ATLANTA — Newly unsealed divorce records offered few details and no further proof that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and a special prosecutor in the 2020 election interference case were allegedly engaged in an improper romantic relationship and misused taxpayer dollars.
Records submitted in special prosecutor Nathan Wade's ongoing divorce proceedings allege that he purchased airline tickets for Willis to San Francisco and Miami, among other items. Wade also paid for hotels and cruises around the same time, but it's unclear if Willis was with him.
Records unsealed by Cobb County Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson Monday offered no further details about the alleged travel. Instead, the documents show frustration from Wade's estranged wife, Joycelyn Wade, over his failure to provide required documents.
Nathan Wade, whose website touts his experience in family and domestic law, was found in contempt for failing to turn over records in his own divorce case.
The ruling came three days after a Fulton County grand jury indicted former president Donald Trump and 18 others over alleged election crimes. An attempt to contact Wade before publication went unreturned.
Mike Roman, a defendant in the election case, seeks to have Willis, Wade and the district attorney's office disqualified from that criminal case. Two court hearings in the next few weeks may offer further details about the alleged romance.
The fallout may impact the Trump prosecution.
"I can say with 100% confidence that this issue is going to get this case off track." said Clark Cunningham, a Georgia State University College of Law professor who has followed the case closely. "It already has. ...Even if the motion to disqualify isn't granted, there's a very, very good chance that it's going to be appealed. And the appeal is going to slow it up."
The unsealed divorce records
Outside of last week's bank statements, hundreds of unsealed pages reviewed by 11Alive showed no further signs that Wade and Willis may be romantically linked.
Nathan Wade and Joycelyn Wade were married June 21, 1997. The pair separated Aug. 15, 2021, and Nathan Wade filed for divorce on Nov. 2, 2021 — one day after Willis appointed him special prosecutor.
In multiple filings over the next two years, Joycelyn Wade expressed concern that Nathan Wade failed to turn over required documents as part of discovery in the divorce case.
"Mr. Wade has demonstrated a pattern of willful refusal to participate in the discovery process," Shantanece Ellis, an attorney representing Joycelyn Ellis, wrote to Nathan Wade's then-lawyer, Terrence Bradley, in an April 2022 letter. "We look forward to working with you during the pendency of this case."
Thompson ordered Nathan Wade to provide all outstanding documents, including tax records, pay stubs, and other related records, to his estranged wife in May 2023. According to court documents, Nathan Wade provided some but not all of the required records in June 2023.
Thompson found Nathan Wade in contempt on Aug. 17 2023, ordering him to turn over several credit card statements and records from his law firm.
In September 2023, Joycelyn Wade filed a motion to reopen discovery in the case. She said she recently learned that Nathan Wade was appointed as a special prosecutor in the Trump case and alleged that he provided no proof of his income from the role.
The order was granted.
11Alive previously reported that the Fulton District Attorney's Office paid Wade's law practice more than $650,000 in 2022 and 2023 — roughly $500,000 more than other special prosecutors on the case.
"The question is: was he aware that these bank records could be a bombshell? And therefore was trying to avoid as long as possible producing them. But we don't know that for a fact," Cunningham, an expert on legal ethics, said. "It is puzzling that someone who is an attorney ... would be in contempt and wouldn't be complying with court orders. But I don't know enough about the context of the case to really make a judgement."
The flights and credit card statement
11Alive previously reported on Nathan Wade's credit card statements that allegedly show he traveled with Willis to Miami and San Francisco.
The purported credit card statements from 2022 and 2023 showing that he paid for an $800 dollar flight to San Francisco and a roughly $500 flight to Miami in the name of "Fani Willis."
American Airlines flight receipts reviewed by 11Alive show that Willis and Nathan Wade flew from Atlanta to Miami on the same early morning flight on Oct. 28, 2022, and they returned to Atlanta on the same Nov. 4 evening flight. Nathan Wade and Willis flew from Atlanta to San Francisco on Delta Airlines last year, the credit card records allegedly show. 11Alive was unable to obtain the Delta receipts.
The credit card expenses allegedly show that Nathan Wade also paid for two Royal Caribbean cruises shortly before purchasing the Miami flight tickets.
Wade also allegedly spent more than $800 at a Doubletree Hotel in Napa Valley shortly after purchasing the San Francisco plane tickets in April 2023. 11Alive was unable to independently verify these purchases.
What comes next? And what does it mean for the case?
Two key court hearings have been set for the coming weeks.
Thompson set a Jan. 31 hearing in the Wades' Cobb County divorce case, and Nathan Wade may give sworn testimony during the hearing.
Joycelyn Wade's lawyer said she expects Nathan Wade to testify next week.
"It wouldn't matter who she is or what position she holds. If she's having an affair with my client's husband and he's spending my client's money on that relationship, I'm going to find out about it," attorney Andrea Hastings told 11Alive Monday.
Nathan Wade's testimony could determine if Willis will be forced to answer questions about the alleged romance under oath. Thompson temporarily blocked a subpoena against Willis during a Monday court hearing, saying he wanted hear from Nathan Wade first.
"I will stay the deposition until I'm in a better position to make a determination of whether (Willis) would have any unique knowledge ... that is not possessed by Mr. Wade himself," Thompson said.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee set a Feb. 15 hearing in the election interference case regarding the allegations against Wade and Willis.
Attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who is representing Trump codefendant Mike Roman, first made the allegations about a romance between the prosecutors earlier this month. She seeks to disqualify them and have the case thrown out.
"The district attorney and the special prosecutor have been engaged in an improper, clandestine personal relationship during the pendency of this case, which has resulted in the special prosecutor, and, in turn, the district attorney, profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers," a portion of the motion reads. "Accordingly, the district attorney and the special prosecutor have violated laws regulating the use of public monies, suffer from irreparable conflicts of interest, and have violated their oaths of office under the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct and should be disqualified from prosecuting this matter."
The Fulton County District Attorney's Office has until Feb. 2 to respond to Merchant's motion.
Cunningham told 11Alive that Willis' response and additional information from Roman's legal team will be key in determining if the Fulton DA's office is disqualified in the case.
In evaluating the motion to disqualify the prosecutors, Cunningham said Judge McAfee will have to determine whether Willis has lost her ability to objectively pursue the case. Such a finding, the ethics expert said, would require significant proof.
"I'm not saying they can, but if they make that case that this is really a kind of a scheme for them to make money — you know Mr. Wade's made over $600,000 at this point — well they clearly have a financial stake in the prosecution and she's going to be disqualified," Cunningham said.
But he cautioned that the evidence currently known to the public does not support such a finding.
"We're not there yet," Cunningham said.
Yet, after seeking the purported bank records released Friday, Cunningham said Willis should take personal leave for the duration of the election interference case, and a career attorney should take over the office during Willis' leave.
Cunningham said it doesn't necessarily mean that Willis did anything wrong, but it would prevent possible delays in the case.
"Fani Willis, for the good of the case and the good of the public, should step away right now," Cunningham said. "Let the career attorney decide whether to keep Nathan Wade on the job. If (they) terminate Nathan Wade's contract, then the motion to disqualify goes away.