CNN legal analyst claims Fani Willis prosecutor is not 'qualified’ for Trump case: ‘Looks terrible’
Elie Honig says there is a ‘real potential conflict of interest’ for Willis and Wade to be working on the Georgia election case.
Nathan Wade, a prosecutor accused of having an inappropriate romantic relationship with Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, is not "qualified" to handle the Trump Georgia election case, according to one legal analyst.
Court documents filed earlier this month say Willis hired special prosecutor Wade, her alleged romantic partner, to prosecute former President Trump in Georgia's election interference case. They also allege they benefited financially from the relationship in the form of lavish vacations that the two went on using funds his firm received for working the case.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has scheduled a hearing on the accusations for February 15.
CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig told the network on Monday that the legal issues surrounding the case boil down to money and a potential conflict of interest.
FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ATTEMPTS TO QUASH SUBPOENA RELATED TO ALLEGED MISCONDUCT
CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig said on Monday that the conduct of Fani Willis and Nathan Wade poses a real "conflict of interest." (Photo by David Walter Banks/Getty)
"[Wade's] primary area of practice is personal injury law, not, in my view, qualified to handle a major, complicated racketeering case," Honig said.
Wade was allegedly paid over $650,000 so far in the case. In comparison, two other prosecutors hired to work on the case only received around $70,000 and $90,000, respectively.
"There's a question of—is he working nine times as much as the other folks," Honig said. "The other big problem, though, is there is clearly a relationship of some nature, we don't know exactly between the DA and Mr. Wade and some of that money is being used on travel that the DA is accompanying him on."
He suggested that the money was being used for "personal purposes" and posed a real "conflict of interest."
"At a minimum, it looks terrible, and it raises legitimate questions about the DA," Honig added.
Willis has not confirmed or denied the claim but suggested Wade is being scrutinized because he is Black.
Attorneys for Wade's estranged wife, Joycelyn Wade, filed court documents on Friday that included 2022 bank statements showing purchases of flights to Miami and San Francisco.
GEORGIA TRUMP PROSECUTOR FANI WILLIS FACES HEARING ON ALLEGED MISCONDUCT
Special prosecutor Nathan Wade listens during a motions hearing for former President Donald Trump's election interference case, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 in Atlanta. (Elijah Nouvelage/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
The statements, which were obtained by Fox News, show that Wade bought round-trip tickets for himself and Willis to Miami in October 2022, which also included a third ticket for someone named Clara Bowman on the same day from Houston to Miami. Another round-trip ticket to San Francisco for Wade and Willis was purchased in April 2023, documents show.
Wade's bank statements show more purchases, including two $1,387 and $1,284 payments for a Royal Caribbean cruise, which were made on the same day, October 4, 2022, that Wade bought the airline ticket to Miami in Willis' name. Other expenses between October 2022 and May 2023 were for Atlanta tour operator Vacation Express, the Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort and the Norwegian Cruise Line, and for the DoubleTree by Hilton Napa Valley – American Canyon.
Joycelyn Wade's attorneys, who seek to have Willis deposed for her divorce from Nathan Wade, argued that there "appears to be no reasonable explanation for their travels apart from a romantic relationship."
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Willis has been subpoenaed to give a pretrial deposition in the divorce case on January 23, but in a Thursday court filing, she argued that the subpoena should be quashed. Her attorney, Cinque Axam, has argued that Joycelyn Wade has "conspired with interested parties in the criminal Election Interference Case to use the civil discovery process to annoy, embarrass, and oppress District Attorney Willis."
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.