Fulton County, Georgia district attorney Fani Willis, who brought charges against former President Trump on election interference, is taking heat from all sides as allegations brought against her of having an "improper" romantic relationship with a prosecutor could tarnish the case.
Court documents filed earlier this month say Willis hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade, her alleged romantic partner, to prosecute Trump and benefited financially from the relationship in the form of lavish vacations that the two went on using funds his firm received for working the case. Willis has not confirmed or denied the claim, but suggested she and Wade are being scrutinized because they're Black.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Bill Torpy penned a piece bluntly headlined, "Fani Willis, what are you thinking?"
"It’s crazy that Willis would have done this. If true, it would be stupid, thoughtless and even reckless. Surely, she would have known this would come out. Again, if true, this damages Willis’ credibility and the perception that this is a fair prosecution," Torpy wrote.
Former U.S Attorney Michael Moore appeared on CNN and declared that the integrity of the case would be challenged if the allegations of an improper romantic relationship between Willis and Wade are true.
"Cases die by the death of 1,000 cuts. This is a cut on the case," Moore told CNN on Sunday.
"I’d tell her to get out of the case. I really think that in this type of case, with these allegations, this case is bigger than any one prosecutor," Moore continued. "And I think, probably, to preserve the case and to show that what’s of most importance to her is the facts of the Trump case, opposed to her political career."
On Monday, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin found flaws in Willis’ remarks that one of three prosecutors working on the Trump case is being "attacked" despite all of them charging the same hourly rate.
"Fani Willis might be right to say ‘all three of these special counsel’s billed the same hourly rate, on the other hand, only one of them took up more than 30% of the spending in each of two years that Fulton DA’s office spent on outside vendors and that’s Nathan Wade," Rubin told MSNBC viewers.
"And only one of them seems to have lacked the requisite experience to be of particular aid to the Fulton County District Attorney," Rubin continued, noting that Wade has minimal experience prosecuting criminal cases.
"That leaves me scratching my head," Rubin said. "Why has Nathan Wade been paid over $600,000 in taxpayer money to assist in this prosecution?"
GEORGIA DA FANI WILLIS CLAIMS 'IMPROPER' RELATIONSHIP ACCUSATIONS ARE BASED ON RACE
Even with Iowa Caucuses and NFL playoff matchups dominating Monday’s news cycle, Willis managed to generate plenty of negative headlines. Newsweek reported that "Fani Willis' response to affair allegations raises eyebrows," while the far-left Daily Beast said Wade could be Willis’ "undoing."
The Washington Post referred to Wade as an "embattled prosecutor" with "little prosecution experience."
"The accusations, if true, could present a conflict of interest or could amount to fraud," The Post reported.
Fulton County records show Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022, an amount authorized by the district attorney, or Willis in this case.
Trump was indicted by Willis in August and pleaded not guilty to charges related to allegedly attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, including violation of Georgia's anti-racketeering law.
Trump’s co-defendant, Michael Roman, accused Willis and Wade of having an "improper" and "clandestine" affair at the same time appointments were being made for the 2020 election interference case.
TOP TRUMP PROSECUTOR, GEORGIA DA ALLEGED TO BE IN ‘IMPROPER’ ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP: COURT FILING
Roman was a former official on Trump’s 2020 campaign and argued about the integrity of the case being compromised because of the affair, asking last week for the charges against Roman to be dropped. The filing also calls for the entire district attorney's office, including Willis and Wade, to be disqualified from prosecuting the case.
Willis was previously placed on a pedestal by the press.
The New York Times published a glowing profile that boasted about her "swagger" and "confidence," while sometimes being "colloquial and warm" but also able to "throw sharp elbows."
A CNN guest hyped her as a "prosecutor’s prosecutor," and an MSNBC producer penned an opinion piece suggesting House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan was some sort of joke for wanting to probe Willis.
OutKick founder Clay Travis said the new allegations are a "massive" story that deserve even more attention from the mainstream media.
"I think… this is a dead prosecution. I think Fani Willis going to have to step down, I think Nathan Wade is going to have to step down and if the state of Georgia really gets into this investigation… I think it’s possible there is a criminal prosecution against Willis herself based on these allegations," Travis said on "The Faulkner Focus."
Willis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
OutKick and Fox News share common ownership.
