ATLANTA — Nathan Wade has been on the hot seat as he faces relationship and misconduct allegations relating to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, bringing his divorce case into the spotlight.
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman’s lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, filed a motion accusing Willis and special prosecutor Wade of engaging in “a personal, romantic relationship that has ultimately yielded substantial income to the special prosecutor."
On Thursday, Willis and Wade took the stand where they testified in a hearing to disqualify them both from the historic 2020 Trump election interference case. Willis' testimony was rather heated as she called some of the allegations made by Attorney Merchant "lies."
RELATED: Fulton County DA Fani Willis fires back at misconduct claims that threaten future of Trump case
The allegations --which both Willis and Wade admitted to having a personal relationship --joins the latest effort for Trump's attorneys to throw out the Georgia case entirely as he faces other cases while he tries to campaign for the 2024 presidential election.
Who is Nathan Wade?
Wade is a key special prosecutor and attorney in the Trump 2020 election interference case where the former president and 18 others face several charges, including violation of the RICO Act.
On Thursday, Willis explained how Wade was employed by the county. Wade also told the judge and attorneys during his testimony that he has his own private practice, Wade and Campbell Firm.
Public records from Fulton County suggest Wade was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the other special prosecutors on the case. Fulton County records show the DA’s office paid The Law Offices of Nathan J. Wade approximately $653,880.
Before he was asked to join the Trump case in 2021, he tried cases in personal injury, family law and mainly criminal defense cases, according to his practice's website.
His private practice profile paints him as a "skilled negotiator." It also states he was an associate municipal court judge and a state court judge before joining the high-profile case.
According to the State of Georgia Bar, Wade graduated from John Marshall Law School and has been admitted to the practice of law since 1999.
The latest allegations threw his divorce case with Jocelyn Wade into the public eye after the relationship between him and Willis came to light. Nathan Wade testified on Thursday that his marriage was long broken before his and Willis' relationship.
This isn't the first time Wade has made headlines after his conduct has been called into question.
In a 2020 lawsuit, Wade testified that he kept no written records during a five-month period where he was supposedly leading a third-party investigation of jail deaths in Cobb County.
Re-watch Nathan Wade's full testimony in the motion disqualification hearing below.