'Full of distortions': Legal experts take deep dive into Fani Willis affair claims

According to three legal experts, Donald Trump's allies are distorting the facts in a prosecutor's divorce in an attempt to destroy Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Norm Eisen, Joyce Vance and Barb McQuade, writing for Just Security, cataloged what is already known — and what has been embellished — in the allegations of a corrupt relationship between Willis and consultant Nathan Wade.

The accusations were filed on Jan. 8 by the attorneys for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, who said Willis was having an affair with Wade when she hired him as a prosecutor in the RICO case against Trump and 19 codefendants.

"Willis did not expressly deny (or confirm) that she and Wade are in a romantic relationship," the authors explained. "Nor did she deny (or confirm) that the two had vacationed together — as was alleged in Roman’s filing. Instead, Willis defended Wade’s qualifications, and claimed that he was paid the same hourly rate as the two other special prosecutors Willis hired and that he had previously been hired by an elected Republican at twice the hourly rate."

What the legal analysts have been able to gather from Wade's divorce filings is that credit card statements show Wade paid for vacations that Willis is accused of going on.

"The much-anticipated subsequent unsealing of the proceedings did not however reveal any additional information," the legal analysts explained.

While there is still a lot unknown, Judge Scott McAfee has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 15 to deal with the matter.

That hasn't stopped other allegations, some of which the experts say don't have merit.

First, they walked through the financial compensation for Wade, who has earned far more, despite claiming he is paid the same as other prosecutors. Wade is paid the same rate as leading RICO lawyer John Floyd, despite the latter's expertise.

"Even if Willis paid Floyd the same hourly rate as Wade, Wade could earn much more per month because the terms of his contract permit him to work far more hours," the analysts explained. "In addition, $250 per hour is hardly an exorbitant rate for the work Wade is doing on this complicated, sprawling, and unprecedented case — many Special Assistant Attorneys General (SAAGs) in Georgia earn $250 or more per hour."

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They then cited arguments about Wade's experience "as a prosecutor, criminal defense lawyer (including in reportedly at least 75 criminal cases in state and federal court, including serious felony offenses), and civil practitioner."

According to the credit card records and reporting around it, Wade and Willis vacationed together, "Along with (at times) Wade's mother." The amount paid was less than $13,000, including for his mother, the said.

"Moreover, it is possible that Willis reimbursed Wade for any expenditures he fronted on her behalf. She may have done so directly by paying him, or indirectly by covering an equal amount of travel or other expenses to benefit him," the authors speculated.

A different claim from the Roman filing is "unsubstantiated," the said. The allegations are that Willis paid Wade by using backlogged cases from the COVID-19 pause, but the three experts said Roman provided no evidence — and what he does cite disproves the allegations.

Another claim from the legal experts is that Roman misread a flier "for defense lawyers," and "falsely claims that Wade is not qualified to serve as defense counsel in this case."

Another complaint made by Roman is that Wade previously failed to file his oath as a special prosecutor, but Judge McAfee has already dismissed the argument. He also claims Willis needed approval to hire Wade, when Georgia law gives her the full authority to hire and fire without county approval.

The piece goes on to provide significant detail about the finances and the accusation of Wade's qualifications.

Read the full report here.