According to a transcript released Monday, Nathan Wade testified to Congress in a closed-door session that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began preparations to prosecute former President Donald Trump before officially assuming office in January 2021.
Wade's testimony revealed that Willis had initiated a search committee related to a Trump investigation sometime after the 2020 election but before her inauguration on January 1, 2021. Willis had been elected as district attorney the previous August, and it was clear that Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the election were a top priority for her.
Wade confirmed that Willis contacted him before she officially took office to mobilize him and others for a potential prosecution of Trump. This early outreach indicated that Willis considered the investigation a major focus even before she started her term as district attorney.
Wade further testified that after Willis assumed office, the search committee, initially tasked with finding a lead prosecutor for the case, turned its focus on him. He described how the committee, which he had been part of, ultimately pushed him to take on the role of lead prosecutor in the Trump investigation.
“So January 1st I was a part of the search committee for that newly elected district attorney, and we were tasked with trying to identify someone who would serve as lead counsel on the election interference investigation," Wade said in the transcript. "Eventually, I guess the committee turned their guns on me and started trying to convince me to accept the role.”
However, Wade’s involvement in the case came to an end this year after a romantic relationship between him and Willis was uncovered. Trump and several of his co-defendants argued that this relationship created a conflict of interest. A judge partially agreed, which led to Wade resigning from his position in the Trump case. Trump has since elevated the matter to the Georgia Court of Appeals, seeking to have Willis removed from the case entirely. That appeal is still pending.
Both Wade and Willis had to respond to allegations of their relationship earlier this year. They claimed that the romantic relationship began in early 2022, though evidence presented during the inquiry suggested that they had a close personal relationship even before that time.
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