Nathan Wade “shook” the crowd at Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ primary election victory party Tuesday when he walked in “all smiles.”
Wade, the former special prosecutor whose love affair with Willis forced him to resign from the historic criminal case against former President Donald Trump, was among those who gathered at an event venue in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood to celebrate the district attorney’s victory.
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“Well, consider me shaken,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Tamar Hallerman wrote on X after seeing Wade dressed to the nines.
Wade walked in “all smiles,” she explained.
The 52-year-old prosecutor’s triumph versus attorney and author Christian Wise Smith comes as she faces many probes by state and federal lawmakers over her alleged misuse of taxpayer funds and relationship with Wade.
“We can’t keep turning a blind eye to what’s going on in that office,” Wise Smith declared on the campaign trail Monday.
“Chaos. Corruption.” It’s time for us in Fulton County to stand up and reclaim our justice system,” he said in his appeal to voters.
Following his leadership of the historic criminal investigation and subsequent indictment of former President Donald Trump for alleged involvement in a plot to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, Willis, first elected to lead the Atlanta-area District Attorney’s office in 2020, rose to prominence.
Willis made no mention of the Trump case in a recent three-minute campaign commercial that emphasized going after “gangs and violent offenders.”
“We’ve seen the third-largest crime drop in America,” she said in a campaign ad.
She predicted on Monday that she would “win big” over Wise Smith, despite the claims of misbehavior against her.
By 8 p.m. on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that Willis had nearly 90% of the vote.
In January, more than five months after prosecuting Trump and his 18 co-defendants—four of whom have pleaded guilty—in her massive racketeering case, charges surfaced that Willis had an “improper” intimate involvement with Wade, whom she hired to handle the 2020 elections case.
In January, nearly five months after charging Trump and his 18 co-defendants—four of whom have pleaded guilty—in her massive racketeering case, allegations surfaced that Willis had an “improper” romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to handle the 2020 elections case.
In February, Willis admitted to having a “personal relationship” with Wade, and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ordered her paramour to resign from the Trump lawsuit.
Since 2022, Wade has received roughly $654,000 in legal fees from the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for his work on the Trump case, and he allegedly paid for several expensive excursions he took with Willis while working for her office.
On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is looking into whether Willis abused public funds she obtained from the Justice Department while investigating Trump.
Willis has accused Jordan of attempting to “interfere in a criminal investigation” and holding an “illegitimate” position.
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) are conducting separate investigations into whether Fulton County DAs misappropriated federal monies.
At the legislative level, a special committee in the Georgia Senate is looking into Willis’ alleged conflicts of interest and misuse of public funds due to her relationship with Wade.
Willis has refused to testify in the state Senate investigation, contesting lawmakers’ jurisdiction to summon her.
Willis will face Republican Courtney Kramer in November’s general election.
The district attorney has branded Kramer as “unqualified” for the position.
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee, who was randomly chosen to preside over the Trump case last year, defeated his opponent in a nonpartisan election on Tuesday.
Republican Governor Brian Kemp nominated the 34-year-old jurist in December 2022 to fill a court vacancy, and he will now serve a full four-year term starting in January.
McAfee defeated civil rights attorney and media pundit Robert Patillo. He had earned overwhelming bipartisan support to retain his position on the bench ahead of the election.
