look forward to addressing the matter.”
Merchant maintains she has witnesses who did not want to provide written affidavits but indicated they would testify in court if subpoenaed.
She said she has talked to a former DA’s office employee who believed it was common knowledge Willis and Wade were dating.
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DiSantis said as a DA’s office employee, he never heard of such a thing and there was no common knowledge in the office about such a relationship.
Merchant said her client, Roman, is innocent of the RICO conspiracy and other charges pertaining to the alleged fake electors scheme he faces.
She said Roman rejected an offer to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge in return for straight probation
DiSantis said Wade has been paid $250 an hour for his work, which DiSantis considers a below-market rate for a lawyer of his experience.
He said Wade’s role in the election interference case is managing a team of investigators and lawyers working on the matter.
“I’m leery to move and adopt motions that make such allegations without having a better understanding or substantiation of the allegation,” former President Donald Trump’s Georgia attorney Steve Sadow said during a court hearing Friday.
“Obviously, my plan with this was to allow the state an opportunity to respond before setting a hearing date,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said during that hearing.
It appears Wade’s role in the election interference case has taken on a role in his divorce case which a document indicates started in November 2021.
A filing by Joycelyn Wade’s side says “Nathan Wade is a partner at his own law firm and has also been employed by Fulton County District Attorney’s Office since November 1, 2021, as the anti-corruption special prosecutor in the matter of the state of Georgia v. Donald John Trump et al. Earning almost $700,000 since May of 2022 alone.”
It alleges, while earning such substantial sums, Nathan Wade has provided nearly nothing to Joycelyn Wade “for her support and survival.”
A filing by Nathan Wade’s side said he has provided means of financial support to Joycelyn Wade and continues to provide financial support.
The DA’s office confirms some investigators at the office had recently been asked to sign confidentiality agreements about matters they’re working on, but Willis did not know about it until we reached out to the office, and upon learning of it, she ordered the agreements retracted and clarified there is no new confidentiality requirement.
DiSantis said the agreements had been requested by two supervisors in the office updating personnel files and have no connection whatsoever to anything involving Willis and Wade.
DiSantis said the almost $700,000 Wade has been paid goes back to October 2021.
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