Georgia DA Facing Allegations Could Potentially Derail Trump Case, Say Legal Experts

Legal experts are split over whether the allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis could derail the election interference case against former President Donald Trump, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday.

The motion, filed Monday by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, alleged that Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade “have been engaged in an improper, clandestine personal relationship during the pendency of this case.” It further contended that Wade had paid for expensive vacations he and Willis took with the money his law office was paid for his work on the case.

Steve Bright, the former director of the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, said “It’s hard to see how the prosecution survives this.”

However, Renee Knake Jefferson, an ethical expert and law professor at the University of Houston Law Center, told the Union Journal that the filing included serious allegations but would probably not harm the indictment, stating that “a personal relationship between two prosecutors does not alter the facts or evidence on which the indictment is grounded.” 

Atlanta criminal defense attorney Andrew Fleischman said if the allegations are true the arrangement would be a clear violation of the State Bar of Georgia’s code of ethics for lawyers.

“If you are giving money to somebody who appears to be unqualified, and they are giving you some of that money back in the form of summer vacations, then you’re financially benefiting from your prosecution,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “That’s a conflict of interest.”

The Fulton County Code of Ethics says that officials should aspire to avoid “even the appearance of a conflict of interest,” by avoiding conduct or circumstances that could create the wrong impression.

Nevertheless, Fleischman said he did not think Roman’s motion will lead to the dismissal of the indictment. If Willis is found to have a conflict of interest, however, the entire DA’s office could be disqualified, he said.

Pete Skandalakis, head of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, added that, “I’d be surprised” if the allegations would close down the case.

He also disagreed with the motion’s assertion that Wade was improperly serving as a special prosecutor because Willis did not have the appointment okayed by the county’s Board of Commissioners.

“I don’t see anything where she has violated a Georgia statute on the matter,” Skandalakis said, adding that “a district attorney can use the funds allocated to the office by the county commissioners as he or she sees fit.”

Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts appeared to agree, saying that “typically the county attorney recommends outside counsel to the board of commissioners for approval in civil matters — that’s the distinction,” he said. “This situation involves a special prosecutor. And with respect to a special prosecutor, the district attorney has the authority and the right to hire such a person.”

Atlanta criminal defense lawyer Noah Pines said that while “the allegations of the affair are salacious, I don’t know if that disqualifies anybody from prosecuting the case.”

But the amount of money being paid to Wade, who is billing at $250 an hour, is bad optics, he said.

“She’s paying him double what others in that office are making, seemingly without justification,” Pines said. “It just doesn’t look good.”