The District Attorney overseeing Donald Trump’s Georgia election indictment threatened the wife of the chief prosecutor in Trump’s case, an ethics complaint filed with the Georgia state bar has alleged.
The complaint, filed by Atlanta resident, Stephen Kramer, also alleges that Willis misspent state funds with Trump prosecutor, Nathan Wade, with whom Willis was in a relationship.
Newsweek sought email comment from Willis’ office on Friday. Willis denied all wrongdoing while testifying in February before the judge in Trump’s election fraud case.
Separately, the judge ruled on Friday that either Willis or Wade must leave the case. If Willis leaves, the case would likely have to be transferred to another district attorney’s office, potentially delaying it by months.
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The finding by Judge Scott McAfee will likely bolster Kramer’s ethics case against Willis.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all 10 charges of illegally interfering in the presidential election result in Georgia in 2020. He has said the case is politically motivated because he is almost certain to take the Republican presidential nomination.
Last month, Willis gave evidence in a two-day hearing following accusations that she was in a relationship with Wade. Its timeline has emerged as a key point of contention. Trump’s lawyers examined phone records alleging the pair were in a relationship before the Georgia election fraud case began and that Willis only appointed Wade to the case because she was in a relationship with him.
Kramer’s complaint alleges that Willis, the D.A. for Fulton County, was making false claims in Wade’s divorce case that Wade’s wife, Joycelyn Wade, was harassing her.
“One of the most concerning incidents in this case, in a long line of concerning incidents, is when D.A. Willis used her position to threaten Mr. Wade’s wife, Joycelyn Wade, during their divorce proceedings,” Kramer wrote. “D.A. Willis stated in a motion that Ms. Wade was trying to embarrass and harass her, and by extension, interfere and obstruct in the conduct of the [D.A.] election.
“Since that time, D.A. Willis admitted to an improper relationship with Mr. Wade, so Ms. Wade had every reason to determine how the marital money was being used before the divorce. This was not an unusual action by a divorcing couple.”
He claimed that Willis was using her position “to threaten her paramour’s estranged wife during her proceeding. D.A. Willis was using the full power of her office to to threaten Ms. Wade with criminal prosecution.”
“This was done to prevent Ms. Wade from adequately fighting for her rights in court; to help Wade in his divorce case and “prevent [Willis] from being an integral part of the now-public divorce case,” Kramer’s complaint alleges.
Kramer states in his complaint that he has “no legal experience” and has been a Georgia resident since 1986. He lives in the city of Johns Creek, a suburb of northern Atlanta, which is itself part of Fulton County.
Kramer wants the Georgia state bar to sanction Willis or even disbar her from practising law.
He also filed a complaint with the Fulton County government’s ethics board but it ruled that it did not have jurisdiction over Willis.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.