ATLANTA — As the special prosecutor helping to lead the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump is under mounting scrutiny, records show Nathan Wade’s conduct was called into question years earlier when he admitted in court that he “destroyed” notes.
Wade has faced an increasingly bright spotlight after Ashleigh Merchant (no relation to the author of this report), a defense attorney representing Michael Roman in the 2020 election case, filed a motion accusing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Wade of engaging in “an improper, clandestine personal relationship.”
It is important to note: the filing did not provide concrete evidence in support of its allegations.
However, Wade’s conduct has been questioned before.
Following a series of inmate deaths within the Cobb County Jail, 11Alive filed an open records request in 2020 to better understand the circumstances surrounding the in-custody deaths. Specifically, 11Alive sought the “complete criminal and internal affairs case files” pertaining to three Cobb County inmates.
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The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office declined to release the records, despite the fact that their attorney acknowledged two of the files “were previously released to members of the public,” according to court records from the time.
Their reasoning? The cases had been “reopened” as part of a broader investigation by “an independent law firm” into inmate deaths, according to an email from a Cobb County attorney included in a court filing.
Nathan Wade’s law firm was asked to conduct this “third-party review,” according to a court filing on behalf of then-Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren. An affidavit from then-Chief Deputy Sonya Allen said the firm “offered to conduct the review” for free.
Under Georgia law, open investigations are generally exempt from disclosure required under the Open Records Act.
But 11Alive reporting at the time raised questions about the authenticity of the investigation and 11Alive attorneys filed suit to release the records.
In one filing, Sheriff Warren’s attorney wrote that over the course of about five months, “both Nathan Wade and his law partner” had “met with numerous staff members and inmates and reviewed hundreds of files.” According to the document, “the estimated time for completion of the review [was] mid-October.”
That document was filed October 9, 2020. At a hearing three days later, Wade said as of the time of the hearing, he had no records of his investigation.
11Alive attorney Derek Bauer asked: “You do not have a single record in your possession that’s associated with the review and assessment that you’ve been engaged to undertake?”
“I do not,” Wade responded.
He said his law firm didn’t have any either.
When pressed, Wade said he had created work product, “just not in the form of documents, communications, or records memorializing, reflecting evidence, or relating to the work.”
11Alive’s attorney asked what that work product was. Wade said he kept it in his mind.
“I have obviously my brainchild, what’s going on in my mind about it,” said Wade. “That’s what I have.”
On the occasions when Wade did take paper notes on interviews, he said he destroyed them.
“Got done with it, destroyed it, and walked out,” said Wade.
In an order ruling in favor of 11Alive and compelling the Cobb Sheriff’s Office to release many of the initially-requested case files, Cobb County Superior Court Judge A. Gregory Poole dismissed all claims against Wade after finding that “there is no evidence that defendant Wade possesses any documents or other materials subject to the Open Records Act request.”
But Judge Pool also noted Wade had “not produced any reports or other documentation of his review” and had “no timetable for compiling and releasing a report.”
Calls to Nathan Wade’s law office and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office seeking comment for this story were unreturned as of the time of publication.