Lawyer hired to prosecute Trump in Georgia is thrust into the spotlight over affair claims

ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis hired attorney Nathan Wade to lead the Georgia prosecution of Donald Trump and 18 others over efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Now, allegations of a romantic relationship between Willis and Wade are raising questions about his past work and qualifications and threaten to taint one of four criminal cases against the former president.

She has defended her hiring of Wade — who has little prosecutorial experience — and has not directly denied a romantic relationship. The claim surfaced last week in a motion filed by a defense attorney representing a former Trump campaign staffer, who did not provide concrete proof. The lawyer is seeking to get the indictment tossed and to remove Willis and Wade from the case.

The district attorney’s relative silence for over a week has allowed Trump and other critics to exploit the claims as the former president vies to win back the White House. But while it’s created a political storm, the legal implications are less clear.

“It’s certainly a huge political problem, it is certainly scandalous and salacious, if true,” said Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State University law professor who is following the case. But he questioned whether it affects prosecutors’ ability to handle the case professionally.

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