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Asked for proof of his claim that Mr. Biden was personally directing the local cases against him, Mr. Trump pointed to purported ties between prosecutors and “Washington,” but provided no evidence that Mr. Biden had been involved in any of the hiring decisions, conversations or meetings that Mr. Trump cited. The writer E. Jean Carroll filed her first lawsuit against Mr. Trump in November 2019, accusing him of defamation. Faulty and irrelevant comparisonsWhat Mr. Trump Said“I got indicted more than Al Capone.”— in a rally in Ohio in MarchFalse. Mr. Hur described Mr. Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” who had “diminished faculties and faulty memory.” He did not declare Mr. Biden mentally incompetent to stand trial. Inaccurate attacks on judgesWhat Mr. Trump Said“Judge Juan Merchan is totally compromised, and should be removed from this TRUMP Non-Case immediately.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, President Biden, Trump’s, ”, Trump Said “ Biden, General Merrick B, Garland, Trump “, Biden, Mr, Doug Mills, Trump Said, Jack Smith, Merrick Garland’s, Fani Willis, Letitia James, Alvin L, Bragg, Matthew Colangelo, Colangelo, —, James’s, Colangelo’s, Bragg ramped, Willis, Willis — Nathan J, Wade, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Kamala Harris, Harris, Crooked Joe Biden, James, Jean Carroll, Smith, Brittainy Newman, Alexei Navalny, Navalny, Letitia James ’, Hunt, PolitiFact, Trump Said “, Al Capone, Capone, Brad Schwartz, Hillary, Bill, Bush, Reagan, Hillary Clinton, Clinton, Bill Clinton’s, Taylor Branch, Branch, “, Barack Obama, George W, Bill Clinton, George H.W, Ronald Reagan, Robert K, Hur, Biden’s, Juan Merchan, Loren, Loren Merchan, Merchan, Merchan’s, Justice Merchan, Ahmed Gaber, Arthur F, Justice Engoron, Engoron Organizations: New York, Democratic Party, Trump, Justice Department, The New York Times, The, White House, Trump . Credit, New York Times, American People, Biden Administration, Prosecutors, Mr, Manhattan, Washington, Fox News, New, Times, White, Counsel’s Office, Supreme, Black, Trump Organization, Democrat, Companies, Exxon Mobil, Trump Foundation, Trump University, Associated, National Archives, Records Administration, TRUMP, Twitter, Credit Locations: Manhattan, Georgia, Trump ., Washington, New York, “ Washington, Fulton County ,, Russian, New, Ohio, Fla, South Carolina, Trump’s Florida, Beach

For much of this year, the high-profile case took a detour as Mr. Trump and his co-defendants sought to disqualify Ms. Willis, claiming that her romantic relationship with Nathan J. But last month, Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton Superior Court ruled that an actual conflict of interest did not exist. He allowed Ms. Willis to keep the case, though only if Mr. Wade stepped aside to resolve an “appearance of impropriety.” Mr. Wade resigned after the ruling. Lawyers for Mr. Trump and other defendants have asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to reverse the decision. The court, which leans conservative, has until mid-May to decide whether to take up the matter.

Persons: Willis, Donald J, Trump, Nathan J, Wade, Scott McAfee, Mr Organizations: Trump, Fulton Superior Court, Mr Locations: Fulton County ,, Fulton, Georgia

☆ How Revelations of a Prosecutors’ Romance Upended the Georgia Trump Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Merchant, a lawyer for one of the defendants in the Georgia election interference case, charges in a court filing that Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, engaged in a “clandestine” relationship with Nathan J. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ms. Willis says racism is a factor in the scrutiny of her hiring of Mr. Wade. An affidavit from Mr. Wade asserts that the romantic relationship started only after he was hired. A former friend of Ms. Willis, Robin Bryant-Yeartie, says she has “no doubt” the two started a romantic relationship earlier than they have said. But Mr. Wade, testifying for several hours, firmly denies Ms. Bryant-Yeartie’s claim.

Persons: Ashleigh B, Willis, Nathan J, Wade, Martin Luther King Jr, Ms, Trump, Robin Bryant, Yeartie, Bryant Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta

☆ Highlights of the Judge’s Decision in the Georgia Trump Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A judge overseeing the criminal election interference case against former President Donald J. Trump in Georgia declined on Friday to disqualify the district attorney leading the prosecution, Fani T. Willis, over a romantic relationship she had with the lawyer she hired to manage the case, Nathan J. But even as the judge, Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court, rejected the claim by one of Mr. Trump’s co-defendants, Mike Roman, that the relationship raised an actual conflict of interest by giving Ms. Willis a financial stake in the case, the judge also ruled that it raised “a significant appearance of impropriety.”The judge gave her two choices: either Mr. Wade leaves her prosecution team, or she and her office must step aside from the case.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Fani, Willis, Nathan J, Wade, Scott McAfee, Trump’s, Mike Roman Organizations: Fulton County Superior Court Locations: Georgia, Fulton County

☆ Takeaways From the Ruling on Georgia Trump Prosecutor’s Conduct
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Danny Hakim | Richard Fausset | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The much-anticipated ruling on whether Fani T. Willis should be disqualified from prosecuting former President Donald J. Trump and 14 of his allies in Georgia came on Friday, requiring her to make an unusual decision. Wade, a former boyfriend, withdraws from the case, which she hired him to manage. For much of this year, headlines and hearings delving into the romantic relationship between the two prosecutors have overshadowed the case itself, in which the defendants are charged with conspiring to thwart the will of Georgia voters after Mr. Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. Defense lawyers brought to light the relationship between the prosecutors, saying it had created an untenable conflict of interest. But Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton Superior Court rejected that argument on Friday, while sharply criticizing Ms. Willis for a “tremendous lapse in judgment.”

Persons: Willis, Donald J, Trump, Nathan J, Wade, Scott McAfee, ” Organizations: Fulton Superior Court Locations: Georgia, Fulton County ,, Fulton

☆ Read Nathan Wade’s Resignation Letter
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Fani T. Willis District Attorney SUSIRG JUDICIAL CIRCU OFFICE OF THE FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY ATLANTA JUDICIAL CIRCUIT 136 PRYOR STREET SW, 3RD FLOOR ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303 Nathan J. Building 25, Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30339 March 15, 2024 TELEPHONE 404-612-4639 Dear Mr. Wade: I received your resignation letter dated March 15, 2024, and I accept it, effective immediately. You were the one who had the courage to accept the role, even though you did not seek it. You led a team that secured a true bill of indictment against nineteen individuals who are accused of violating Georgia law to undermine the 2020 election for the former President of the United States. You have successfully litigated in the United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to ensure that Fulton County citizens will be the jurors who decide justice in this case.

Persons: Nathan J, Wade, Campbell, Mr, Georgia's Organizations: Willis, COUNTY DISTRICT, of Columbia, United States, Court, Appeals, Eleventh Circuit Locations: ATLANTA, ATLANTA , GEORGIA, S.E, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, Fulton County

☆ What We Know About the Relationship Between the Trump Prosecutors
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Merchant said that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade, whom she hired to manage the Trump case, had been “profiting personally from this prosecution” at taxpayers’ expense. Merchant also said that Mr. Wade was underqualified, and argued that the entire indictment should be dismissed. A torrent of court filings followed, as did a number of dramatic, televised public hearings that had little to do with the indictment charging Mr. Trump and some of his allies with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss. Defense lawyers argued that Ms. Willis had engaged in “self-dealing” by hiring Mr. Wade to manage the Trump prosecution, and then going on vacations with him that he paid for, at least in part. Defense lawyers also accused Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis of lying to the court about some details of their relationship, including when it began.

Persons: Fani, Willis, Nathan J, Wade, Ashleigh Merchant, Michael Roman, Donald J, Trump’s, Merchant, Mr, underqualified, Trump, Willis of Organizations: Trump Locations: Fulton County, Georgia

☆ Fani Willis Hangs Onto Trump Case, but More Turbulence Lies Ahead
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After revelations of Fani T. Willis’s romance with a subordinate sent the Georgia criminal case against Donald J. Trump down a two-month detour worthy of a soap opera, a judge’s ruling on Friday resolved a major cliffhanger. Ms. Willis could continue prosecuting the case, so long as her ex-boyfriend withdrew from it. Wade, whom Ms. Willis hired as a special prosector, only settled so much. A fresh and complicated array of problems lies ahead for Ms. Willis, and for one of the most significant state criminal cases in American history. “Her troubles are far from over,” Clark D. Cunningham, a law professor and ethics specialist at Georgia State University, said in an email on Friday.

Persons: Fani, Donald J, Trump, Willis, Nathan J, Wade, “, ” Clark D, Cunningham, Biden, Judge Scott McAfee Organizations: Georgia State University, Mr Locations: Georgia, Fulton County

☆ Judge Rules D.A. Can Stay on Trump Georgia Case With Ex-Boyfriend Stepping Down
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An Atlanta judge ruled on Friday that Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, could continue leading the election interference prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump and his allies in Georgia, but only if her former romantic partner, Nathan J. The highly anticipated ruling by Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton Superior Court cut a middle path between removing Ms. Willis for a conflict of interest, which defense lawyers had sought, and her full vindication. The judge sharply criticized Ms. Willis for dating Mr. Wade, whom she hired as a special prosecutor on the case, calling it a “tremendous lapse in judgment.”Hours after the ruling, Ms. Willis said that Mr. Wade had offered his resignation, and that she had accepted it. Judge McAfee had rejected a defense claim that the relationship had raised an actual conflict of interest by giving Ms. Willis a financial stake in the case. But he found that it had raised “a significant appearance of impropriety” that needed to be addressed.

Persons: Willis, Donald J, Trump, Nathan J, Wade, Judge Scott McAfee, ”, Judge McAfee Organizations: Fulton Superior Locations: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton

☆ Ruling Expected Friday on Effort to Disqualify Trump Prosecutors in Georgia
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Danny Hakim | Richard Fausset | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A judge is expected to rule on Friday on the effort by former President Donald J. Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case to disqualify Fani T. Willis, the prosecutor overseeing it. The disqualification effort began more than two months ago, when a defense lawyer said in a court filing that Ms. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, had engaged in a romantic relationship with Nathan J. Wade, the lawyer she hired to run the case. Ms. Willis acknowledged the relationship several weeks after the defense filing, and later testified that the relationship ended last summer. She and her team have sharply rebutted the idea that a conflict ever existed.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Fani, Willis, Nathan J, Wade, Ms Locations: Georgia, Fulton County

☆ Alaska Airlines passenger accused of trying to open cockpit door has been charged in federal court
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Rashard Rose | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight this month repeatedly tried to open the cockpit door, prompting flight attendants to barricade the door and have the man restrained until landing, court documents filed in federal court allege. Jones got up from his seat several times during the flight and made three attempts to go to the front of the plane and open the cockpit door, an air marshal wrote in an affidavit. When a flight attendant asked why he tried to access the cockpit, Jones replied that he “was testing them,” the affidavit reads. The cockpit was locked down and barricaded with a beverage cart for the remainder of the flight, according to the affidavit. The passenger had tried to access the cockpit in a “nonviolent manner” and “appeared confused,” Alaska Airlines said on Wednesday.

Persons: Nathan Jones, Jones, “, Robert Jenkins, ” Jenkins, Anne Zalewski, CNN’s Elizabeth Wolfe Organizations: CNN, Alaska Airlines, Dulles International, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, United Airlines Locations: San Diego, Virginia, Alaska, Alexandria , Virginia

☆ Alaska Airlines cabin crew used a beverage cart to stop a passenger trying to enter the cockpit, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An Alaska Airlines passenger tried three times to access the cockpit, an affidavit says. Flight attendants blocked the door with a beverage cart, it adds. AdvertisementAn Alaska Airlines cabin crew blocked the cockpit with a beverage cart to stop a passenger from accessing the flight deck, an affidavit states. AdvertisementIt adds that when a flight attendant asked why he was trying to get into the cockpit, Jones replied he "was testing them." The flight deck was locked down for the rest of the flight, and one flight attendant stayed with the beverage cart blocking the cockpit door, per the affidavit.

Persons: —, Nathan Jones, who's, Jones Organizations: Alaska Airlines, Service, Business, Transportation Security Administration Locations: Alaska, San Diego, Washington

☆ Student Pilot Charged After Trying to Access Alaska Airlines Cockpit
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Christine Hauser | More About Christine Hauser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A 19-year-old student pilot from Northern Virginia who tried repeatedly to enter the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight from California to Virginia earlier this month is facing a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew, according to court documents. The man, Nathan Jones, was traveling on Alaska Airlines Flight 322 from San Diego International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport on March 3 when he “interfered and intimidated flight crew members and attendants,” according to an affidavit filed the next day in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. His lawyer filed a motion this week arguing that Mr. Jones might not be mentally fit to stand trial. The affidavit said that Mr. Jones, a passenger in seat 6E, tried three times to go to the front of the plane and “open the aircraft’s cockpit door.” Flight attendants asked for assistance from off-duty law enforcement officers, who restrained Mr. Jones in flex cuffs and sat on either side of him for the rest of the flight.

Persons: Nathan Jones, “, Jones Organizations: Alaska Airlines, San Diego International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Court, Eastern, of Locations: Northern Virginia, California, Virginia, Washington, of Virginia

☆ NASA is looking for a crew to live inside a simulated Martian habitat
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —For anyone who has ever dreamed of living on Mars, NASA is seeking potential “Martians” for a simulated mission to the red planet. Inside Mars Dune Alpha, participants will grow crops, maintain their habitat, exercise, carry out robotic operations and go on simulated spacewalks. When it comes to selecting the CHAPEA crew, the agency has specific criteria in mind that aligns with how they select astronauts. Inside the habitat, the CHAPEA 1 crew conducts "Marswalks" (left) and grows crops using a system with appropriate lighting, water and nutrients for growing plants indoors. A series of Mars simulationsThe first CHAPEA mission, which began on June 25, 2023, is set to conclude on July 6.

Persons: Alpha, Kelly Haston, Ross Brockwell, Nathan Jones, Josh Valcarcel, “, ”, Anna Schneider Organizations: CNN, NASA, NASA’s, Space Center, Johnson Space Center Locations: Houston

At some point in the coming weeks or months, the Georgia criminal case against former President Donald J. Trump and his allies will presumably focus once again on the defendants and whether they conspired to overturn Mr. Trump’s election loss there in 2020. Now it is unclear whether the case will even remain with Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, since lawyers for Mr. Trump and other defendants are seeking to have her entire office disqualified. The controversy has also provided fresh fodder for Mr. Trump and his allies, who are adept at exploiting their opponents’ vulnerabilities. Mr. Trump was already making inflammatory attacks on Ms. Willis even before her relationship with Nathan J. Wade, the lawyer she hired to help run the election interference case, came to light.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Fani, Willis, Nathan J, Wade Organizations: Mr, Georgia Senate Locations: Georgia, Fulton County

☆ With Everything on the Line, Fani Willis Delivered Raw Testimony
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Richard Fausset | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Fani T. Willis walked unaccompanied through the front door of a Fulton County courtroom on Thursday afternoon in a bright magenta dress and announced she was ready to testify. She was interrupting her lawyer, who at that very moment was trying to convince a judge that she should not have to testify at all. “I’m going to go,” Ms. Willis said. In a raw performance, Ms. Willis, 52, presented herself as a woman in full — by turns combative and serene, focused and discursive (at one point she declared her preference for Grey Goose vodka over wine). At one point her voice approached a yell, prompting Scott McAfee, the mild-mannered judge, to call a five-minute recess in an apparent effort to cool things down.

Persons: Willis, “ I’m, ” Ms, Donald J, Ashleigh Merchant, Nathan J, Wade, Scott McAfee Organizations: Trump Locations: Fulton, Fulton County ,

☆ Georgia Trump Case Pivotal Hearing Could Stall Prosecution of Election Interference
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade acknowledged the relationship in a February court filing. Lawyers for Mr. Roman and other defendants are seeking to disqualify the two prosecutors from the case. Defense lawyers argue that the money paid to Mr. Wade creates an incentive for Ms. Willis to prolong the case. She said that the costs of the couple’s personal travel had been “divided roughly evenly” between her and Mr. Wade, so it represented no financial conflict. Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court, the presiding judge in the Trump case, was persuaded that there was sufficient reason to hold an evidentiary hearing delving into the relationship.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, — Fani, Willis, Nathan J, Wade, Mr, Michael Roman, Scott McAfee, “, Wade’s Organizations: Trump, Mr, Fulton County Superior Court Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta

A case charging former President Donald J. Trump and his allies with trying to subvert the 2020 election results in Georgia took a detour on Thursday into the details of the prosecutors’ romantic and financial lives — their sleeping arrangements, vacations and private bank accounts — in an unusual and highly contentious hearing. Lawyers for Mr. Trump and his co-defendants have argued that the Fulton County district attorney, Fani T. Willis, and the special prosecutor she hired to manage the case, Nathan J. Wade, should be disqualified from the case because their romantic and financial entanglements had created a conflict of interest. Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade forcefully rejected those accusations in testimony on Thursday, with Ms. Willis accusing the defense lawyers of spreading “lies.”“You think I’m on trial,” Ms. Willis told Ashleigh Merchant, a lawyer for Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official who is a co-defendant in the case. “These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Fani, Willis, Nathan J, Wade, Mr, ” Ms, Ashleigh Merchant, Michael Roman, I’m Organizations: Mr, Trump, Fulton County Superior Court Locations: Georgia, Fulton County

Biden’s reelection campaign has repeatedly declined to commit to joining debates with Trump, his likely opponent in the November general election. Trump, meanwhile, has feuded with the Republican National Committee and refused to join its primary debates. In 2020, he objected to the rules of the nonpartisan commission that has hosted general election debates since 1976. Lowering his voice to a whisper, Coons said: “That was bad.”He then questioned whether a general election debate this year would be worth it. “But this is ultimately a judgment call for President Biden."

Persons: — Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Biden’s, There's, Sen, Chris Coons, Chris Wallace, Coons, ” Coons, Richard Nixon, John F, Kennedy, didn’t, Frank Fahrenkopf, it's, “, ”, it’s, There’s, Ro Khanna, ” Khanna, Haley, Ron DeSantis, ” Trump, Dan Bongino, Biden “, ” Biden, He’s, Quentin Fulks, ” Fulks, Fulks, ” Sen, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, ” Romney, President Trump, Trump's, Katie Hobbs, Kari Lake, ” Hobbs, that's, Patrick Stewart, ” Stewart, Jacob Thompson, ” ____ Gomez Licon, Jonathan J, Cooper, Darlene Superville, Jill Colvin Organizations: WASHINGTON, Republican National Committee, Biden, Trump, RNC, League of Women Voters, Commission, ”, Republican, “ Trump, Florida Gov, CNN, Arizona Gov, University of Arkansas, “, Associated Press Locations: Chris Coons of Delaware, United States, Alabama, Iowa, Utah, United States of America, Arizona, Knoxville , Tennessee, Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, New York

☆ Trump Co-Defendant Suggests Georgia Prosecutors Lied About Relationship Timing
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Richard Fausset | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A lawyer for one of former President Donald J. Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia election case suggested on Friday that the two prosecutors leading the case had lied about when their romantic relationship started. Wade, had begun before Ms. Willis hired Mr. Wade. That would contradict Mr. Wade, who said in a recent affidavit that his relationship with Ms. Willis had not begun until 2022, after his hiring. The affidavit was attached to a court filing made by Ms. Willis. Merchant identified the witness as Terrance Bradley, a lawyer who once worked in Mr. Wade’s law firm and for a time served as Mr. Wade’s divorce lawyer.

Persons: Donald J, Trump’s, Ashleigh Merchant, Fani, Willis, Nathan J, Wade, Mr, Ms, Merchant, Terrance Bradley, Wade’s, “ Bradley, ” Ms Organizations: Trump, Mr Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Fulton County , Georgia

☆ Prosecutor in Trump Georgia Case Admits Relationship With Colleague
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Fani T. Willis, the district attorney prosecuting the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald J. Trump, acknowledged on Friday a “personal relationship” with a prosecutor she hired to manage the case but argued that it was not a reason to disqualify her or her office from it. The admission came almost a month after allegations of an “improper, clandestine personal relationship” between the two surfaced in a motion from one of Mr. Trump’s co-defendants. The motion seeks to disqualify both prosecutors and Ms. Willis’s entire office from handling the case — an effort that, if successful, would likely sow chaos for an unprecedented state criminal prosecution of a former president. Wade, “has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit” to Ms. Willis. Ms. Willis’s filing includes an affidavit from Mr. Wade asserting that the personal relationship started only after Mr. Wade had been hired.

Persons: Willis, Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Willis’s, “, Ms, ” Ms, Nathan J, Wade Locations: Georgia

☆ Trump Joins Motion to Disqualify Prosecutor in Georgia Election Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Richard Fausset | Danny Hakim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lawyers for former President Donald J. Trump on Thursday joined an effort to disqualify Fani T. Willis from leading the election interference case against Mr. Trump in Georgia, on the grounds that she created a conflict of interest by hiring her romantic partner to help prosecute the case. Mr. Trump’s lawyers also raised a new argument for ousting Ms. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney: that she violated state bar rules when she claimed in a recent speech that racism was behind the effort to remove her. The relationship claim surfaced on Jan. 8 in a filing from Michael Roman, one of Mr. Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia case. Six days later, Ms. Willis, who is Black, gave a speech at a church in Atlanta in which she suggested that her critics were “playing the race card” by criticizing her hiring of the special prosecutor, Nathan J. Ms. Willis has neither confirmed nor denied a relationship with Mr. Wade, though she has been ordered to provide a written response to Mr. Roman’s motion by next week.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Fani, Willis, Ms, Michael Roman, Trump’s, Nathan J, Wade Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta

☆ How Allegations of an Office Romance Came to Complicate the Case Against Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Serge F. Kovaleski | Richard Fausset | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Soon after her victory, she set up a group to interview job candidates called the Integrity Transition Hiring Committee. Wade, a lawyer and municipal court judge from the Atlanta suburbs whom she counted as a longtime friend and mentor. But in recent days, allegations have surfaced that Mr. Wade was not only a mentor to Ms. Willis, but also a romantic partner. The allegations appeared in a court motion filed this month by Michael Roman, one of Mr. Trump’s 14 co-defendants in the Georgia case. In an interview with The New York Times, a person familiar with the situation said the two had grown close after meeting in a legal education course for judges in 2019 — some two years before Ms. Willis hired Mr. Wade as special prosecutor in the Trump case.

Persons: Willis, Nathan J, Wade, Donald J, Trump, ”, Michael Roman, Trump’s, Mr Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Georgia’s Fulton County, Atlanta, Georgia

☆ Credit Card Statements Suggest Prosecutors in Trump Case Traveled Together
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Richard Fausset | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Wade, included what it said were statements for a credit card account belonging to Mr. Wade. The statements showed that he bought plane tickets for himself and Ms. Willis, including tickets to San Francisco from Atlanta purchased on April 25, 2023, and to Miami from Atlanta purchased on Oct. 4, 2022. The release of the credit card statements follows a motion filed last week by Michael Roman, one of Mr. Trump’s 14 co-defendants in the Georgia case. That motion, which did not include any proof, claimed that Ms. Willis was having a romantic relationship with Mr. Wade that began before she hired him in 2021 to manage the high-profile case. The motion also stated that Mr. Wade, who has been paid more than $650,000 by the district attorney’s office, paid for vacations with Ms. Willis.

Persons: Fani, Willis, Donald J, Trump, Joycelyn Wade, Nathan J, Wade, Michael Roman, Trump’s, Mr Organizations: Atlanta Locations: Atlanta, Georgia, Francisco, Miami

☆ Trump Prosecutor in Georgia Seeks to Avoid Testifying in Colleague’s Divorce Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Richard Fausset | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A court filing last week accused Ms. Willis of having a romantic relationship with the prosecutor, Nathan J. The motion containing the accusation was filed by Michael Roman, one of Mr. Trump’s 14 co-defendants in the criminal case. The motion argues that the relationship, which it provided no proof of, amounted to a conflict of interest; it seeks to have Mr. Wade, Ms. Willis and her office dismissed from the case. Mr. Roman’s lawyer has said that sealed court records in the pending divorce case between Mr. Wade’ and his wife, Joycelyn, contain documentation of his relationship with Ms. Willis. Ms. Wade’s lawyer subpoenaed Ms. Willis last week, requiring her to be deposed on Jan. 23.

Persons: Willis, Donald J, Trump, Nathan J, Wade, Michael Roman, Trump’s, Wade ’, Ms, Jan Locations: Georgia

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