*Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has received support from a group of attorneys and ethics experts in her battle to remain involved with Donald Trump’s election interference case.
Willis is catching heat amid allegations she had an affair with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the case.
Per NBC News, “In the court filing, 17 signatories argued that the allegations Willis benefitted financially from a personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade do not constitute grounds for removal,” the outlet writes.
We reported earlier via CNN that Willis and Wade both acknowledge in court papers that they have a “personal” relationship but strongly pushed back on claims that she financially benefitted from hiring him.
Willis is spearheading the Georgia criminal case against former President Trump and his allies over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Wade acknowledged in an affidavit that in 2022, he and Willis “developed a personal relationship in addition to our professional association and friendship.”
Wade denied that his earnings on the case have been “shared with or provided to” Willis.
As NBC News reports, 17 ethics experts, former prosecutors, and defense attorneys filed a 25-page court briefing on Monday arguing that Wade and Willis’s relationship is irrelevant to the Trump case.
In the filing, they wrote, “Disqualifying conflicts occur when a prosecutor’s previous representation of a defendant gives the prosecutor forbidden access to confidential information about the defendant or a conflict otherwise directly impacts fairness and due process owed a defendant.”
“That kind of conflict is not at issue here,” the group said, per NBC News.
“Defendants have not shown that their constitutional rights were violated or that these proceedings were rendered fundamentally unfair due to any relationship between DA Willis and Wade,” the group stated.
“I don’t think Fani Willis did enough to get disqualified,” Matthew Mangino, a former district attorney in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, told Newsweek. “There doesn’t appear to be a conflict of interest or any forensic wrongdoing. With that said, at a minimum Nathan Wade should step down. Although the mere appearance of a conflict [of] interest is not enough—this issue has created a distraction.”
The coalition of attorneys and ethics experts is calling for the dismissal of motions alleging Willis acted improperly.
*This article contains additional reporting from CNN.
READ MORE: Fani Willis Admits to Personal Relationship with Lead Prosecutor in Trump Case | WATCH
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
