The Donald Trump case in Georgia may be moved to another district attorney’s office because of the Fani Willis relationship controversy, a legal expert has said.
Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University in New York, was reacting to the restarting of hearings into District Attorney Willis’ relationship with Nathan Wade, the chief prosecutor in the Donald Trump election fraud case.
Willis testified under oath that her relationship with Wade only began after she appointed him to the Trump case. However, Trump has subpoenaed Wade’s phone records and hired a tech expert in an attempt to show that Wade stayed over in Willis’s house long before the Trump case began.
The judge overseeing Trump’s election fraud hearings now has to decide whether Willis and Wade can stay on the case.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
The frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination and 18 co-defendants have been accused of conspiring to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election win in Georgia. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and repeatedly said that the case was politically motivated as he is the likely GOP nominee for the White House.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s lawyer and Willis’ office via email for comment on Tuesday.
Germain told Newsweek that the entire case may be removed from Willis’ district attorney office in Fulton County, Georgia—an area that covers much of Atlanta.
“It seems that the court is considering removing the DA and special prosecutor, and may require that the prosecution be taken over by another DA office, due to the appearance of impropriety from the relationship and coverup, should the judge believe that the relationship predated the prosecution, or that the DA received financial benefits from the lucrative role she gave to the special prosecutor,” Germain said.
Germain noted that, in addition, Willis faces possible perjury charges.
“Willis could certainly be charged with perjury if a prosecutor can prove that Willis knowingly lied under oath.”
“The matter would have to be referred to a prosecutor (presumably from another DA office, or state or federal prosecutor) to bring the charges.”
“It is not common for people to be charged with perjury for lying under oath about a personal relationship, but it certainly has happened in high profile cases, like Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinski. So yes, a perjury prosecution is possible,” he said.
Germain said Willis should be investigated for potential misuse of public funds rather than remove her from the Trump case.
“I do not understand why a personal relationship between a district attorney and her special prosecutor, who are on the same side in prosecuting Trump, should affect the prosecution. It’s not a conflict of interest in the prosecution of Trump. So I do not see why the relationship would require disqualification in the Trump case.”
“A preexisting relationship between Willis and her special prosecutor may show that the special prosecutor was chosen for a lucrative assignment because of the relationship rather than the special prosecutor’s qualifications. The evidence may show that the DA used her position for personal gain at the public’s expense, if the DA received financial benefits from the special prosecutor. These may well be grounds to investigate the DA’s handling of public funds. But I don’t see how it has anything to do with their ability to prosecute Trump,” he said.
Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the Trump case, held a series of hearings to determine if Willis and her office will be disqualified from the case. Trump and some of his co-defendants not only argued for the removal of Willis’ office, but also for the entire case to be dropped due to what they perceive as a conflict of interest.
However, Willis and Wade have said that their relationship started in the spring of 2022 after Willis hired him and that neither have financially benefited from it.
McAfee’s hearings to determine if Willis should stay on the case are due to restart on Tuesday.
Trump’s lawyers hired a phone records analyst to prove that Wade was staying over at the home of Willis, long before she hired him to lead the election-fraud case. Trump’s team is trying to prove that Willis hired Wade because they were in a relationship and that the district attorney should step away from the Trump case.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.