Judge unveils Trump prosecutor’s divorce papers in Georgia

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — A judge on Monday ordered the release of court documents in the divorce involving a special prosecutor hired in the election case against Donald Trump and others and accused of having an affair with the Fulton district attorney County. Fani Willis, available.

But newly released court documents contain no reference to the affair allegations that have rocked the case in which Trump and 18 allies are accused of working to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state.

The judge ordered the divorce proceedings involving special prosecutor Nathan Wade thrown out after an attorney filed a motion alleging an improper relationship between Willis and Wade. The judge also postponed a final decision on whether Willis should be questioned in the divorce proceedings, but postponed her testimony, which was scheduled for Tuesday.

Willis has defended her appointment of Wade, who has little experience as a prosecutor, and has not directly denied a romantic relationship. She has accused Wade’s estranged wife of trying to hinder her case against Trump and others in election interference by questioning her in the couple’s divorce proceedings.

The affair allegations threaten to embroil the prosecution as the Republican primary candidate and others use the claims to attack the case and Wade’s qualifications as a prosecutor. Trump pleaded not guilty, denied any wrongdoing and called the charges politically motivated.

Open image modal Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks at the Fulton County Government Center during a press conference on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Willis was subpoenaed to testify in the divorce case on the same day that attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents former Trump campaign aide and former White House adviser Michael Roman, filed a motion earlier this month alleging a romantic relationship between Willis. Wading.

Documents filed with the court show that Wade purchased airline tickets on Willis’ behalf, and Joycelyn Wade’s attorney argued that there appears to be “no reasonable explanation for her travels other than a romantic relationship.” Joycelyn Wade’s attorney, Andrea Dyer Hastings, told the judge Monday that he believes Willis has “unique personal knowledge” regarding the divorce case and should be questioned.

“She tries to hide under the shield of her position,” Hastings said of Willis.

Cinque Axam, an attorney for Willis, said the question before the court is how to divide the marital assets, and determining how to do that has nothing to do with Willis, who does not share accounts with Nathan Wade and I can do this too I have no control over how he spends his money.

During a brief hearing in Cobb County Superior Court, Judge Henry Thompson said he could not decide whether Willis should testify in the divorce proceedings until Wade himself was questioned later this month. In ruling that court documents in the divorce case should be made public, he said a previous judge had wrongly closed the case without holding a hearing.

Joycelyn Wade’s attorney wrote in the court filings Friday that since filing for divorce, Nathan Wade has taken trips to San Francisco and Napa Valley, Florida, Belize, Panama and Australia, as well as cruises in the Caribbean, and that Willis “has planned at least one .” Some of these trips are followed by the flights he bought for her to accompany him.

The file contains credit card statements showing that Nathan Wade — after being hired as special prosecutor — purchased plane tickets for him and Willis to travel to Miami in October 2022 and purchased tickets to San Francisco on their behalf in April.

It is one of four cases Trump faces in his fight to return to the White House. Prosecutors are using a law commonly associated with gangsters to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep him in power. Four people have already pleaded guilty in the Georgia election case after reaching deals with prosecutors. The remaining fifteen, including Trump and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have pleaded not guilty.

Richer reported from Boston.

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