Advisers urged Fani Willis to push Nathan Wade off Trump case: sources

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been privately advised to drop Nathan Wade as the lead investigator in her case against Donald Trump.

The pair testified Thursday in a court hearing to determine whether they will be disqualified from the case against Trump and his allies who are charged with trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, but several advisers and confidants have told Willis she should encourage Wade to resign, reported CNN.

Trump's co-defendant Michael Roman's attorneys have asked Superior Court judge Scott McAfee to disqualify Willis and Wade over a personal relationship they conducted during the investigation, arguing that they had benefitted financially from the case due to taxpayer-funded trips and other perks.

Both have testified that their relationship began after Wade was hired in November 2021, and they also say they reimbursed one another for meals and travel expenses.

Willis has maintained she will not step away from the case, which would delay a trial or possibly even end the prosecution altogether. The disqualification hearing continued Friday, with Willis' father taking the stand and detailing the threats of violence that the district attorney faced after she started to investigate the former president.

Trump and 18 allies were indicted on racketeering and other charges related to their post-election efforts, and so far four former Trump attorneys and a Georgia GOP official have agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their cooperation with investigators.

Trump also faces criminal charges in three other jurisdictions, with a fraud trial scheduled to become the first one to go to trial. The case of a hush-money scheme involving Stormy Daniels is scheduled to start March 25.