House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan issued a subpoena to Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis on Friday, demanding she turn over documents that could pertain to her affair with the man she hired to be her lead prosecutor. of Donald Trump.
Willis, a Democrat elected in Fulton County, Georgia, admitted to the relationship with Nathan Wade in court papers filed Friday by her office, after previously refusing to voluntarily share records with Congress, citing “well-recognized confidentiality interests related to an ongoing criminal matter.” .”
The matter was first alleged in court papers on Jan. 8 by Trump’s co-defendant, Michael Roman, who said Willis had an obvious conflict of interest in the case.
Willis’ office has paid Wade, a private practice attorney, $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Wade allegedly used some of the winnings to take Willis on lavish vacations, including trips to California and Miami.
The alleged affair threatens to delay or even thwart the prosecution of the former president for challenging the results of the 2020 election.
The trial was expected to begin in April, as Trump, 77, seeks to secure the Republican nomination for a rematch against President Biden.
Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis (left) hired her alleged lover, Nathan Wade (right), to prosecute former President Donald Trump. REUTERS
The congressional subpoena issued Friday, unlike previous voluntary records requests, does not specifically seek documents about Wade, but is written broadly enough to cover possible documents on the matter.
Jordan (R-Ohio) demanded “all documents and communications that refer to or relate to the receipt and use of federal funds by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office” and “all documents and communications that refer to or relate to any allegation of misuse of federal funds.”
Meanwhile, in Georgia, Willis’ office ultimately approved Roman’s motion to dismiss criminal charges against him based on conflict of interest allegations, a motion to which Trump and at least one other of the remaining 14 co-defendants They have joined since then.
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“In 2022, District Attorney Willis and I developed a personal relationship in addition to our professional partnership and friendship,” Wade said in an affidavit.
“I have no financial interest in the outcome of the 2020 election interference case or the conviction of any defendant. “No funds paid to me in compensation for my role as Special Prosecutor have been shared with or provided to District Attorney Willis.”
Willis reportedly has no plans to recuse himself from the case.
There is a hearing set in the Fulton County criminal case for February 15, where Willis and Wade have been subpoenaed by Roman to testify.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan subpoenaed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. AP
Wade’s divorce case also came to light when Wade’s ex-wife, Joycelyn, claimed that Nathan was spending money on Willis while giving the wife a paltry monthly payment.
Joycelyn Wade sought Willis’ testimony in the divorce case, but that request was disputed when Joycelyn and Nathan reached a last-minute temporary agreement a day before Nathan was scheduled to testify in court, likely about the matter.
Trump faces three other criminal cases, but the Georgia prosecution was widely considered the most troubling because the Peach State’s governor is not the state’s top clemency official and the board that considers such requests does so only after they have been The punishments have been served, that is, if Trump was sentenced to prison, he would have to serve the entire sentence.
Wade and Willis have not denied having an affair. Ben Hendren for the New York Post
If Trump is convicted in federal cases for hoarding national security documents in Miami or for trying to stay in office after his 2020 election loss in Washington, he could pardon himself if he regains the presidency.
He is believed to face a lower risk of prison in a Manhattan case involving alleged falsification of business records related to the 2016 hush payments.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn