Under Fire Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is accused of paying one of her special prosecutors $100 less per hour than her less qualified alleged lover, Nathan Wade.
Court records show Wade billed the Fulton district attorney’s office $250 per hour for its work prosecuting Donald Trump and 18 others on state racial organizing charges for interference in the 2020 election in November and December 2021, despite having no experience in that area of the law.
Meanwhile, John Floyd, considered the state’s leading expert on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) cases, was only making $150 an hour in those same months, according to a contract obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The revelation comes a day after Willis, accused last week of having a “clandestine” personal relationship with Wade in documents that requested they both be dismissed from the case, said she treated the three special prosecutors she hired equally.
Speaking at a local church service on Sunday, he said: “I appointed three special councils, as is my right to do, and paid them all the same hourly rate.”
Fani Willis (center) and Nathan Wade (right) have been accused in a court filing of misconduct. fake images
The third special prosecutor, Anna Cross, was paid $250 an hour in 2022, according to the Daily Caller, which also notes that agreements made between Fulton County and Floyd after April 2022 may have been at a higher rate. high, but were not immediately available. . Calls to Willis’ office on Monday said it was closed for the government holiday.
A representative for Floyd’s office declined to comment, but noted that the three attorneys had joined the case at different times and brought different areas of expertise to the case.
Willis accused his critics of racism and said they had singled out Wade as the only black prosecutor he hired.
Speaking at Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta on Sunday, he said: “I hired a black man, another superstar, a great friend and a great lawyer… The first thing they say is, ‘oh, now she’s going to play the card racial'”.
“But no God, aren’t they the ones playing the race card when they only question one?”
Nathan Wade listens as prosecutor Daysha Young presents arguments in the case against Donald Trump in Georgia ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Michael Roman, the defendant who first alleged that Willis and Wade were in a relationship, quickly responded.
“The biggest difference between Ms. Cross, Mr. Floyd and Mr. Wade is that Ms. Willis is not in a relationship with Ms. Cross and Mr. Floyd,” he told the Atlanta Constitution-Journal on Sunday.
Roman’s filing claimed Wade used money earned working the case to take Willis on vacation to Napa Valley and the Caribbean.
“Willis and Wade were romantically involved before Willis awarded a contract for legal services to Wade,” the document states, although it offered no evidence to prove it.
In that regard, Wade’s past stance on conflicts of interest has raised eyebrows.
Wade was seen outside his law office after the scandal broke, but has yet to comment on the matter. Ben Hendren for the New York Post
He appeared to take a firm stance when asked at a candidate forum sponsored by the Cobb County NAACP when a judge should recuse himself from a case.
“If there is an appearance, just a mere appearance of impropriety, and there is a request for recusal, just do it, because by not doing it, what you are doing is hurting the county in the long run, it is costing the taxpayers a lot of money,” Wade said in 2016, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
Wade was referring to Cobb County Superior Court Judge Reuben Green, whom he has challenged for his seat on multiple occasions after he was accused of having conflicts of interest that led to ethics complaints.
Wade also alleged at the time to then-Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue (R). He appointed Green to the position in 2010 because he was married to one of the governor’s top aides.
Wade was paid $100 an hour more than another prosecutor in Willis’ office. fake images
Green, a former state and federal prosecutor, has previously denied Wade’s claims.
Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the Georgia election interference case, said in court Friday that he hopes to hold a hearing on Wade and Willis’ relationship allegations in early February.
Trump and Roman have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The case has not yet been scheduled for trial.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn