ATLANTA — (UPDATE, 2/15/2024: You can watch a hearing on the motions to disqualify Fani Willis and Nathan Wade live at this link.)
A codefendant in the 2020 election interference case alleged Friday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade misrepresented facts about their relationship, according to court documents obtained by 11Alive.
Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney representing defendant Mike Roman, alleged the romantic relationship between the pair began well before Willis appointed Wade to manage her investigation and prosecution of former President Donald Trump and others.
Merchant further alleged that Wade took Willis on previously unreported trips to Belize and the Bahamas, countering claims that the duo roughly shared travel costs.
Friday's response comes ahead of a court hearing next week over efforts to disqualify Willis, Wade, and her office from handling the case. Roman also seeks to have the criminal charges against him dismissed.
At least nine co-defendants, including Trump himself, seek to disqualify Willis, according to defense attorneys and documents obtained by 11Alive. They allege Wade and Willis are improperly using taxpayer funds for their own financial gains.
The DA's office acknowledged last week that Wade and Willis had a personal relationship, but the duo denied any wrongdoing that would merit their disqualifications.
Fulton County Superior Court judge Scott McAfee set a Feb. 15 hearing on the matter. The DA's office wants the motions dismissed without a hearing. However, Merchant argues the hearing should proceed in Friday's motion.
"Since Willis and Wade were not forthright about their relationship in the first instance, there is no reason to believe they are telling the truth now. These last-minute maneuvers have one purpose — to minimize the fall out," the motion reads.
The relationship
While Wade claimed in an affidavit that the personal relationship with Willis began in 2022, Merchant alleges that she has witnesses who can prove the romance began before Wade's appointment as special prosecutor in November 2021.
One of those witnesses is Terrence Bradley, Wade's former law partner.
Merchant alleges that Bradley learned of the relationship through his friendship with Wade. Bradley briefly represented Wade in his ongoing Cobb County divorce case, but Bradley learned about the romance before an attorney-client relationship was established, Merchant wrote.
Bradley also has personal knowledge that Wade and Willis regularly stayed together at her home until Willis' father moved into the property in 2020, Merchant alleges.
"Bradley has non-privileged, personal knowledge that the romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began prior to Willis being sworn as the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia in January 2021. Thus, Bradley can confirm that Willis contracted with Wade after Wade and Willis began a romantic relationship, thus rebutting Wade’s claim in his affidavit that they did not start dating until 2022," the motion reads.
Merchant also alleges that Bradley knows Willis and Wade stayed together at an apartment in the East Point/Hapeville area of Fulton County.
The apartment was shared by Willis and friend Robin Yeartie, a former DA's office employee. When Yeartie moved out, Willis continued to live there. Willis and Wade stayed at the apartment until Yeartie was terminated from the DA's office in 2022. Willis and Wade then began staying together at a Fulton County safehouse.
Merchant alleges the prosecutors stayed together at both properties regularly.
Both Bradley and Yeartie have been subpoenaed for the Feb. 15 hearing.
Additional travel
Receipts and other financial documents attached to Merchant's motion allegedly show that Wade paid for additional trips that he and Willis took together.
Records previously show that Wade spent thousands of dollars on trips to Aruba, Miami, and Napa Valley. However, Friday's motion purportedly shows that Wade also paid for a trip to the Bahamas at the end of 2022 and a March 2023 trip to Belize.
Wade allegedly spent nearly $3,700 dollars for flights, the cruise, jeep rental and other expenses for the Bahamas trip. In March 2023, Wade allegedly spent more than $3,000 on the Belize trip, according to Merchant's motion. Receipts from the Bahamas cruise show the pair were booked to stay in the same cabin.
It's unclear if Willis repaid Wade for the expenses.
Story continues after court document.
What comes next?
Friday's filing is the latest development in the election interference case.
McAfee, the judge overseeing the criminal proceedings, set a Monday hearing as Yeartie, Wade, and the Fulton County DA's office seek to quash Roman's subpoenas. Roman wants them to testify at the Feb. 15 disqualification hearing.
Willis previously requested an August trial date for Trump and the 14 remaining co-defendants. A trial date has not yet been set.