Fani Willis paid Nathan Wade from Forfeited Property Fund: Attorney

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis paid the lead prosecutor in former President Donald Trump’s election fraud trial from a confiscated property fund during her first three months in office, her lawyer said in court documents and the Georgia Senate. argued at the committee.

Ashley Merchant, an attorney for 2020 Trump campaign staffer and co-defendant Michael Roman, said in court documents that Nathan Wade’s compensation for his first three months as special counsel will be paid before being paid out of the general fund. He said it was being paid from the district attorney’s seized property fund. .

He reiterated that claim at a Georgia Senate Special Investigations Committee hearing on Wednesday, adding accusations that other special prosecutors’ fees were initially paid out of seized property funds.

A spokesperson for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office vehemently denied it. newsweek On Wednesday, it was announced that Mr. Wade was paid from the foreclosed real estate fund.

Willis and Wade, who previously testified in February that they were in a relationship, were hired to oversee the prosecution of Trump and an accomplice accused of trying to overturn Georgia’s results of the 2020 presidential election. It alleges that the relationship began after Mr. Willis hired him. .

Both men denied in testimony that they tried to cover up their relationship until Wade was hired to prosecute the Trump case.

Even though Wade had never been charged with a felony, he earned an average monthly salary of $25,149 for the first 26 months on the case. newsweek When I looked at his bill,

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges against him and said the case is politically motivated because he is the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

According to invoices and labor contracts disclosed to Trump’s co-accused, Michael Roman, Wade earned more than $31,000 a month from July 2023 to November 2023, and for the past two years. is shown to have earned $250 an hour.

Bills for 2024 are not yet available.

Willis and Wade are under new pressure after Georgia prosecutors have offered to testify against her.

Last month, Willis gave evidence at a two-day hearing following accusations by Merchant that she had an affair with Wade. Mr. Merchant also claimed that the two men benefited financially from taxpayers’ money.

The timeline of their relationship has emerged as a major point of contention, with Merchant saying it started earlier than the two have admitted. Trump’s lawyers examined phone records showing the two were dating before the Georgia election fraud scandal began.

newsweek Two attorneys from Willis’ office were contacted for comment via email on Tuesday. newsweek It also emailed lawyers for Wade and Donald Trump on Tuesday seeking comment.

Invoices released by Willis’ office show Wade earned a total of $653,881 in the case from Nov. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2023.

Willis’ monthly invoices list Wade’s title as “special prosecutor against corruption.”

Wade’s monthly bill increased to more than $30,000 a month in 2022 and has remained at about that level ever since.

Willis paid Wade $35,250 in July 2023 at a rate of $250 an hour, according to recent invoices obtained by Roman’s attorneys through an open records request.

This includes 33 hours of “team meetings, drafting” (totaling $8,250) and 32 hours of “team discussion and preparation” (totaling $8,000).

The “out-of-state travel and witness questioning” lasted 18 hours and cost a total of $4,500.

Mr. Wade earned $35,000 in August 2023. September is $34,250. $37,000 in October. It fell to $16,000 in November, and the average from July to November was $31,500.

Cobb County, Georgia, Cobb County District Attorney’s Office Co-Chief Deputy District Attorney Cindy Lee Yeager said in a court filing Monday that attorney Terrence Bradley told her that the relationship between Willis and Wade began earlier than they claim. said that it was

Ms. Yeager claimed that Bradley had told her in the past that Wade and Willis met in 2019, developed a romantic relationship, and that Willis told Bradley to keep it quiet.

Mr. Wade and Mr. Willis have strongly denied any wrongdoing, and Mr. Willis said at an Atlanta church service in January that he and Mr. Wade were victims of racism by Mr. Trump and his supporters. Ta.

Updated 03/06/24, 5:15 PM ET: This article has been updated to include Mr. Merchant’s claims at the Georgia Senate hearing and the denial of Mr. Merchant’s claims by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. I did.