Fani Willis probed over alleged misuse of funds for Nathan Wade trips

The head of the Fulton County Board of Commissioner’s audit committee on Friday demanded that District Attorney Fani Willis provide information related to her appointment of Nathan Wade as special prosecutor in the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump. 

The request by Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis is part of a probe into the potential “misuse” of taxpayer funds as a result of Wade’s appointment by Willis while the two were engaged in an alleged affair.

“Separate from any potential inquiry by the State of Georgia, this situation requires confirmation of whether County funds provided for the operation of your office and its prosecutorial function were used in an appropriate manner, and whether any payments of County funds to Mr. Wade were converted to your personal gain in the form of subsidized travel or other gifts,” Ellis’s letter to Willis, obtained by the Washington Post, states.

Lawyers for the special prosecutor’s estranged wife, Jocelyn Wade, presented the Cobb County Superior Court with bank records, as part of divorce proceedings, that allegedly show that Nathan Wade purchased tickets for himself and Willis to fly to San Francisco and Miami together, as well as a $2,600 Royal Caribbean cruise package. 

The purchases suggest that Wade has used at least some of the $654,000 he’s been paid by Fulton County as part of his work on the Trump case to lavish Willis with gifts, according to Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, who brought the affair allegations to light in a bombshell court filing earlier this month. 

Ellis requests that Willis provide his audit committee with the contracts or service agreements she’s made with special prosecutors on the Trump case; invoices for services, fees and expenses; information about the methods she used for determining the hourly rate she pays her special prosecutors; and information on why hourly pay might differ between special prosecutors, among other requests. 

Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) alleged in a letter to the Georgia State Bar earlier this week that Willis pays Wade “78.57% more than other attorneys appointed to cases” and raised doubts about special prosecutor’s qualifications to handle the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case against Trump and his co-defendants.

“That represents an exorbitant salary for someone who apparently has no experience in litigating RICO cases,” Mills argued. “Once again, there is a clear and compelling conclusion that can be drawn from this, if proven to be true: Wade was paid more because of his sexual relationship with the DA.” 

Ellis asks that Willis provide the information to his committee by Feb. 2.