Did Nathan Wade buy Fani Willis flowers? Were they delivered to her residence, or centered on a table in a fashionable restaurant? Did Nathan and Fani escape the stressful reality of their lives in a romantic escape to California wine country and a Caribbean beach?
Or was it all strictly business?
Jocelyn Wade, Nathan’s estranged wife, says it was business – frisky business. In a court filing dated January 19, 2024, she refers to Fani as “her husband’s paramour.” She bases her assertion on plane tickets, cruise tickets, and hotel receipts. The ball is in Fani and Nathan’s court to prove there was nothing romantic about the trips, despite their exotic locales.
Divorces are frequently ugly, but rarely public. When the alleged “paramour” is prosecuting a former president with the help of her alleged lover, it’s as public as it gets. As Ruth Marcus asked in The Washington Post: “What in the World Was Fani Willis thinking?
Thinking? When passion takes over, the brain abdicates its throne to southern regions.
The Sideshow
The Nathan and Fani sideshow threatens the main event: Willis’ racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and various minions. One of the minions has challenged the prosecution because of the alleged affair. Trump and others may join in.
The case has garnered several guilty pleas. It’s likely to proceed to trial, no matter what hanky-panky is uncovered in the Wades’ divorce trial. “As a question of atmospherics, though, the situation is a disaster,” Marcus wrote, “an unexpected gift to Trump that he will exploit.”
When Fani Hired Nathan
Fani regarded Nathan as a “a friend and mentor over the years,” according to CBS News. He joined her office as a special prosecutor on November 1, 2021.
In February, 2021 Fani opened the election interference investigation. She asked two highly respected Georgia attorneys to lead it. Both turned her down. "Hypothetically speaking, do you want a bodyguard following you around for the rest of your life?" one asked rhetorically. Fani then turned to Nathan. He had never handled a complex felony case. Nonetheless, his management of the Grand Jury case impressed the jurors, one of whom was an attorney. Trump and others were indicted in August, 2023.
According to WXIA-TV in Atlanta, Nathan was paid “more than $650,000 in 2022 and 2023” by Willis’ office. He earned $250.00 an hour, less than private sector attorneys in most cities. That’s 1,300 annual billable hours. Many law firms push associates to post up to 2,000 hours a year. Nathan was the highest paid special prosecutor.
The “Lavish Lifestyle”
Nathan filed for divorce the day after he joined Fani’s office and asked to have the court file sealed. The seal was recently lifted. Jocelyn claimed Nathan was not forthcoming about his new appointment, nor his compensation, telling the Court he left her “with little means of financial support while simultaneously spending tens of thousands of dollars per month on a very lavish lifestyle.”
The “very lavish lifestyle” apparently refers to vacations Nathan took with Fani. According to Exhibit A of Jocelyn’s recent court filing, Nathan purchased airline tickets for himself and Fani last April. He paid for a stay at a Doubletree Hotel in California wine country in mid-May. There are two entries for the hotel, both for the same dates. One is for $228.04; the other $612.18. While there is no breakdown, the lower figure is likely for meals and hotel amenities. Since the stay was for two days, neither amount would seem to cover two separate rooms, based on the hotel’s posted rates online.
Nathan underwrote a trip to Aruba for a two-day stay last November. The billing record shows only $370.88 paid to the hotel, which would not cover lodging. It’s likely for meals and amenities. The record shows more than $3000 paid to Norwegian Cruise Lines and an earlier payment to a travel agency for more than $3,800. In October, Nathan purchased three tickets on American Airlines for flights to Miami. Two were for himself and Fani, one for his mother, Clara Bowman. Since the payments were comingled, it’s unclear how many rooms he booked, or who stayed in them.
The Impact on the Trump Case
Nathan and Fani’s excellent adventures were revealed in a filing by a Trump co-defendant.
"The district attorney and the special prosecutor have been engaged in an improper, clandestine personal relationship during the pendency of this case,” wrote attorney Ashley Merchant, “which has resulted in the special prosecutor, and, in turn, the district attorney, profiting significantly from this prosecution at the expense of the taxpayers…” She argued Nathan and Fani violated conflict of interest laws and the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct "and should be disqualified from prosecuting this matter."
"As a legal matter, the allegations about a romantic relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis and the chief prosecutor in the election interference case against former president Donald Trump are irrelevant,” notes Marcus. “Even if all the claims are true, they wouldn’t imperil the prosecution or justify dismissing the indictment, as one of Trump’s co-defendants is seeking."
There is no logical connection between Nathan and Fani’s relationship and the prosecution. Defendants would have to show there was a prejudicial impact on their ability to defend themselves. The opposite is true: Fani handed them an issue they didn’t know about. She helped the defendants – she didn’t hurt them.
But she hurt herself, and Nathan’s attempted concealment of his income and expenses from Jocelyn made the situation worse. The consequences are probably limited to distraction and delay, which only helps defendants. Nothing warms the hearts of defense attorneys like watching the prosecution step on a rake.
What’s Next for Nathan and Fani?
It’s a matter of time until somebody files complaints against Nathan and Fani with law enforcement authorities and the State Bar. Such complaints are unlikely to disqualify them from the case, but they will be investigated. While Fani apparently hired Nathan after seeking out other attorneys, it’s undeniable she accompanied him on vacations he paid for, likely helped by the fees he was collecting from her office.
The case should proceed, but without the albatross of lurking investigations. Nathan should resign from the case immediately. If Fani does the same, the case will be reassigned from the Georgia DA to a replacement prosecutor. Good look finding one who will abide “a bodyguard following you around for the rest of your life.”
Maybe Nathan will tell Fani, “We’ll always have Aruba.” Maybe they’ll officially become a couple and withstand the legal and ethical storms together. Perhaps Nathan will give her a bouquet. Flowers brighten a room, sweeten the air, and bring joy.
Then they wilt, desiccate, and scatter with the breeze.
© 2024 by Mike Tully