CNN
A current and former law partner to Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor leading the 2020 election subversion case in Georgia, have been told to expect a subpoena to testify at a hearing next month on whether he and the district attorney who brought the case should be disqualified over their alleged affair and financial ties, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
The district attorney, Fani Willis, also is expected to be subpoenaed, sources say, and possibly others in her office.
The Fulton County judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump and his allies called for the hearing to address claims from one of Trump’s co-defendants that Willis and Wade have a conflict of interest. Citing financial statements turned up in Wade’s current divorce proceeding, lawyers for Trump’s co-defendant, Mike Roman, argue that Willis financially benefited when Wade took her on lavish vacations after she hired him as special prosecutor.
“We’ve got a lot of information. We’ve got a lot of documents and a lot of witnesses,” Roman’s defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant told CNN when asked if she will issue subpoenas for witness testimony at the hearing, scheduled for February 15.
Roman has argued that the entire criminal case against him should be dismissed because of the alleged conflict of interest. While those familiar with the case say the allegations are not likely to derail the sprawling racketeering case Willis has built against Trump and his 14 remaining co-defendants, they have proven a significant distraction and given Trump and his allies ample fodder to claim the case is the result of a corrupt justice system out to get him.
Merchant said the evidence she presents at the hearing, including who she may call to the witness stand, will in part depend on what Willis says in response to the allegations. Judge Scott McAfee has ordered Willis to respond in writing by February 2.
