Current:Home > StocksJudge orders the unsealing of divorce case of Trump special prosecutor in Georgia accused of affair -AssetLink
Judge orders the unsealing of divorce case of Trump special prosecutor in Georgia accused of affair
View
Date:2025-04-12 18:18:09
MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — A judge on Monday ordered court records to be made public in the divorce involving a special prosecutor hired in the election case against Donald Trump and others and accused of having an affair with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The judge ordered the unsealing of the divorce involving special prosecutor Nathan Wade after a request brought by a defense attorney who alleges Wade is in an inappropriate relationship with Willis. The judge also put off a final decision on whether Willis will have to sit for questioning in the divorce case, but delayed her deposition that had been scheduled for Tuesday.
Willis has defended her hiring of Wade, who has little prosecutorial experience, and has not directly denied a romantic relationship. Willis has accused Wade’s estranged wife of trying to obstruct her criminal election interference case against Trump and others by seeking to question her in the couple’s divorce proceedings.
Willis was served with the subpoena to sit for a deposition in the divorce case the day that defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents former Trump campaign staffer and onetime White House aide Michael Roman, filed a motion alleging the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade.
Joycelyn Wade’s attorney has filed court documents showing Wade bought plane tickets in Willis’ name, arguing there “appears to be no reasonable explanation for their travels apart from a romantic relationship.”
The affair allegations have roiled the case, which charges Trump and 18 allies of working to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. Trump and others have seized on the allegations to attack the case and Wade’s qualifications as a prosecutor.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the charges politically motivated.
During a brief hearing in the Cobb County Superior Court, Judge Henry Thompson said he can’t rule on whether Willis should have to sit for a deposition in the divorce case until after Wade himself is questioned later this month.
A lawyer for Joycelyn Wade wrote in court papers filed Friday that Nathan Wade has taken trips to San Francisco and Napa Valley, Florida, Belize, Panama and Australia and has taken Caribbean cruises since filing for divorce and that Willis “was an intended travel partner for at least some of these trips as indicated by flights he purchased for her to accompany him.”
The filing includes credit card statements that show Nathan Wade — after he had been hired as special prosecutor — bought plane tickets in October 2022 for him and Willis to travel to Miami and bought tickets in April to San Francisco in their names.
It’s one of four cases Trump is facing as he vies to return to the White House. Prosecutors are using a statute normally associated with mobsters to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep him in power.
Four people have already pleaded guilty in the Georgia election case after reaching deals with prosecutors. The remaining 15, including Trump nd former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have pleaded not guilty.
___
Richer reported from Boston.
veryGood! (5843)
Related
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- New Research Rooted in Behavioral Science Shows How to Dramatically Increase Reach of Low-Income Solar Programs
- Country’s Largest Grid Operator Must Process and Connect Backlogged Clean Energy Projects, a New Report Says
- Massage Must-Haves From Miko That Take the Stress Out of Your Summer
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Love is Blind's Lauren Speed-Hamilton Reveals If She and Husband Cameron Would Ever Return To TV
- This Texas Community Has Waited Decades for Running Water. Could Hydro-Panels Help?
- Clean Energy Experts Are Stretched Too Thin
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Biden’s Top Climate Adviser Signals Support for Permitting Deal with Fossil Fuel Advocates
Ranking
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- This Texas Community Has Waited Decades for Running Water. Could Hydro-Panels Help?
- Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Live in Communities With Harmful Air Quality, Study Shows
- Save Up to 97% On Tarte Cosmetics: Get $252 Worth of Eyeshadow for $28 and More Deals on Viral Products
- Small twin
- Here's the Reason Why Goldie Hawn Never Married Longtime Love Kurt Russell
- Global Warming Fueled Both the Ongoing Floods and the Drought That Preceded Them in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna Region
- Chicago’s Little Village Residents Fight for Better City Oversight of Industrial Corridors
Recommendation
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
Miranda Lambert Stops Las Vegas Concert to Call Out Fans for Taking Selfies
Secretive State Climate Talks Stir Discontent With Pennsylvania Governor
Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Beauty Deals You Can't Get Anywhere Else: Charlotte Tilbury, Olaplex & More
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
How Dueling PDFs Explain a Fight Over the Future of the Grid
YouTuber Annabelle Ham Dead at 22
North West Meets Chilli Months After Recreating TLC's No Scrubs Video Styles With Friends