Prosecutor under pressure
Alleged affair could delay Trump prosecution in Georgia
February 1, 2024, 5:18 a.m
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Former President Trump faces charges in Georgia for his attempts to manipulate the election results in his favor. But now the public prosecutor in charge is involuntarily making the headlines. Trump’s camp accuses her of taking financial advantage through a relationship with a colleague.
In the trial against Donald Trump in the US state of Georgia, the focus is not only on the former president. Now the responsible public prosecutor, Fani Willis, is also confronted with allegations. Lawyers for a co-defendant – Trump’s former campaign aide Mike Roman – accuse her of having a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, one of the other prosecutors in the case. According to Roman’s lawyers, both of them illegally benefited financially because of this relationship. They are therefore not only demanding that Wilis and Wade be removed from the case. They want all charges against their client to be dropped.
The judge responsible for the allegations, Scott McAfee, has scheduled a hearing for mid-February. Roman’s lawyers want to summon Willis and Wade to this appointment. As US media reported, they submitted the corresponding application yesterday. Neither Willis nor Wade have yet commented directly on the allegations – Judge McAfee has given them until Friday to respond to the request.
Campaign worker Roman was charged as one of 18 other defendants alongside former President Trump over attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The Republican had lost to Democrat Joe Biden at the time and tried in various ways to subsequently change the election result – including by putting pressure on political leaders at the federal level and in states such as Georgia. Some of Trump’s former associates entered into a deal with prosecutors after the indictment and pleaded guilty.
The Trump camp has been trying to discredit Willis for a long time
Meanwhile, prosecutor Willis is aiming for a quick start to the trial. It is unclear whether the so far unproven allegations against her and Wade can ultimately shake things up. But the matter is already attracting a lot of attention. The Washington Post and the New York Times, among others, have published research in recent weeks that suggests there could be something to the alleged romantic relationship. Willis in particular, who holds elected office as a Democrat, must now prepare for strong headwinds – there could be a risk of investigations in the Republican-led Georgia legislature.
Willis has already been the victim of various verbal attacks from Trump’s camp in the past. The ex-president also repeatedly aims to undermine the prosecutor’s credibility. On the online platform Truth Social, which he co-founded, he recently portrayed the charges in Georgia as part of a political smear campaign, claiming that Willis and her “lover” were fraudsters. Trump, who is currently fully campaigning for a new presidential candidacy, is trying to delay the start of the several legal proceedings against him as much as possible. Everything currently indicates that there will be a new duel between Trump and incumbent Biden this year.