Fani Willis Showed Bad Judgment in Relationship With Prosecutor, Former DNC Chair Says

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County government building in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 14, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Donna Brazile said that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis exhibited ‘bad judgment’ by allegedly engaging in an inappropriate romantic relationship with the special prosecutor overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal case in Georgia.

Ms. Brazile, a political strategist who has twice served as the interim chair of the DNC, made the comments in an interview with The New York Times published on Feb. 14.

Her comments came just over a week after Ms. Willis admitted that she and prosecutor Nathan Wade were in a personal relationship, prompting President Trump to call for the case against him to be dismissed.

“I can’t sit in judgment of her as a human being, but I can say, in terms of her role as a public prosecutor, yeah, she showed bad judgment,” Ms. Brazile told the publication.

The former DNC chairwoman added that she had always kept her own personal and professional life separated with “a bright red line.”

While she added that Ms. Willis has faced “vitriol” and “racial animus” as a woman of color in her senior position, she said that some of the attention was to be expected given her high-profile case against President Trump.

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“She is undergoing public scrutiny, she’s a public official,” Ms. Brazile said, adding it “comes with the territory.”

In August last year, Ms. Willis, a Democrat, charged President Trump and 18 associates with dozens of crimes, including racketeering based on his alleged efforts to dispute the official results of the 2020 election.

Admission of Personal Relationship

It marked the fourth criminal case against President Trump, who is currently the leading candidate among Republicans in the 2024 Presidential race.

However, questions now surround the future of the case after Ms. Willis admitted in a court filing on Feb. 2 (pdf) that she had a personal relationship with Mr. Wade, an attorney whom she appointed as special prosecutor in the Georgia election case on Nov. 1, 2021.

That court filing was in response to a Jan. 8 motion (pdf) by an attorney representing Michael Roman, one of President Trump’s co-defendants. The motion requested that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade be prevented from further prosecuting the case on the basis that they “have been engaged in an improper, clandestine personal relationship” throughout the case.

Their actions, the court filing alleged, had resulted in the special prosecutor, and, in turn, the district attorney, “profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers.”

Documents (pdf) show that Mr. Wade was paid at a rate of $250 per hour by the state for his involvement in the case, or just over $650,000 in total.

The January court filing further alleges that “some amount” of Mr. Wade’s income was used to travel with Ms. Willis “to traditional vacation destinations and they may have done so with certain members of their families.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, on March 19, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump Attorneys Argue Conflict of Interest

In the responding Feb. 2 court filing, Ms. Willis said that she and Mr. Wade only had a professional relationship when she appointed him as special prosecutor. She later acknowledged that there is now a personal relationship.

“To be absolutely clear, the personal relationship between special prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis,” she said in the filing.

Elsewhere, Mr. Wade echoed those remarks, stating in the same filing that there was “no personal relationship between District Attorney Willis and me prior to or at the time of my appointment as special prosecutor in 2021.”

“In 2022, District Attorney Willis and I developed a personal relationship in addition to our professional association and friendship,” he said.

Mr. Wade filed for divorce from his wife one day after he began working on the Georgia case.

Following the admission, President Trump and his attorneys have called for the case against him to be dropped, arguing the district attorney’s relationship with Mr. Wade is a conflict of interest.

Ms. Willis may testify on the alleged misconduct claims surrounding her relationship with Mr. Wade during a hearing on Feb. 15, although is not yet clear if the two will be disqualified from the case.

Ms. Willis’ office declined to comment when contacted by The Epoch Times.