Former Trump Atlanta trial prosecutor defends relationship with Fani Willis: ‘Workplace relationships are as American as apple pie’

The relationship between Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis and former State’s Attorney Nathan Wade “grew organically over time,” he told Joy Reid in The ReidOut Wednesday evening. “It was something that was neither deliberate nor intentional. I said earlier that workplace romances are as American as apple pie, right? It was not a question of taking the situation lightly. It was just to say that this could happen to anyone.

“It’s a thing that happened to us,” Wade said, describing the matter in a passive voice. “I felt like we handled the issue professionally. We kept our personal lives personal and private, and I still believe that had no place in the courtroom, not now or then.

Wade insisted the two men’s relationship was strictly professional when he joined the case on November 1, 2021, the same day he filed for divorce from his ex-wife, who alleged that Wade had used “marital funds” to “entertain” Willis and attempted to subpoena him. the prosecutor in the divorce case.

After Reid acknowledged that “workplace romances happen,” Wade explained, “I had to be clear that when the relationship began, my then-wife was not home, she had moved to Texas and we had been separated for a while. time.”

“We didn’t have a relationship. She knew and I knew, by agreement, that as soon as our youngest child graduated from high school and enrolled in college, we would then officially file for divorce,” he added.

He and Willis did not enter into their relationship lightly given the high-profile nature of the state’s lawsuit against Donald Trump, Wade continued. He said: “She and I have had conversations about it. When we felt like the relationship was going to become a potential problem for our work, we sat down and had a conversation and we did what was necessary to protect the sanctity of the matter.

Judge McAfee concluded that the affair between Willis and Wade did not meet the criteria for a conflict of interest, but he criticized Willis for “unprofessional” behavior and “a huge error of judgment”, and said that the relationship gave his office “a significant appearance of impropriety.” .” He ordered Wade to resign on the condition that he not fire Willis.

Since his resignation, Wade has told Reid that he has to “empty my voicemail three to four times a day, and he has to have a security guard at my office.”

“I love, love, love my fraternity brothers, Alpha Phi Alpha. I love them. They offered to send armed guards to protect me just so I could get some sleep. And it is absolutely necessary,” he continued. “These people were doing unimaginable things. There were times when I had to call my parents to make sure they weren’t changing my name and I didn’t know anything about it.

“My children couldn’t come and visit me because of the danger they were in. But these threats are real.

The revelation of the Wade and Willis affair surprised and angered many, including the women of “The View,” who feared the information could help Trump delay the trial until after the 2024 presidential election. Personally, I’m upset about it,” Alyssa Farah Griffin said in January.

“It’s the case of her life, it’s a high-profile RICO case, it’s a tough case – I think she actually has what she needs to prove this case – but one of my best friends, Cassidy Hutchinson, spent months in Atlanta protected by the United States marshals to testify for this case, “she continued. “And now everything could fall apart because of these allegations. irregularities.”

The case also dominated parts of Willis’ testimony in the case itself. Trump’s co-defendant, Michael Roman, accused Willis of benefiting financially from the relationship with Wade, which both sides have denied.

Watch Nathan Wade’s interview in the video above.