Georgia DA avoids deposition, for now, in divorce proceeding of embattled prosecutor

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will not have to immediately answer questions under oath in the divorce proceeding of a special prosecutor she hired to help lead the Georgia criminal case against Donald Trump.

In a short-term win for Willis, a judge ruled that she does not have to sit for a deposition that had been scheduled for Tuesday. But the judge postponed a decision on whether Willis will have to testify eventually.

Willis has charged Trump and numerous co-defendants with a racketeering conspiracy to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia in the 2020 election. A lawyer for co-defendant Mike Roman claimed earlier this month in court that Willis was having an affair with Nathan Wade, an outside lawyer she hired to help run the prosecution as a contract attorney. Roman alleged that Willis and Wade have used income that Wade has earned from the Trump case to take expensive vacations together.

Roman said the relationship violates ethics rules and means Willis and Wade should be forced off the case.

On the same day that Roman made the allegations, Wade’s estranged wife subpoenaed Willis to testify in the divorce on Jan. 23.

Willis fought the subpoena, with her lawyer Cinque Axam arguing she should be shielded from the deposition in part because of a Georgia rule limiting how public officials can be compelled to testify in legal proceedings. At a hearing on Monday, Axam did not address the affair allegations. Willis has said she will respond to the allegations in court filings, and last week the judge overseeing the Trump case ordered her to do so by Feb. 2.

A lawyer for Wade’s wife, meanwhile, accused Willis of “trying to hide under the shield of her position” from answering questions.

That lawyer, Andrea Dyer Hastings, said she is seeking details on how Wade has spent money that according to Hastings belongs to both him and his wife, Joycelyn Wade. In court filings last week, Hastings shared bank documents showing Nathan Wade bought tickets for Willis to take two plane flights with him. She also said she was seeking to question Willis under oath only about her personal life — not about her work as a prosecutor.

“We’re seeking her deposition in her individual capacity as the alleged paramour of my client’s husband,” Hastings said. “So whatever her job is has nothing to do with whether or not she should have to sit for this deposition.”

Judge Henry Thompson said his decision on whether to require Willis to testify will hinge on if she has “unique” information related to the divorce. He indicated that since Nathan Wade has not yet testified, it’s too soon to assess whether Willis could share information that would be otherwise out of reach. He ruled that she does not have to testify Tuesday, but he left open the possibility of a future deposition. He also noted that Nathan Wade is expected to be in a hearing for the divorce on Jan. 31, and said he will not decide on a potential Willis deposition before then.

Thompson also revoked a previous judge’s order that had sealed the divorce proceedings, saying it was issued improperly. Lawyers for Wade can still move for a new order to seal the proceedings.