Fani Willis, the District Attorney of Fulton County, had been relentlessly pursuing former President Donald Trump, but now she finds herself facing scrutiny.
Financial documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation suggest that Willis failed to disclose an airline ticket purchased for her by Nathan Wade, who is both her alleged lover and a prosecutor involved in the case against Trump.
“Willis did not disclose any gifts from Wade on her annual Income and Financial Disclosure Report for 2022, which requires the disclosure of any gift or favor above $100 from a ‘prohibited source’ — such as anyone ‘doing business with the county.’
Willis hired Wade as a special prosecutor on the election interference case against former President Donald Trump. Willis was recently accused of being Wade’s lover and inappropriately benefiting from lucrative contracts her office had given him,” The Daily Caller reported.
According to bank statements presented in a court filing, it is revealed that Wade bought a ticket for Willis to travel to Miami at a cost of $477 in October 2022. Additionally, on the very same day as the airline ticket purchase, he made payments of $1,387 and $1,284 to Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.
“The bottom line is, that’s why we have these forms,” Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration, said to The Daily Caller News Foundation. He said that they are meant to disclose “exactly these kinds of conflicts of interest.”
“She needs to give an explanation as to why it wasn’t on the form,” he said.
“Wade’s contract with the district attorney’s office started on Nov. 1, 2021, and he filed to divorce his wife the next day. He has earned nearly $654,000 from the district attorney’s office since 2022, according to county data,” the report said.
“Filling out the disclosure form is required for all elected officials under the Fulton County Code of Ethics The form requires disclosure of ‘each gift or favor from a single prohibited source in the aggregate amount of $100.00 or more,’” it said.
According to former White House Counsel Courtney Kramer, Willis may find herself in a difficult situation due to her failure to disclose these gifts, as reported by The Daily Caller.
“If she’s found to have intentionally lied on those forms, that’s not just an ethics violation,” she said.
According to former White House Counsel Courtney Kramer, Willis may find herself in a difficult situation due to her failure to disclose these gifts, as reported by The Daily Caller.
Philip Holloway, an Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney and legal analyst, was interviewed by The Daily Caller News Foundation. During the interview, he highlighted that these gifts further contribute to a mounting list of matters that Willis must clarify.
“If a senior Fulton County official accepts prohibited gifts from a contractor who does business with Fulton County or who hopes to in the future, not only is it wrong to accept such a gift, it is, of course, wrong to fail to disclose it on the required financial disclosure forms,” the attorney said.
“This ethics rule is designed to prevent kickbacks,” he said. “In my view, it is extremely reckless for an elected official to engage in any kind of nepotism, but it is especially reckless if such official is personally enriched by virtue of nepotism.”
According to The Washington Post, the judge overseeing the case against former President Donald Trump on election fraud charges has now ordered an investigation into alleged misconduct by the lead prosecutor and the judge herself.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee set a deadline of February 2 for District Attorney Willis to respond to these accusations.
If these allegations are addressed in televised court proceedings, it could potentially harm her political career and impact her ongoing case against Trump and his co-defendants.
Additionally, Willis has filed a motion to prevent her testimony in the divorce case involving Wade, who is reportedly her lover.
