The deposition of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been temporarily halted in the divorce proceedings of her lead prosecutor in the Georgia election subversion case, as per the judge’s decision on Monday.
The wife of special prosecutor Nathan Wade is seeking Willis’ testimony. Wade was hired by Willis a few years ago to pursue the criminal case against former President Donald Trump and his allies regarding their efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Claims of an inappropriate romantic involvement between Willis and Wade were initially brought to attention during the Trump case in an attempt to have the case thrown out. The alleged affair has also come up in Wade’s divorce from Joycelyn Wade, as she is looking for additional details about Nathan Wade’s finances.
During the hearing in Cobb County Superior Court on Monday, Judge Henry Thompson expressed his belief that Mr. Wade would have the most accurate information regarding his income and expenses, as well as any potential extramarital affair.
Thompson expressed the need to hear Mr. Wade’s perspective before forming an opinion on the potential testimony of Willis and their expertise on these matters.
In a recent court filing, Joycelyn Wade provided evidence of Nathan Wade’s purchases of airline tickets for Willis to join him on trips to Miami and San Francisco over the past few years.
In court filings, Willis has alleged that Joycelyn Wade is using the divorce proceedings as a means to harass the district attorney and tarnish her reputation. Willis claims that Wade is impeding an ongoing criminal prosecution by obstructing and interfering with it.
During Monday’s proceedings, Joycelyn Wade’s lawyers urged the judge to compel Willis to testify, alleging that the district attorney is using her position as a shield to evade a scheduled deposition in the divorce case.
“We have no intention of requesting her deposition in her capacity as the district attorney of Fulton County,” stated Andrea Dyer Hastings, the attorney representing Joycelyn Wade. “We are requesting her deposition in her capacity as the suspected romantic partner of my client’s spouse.”
On Monday, Thompson made a ruling stating that the records in the divorce proceedings should be unsealed. Thompson pointed out that court rules mandate a hearing before sealing such records, and since no hearing occurred, the records should be made public.
The judge mentioned that he would issue a written order regarding the unsealing later on Monday.
The ongoing scandal surrounding the rumored relationship between Willis and Nathan Wade has brought attention to a statement Willis made back in 2020. During an interview with a local public access station, she expressed her belief that it would be inappropriate for a high-ranking law enforcement official to be involved romantically with a subordinate. She mentioned that she would not be interested in dating individuals who are subordinate to her and shared video excerpts from the interview on her Facebook page in April of that year.