Nathan Wade

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Nathan J. Wade is an American lawyer. He has worked as criminal defense lawyer and associate judge. In 2021, Fani Willis gave him a contract to work as a special prosecutor in the 2020 Georgia election investigation. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Wade was born in Houston. He graduated from Texas State University and John Marshall Law School, now known as the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. [3] [4]

In 2010, the Republican mayor of Marietta, Georgia appointed Wade as an associate municipal judge in Marietta. [5] He became the first black judge in Marietta and served on the bench from 2011 to 2021, handling misdemeanor cases. [4] [5]

Between 2012 and 2016, he ran three times for a seat on the Cobb County Superior Court. [4]

Trump prosecution contract

In 2021, Wade was appointed as the lead prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. [6] Before his appointment, Wade worked for Cobb County Solicitor’s Office, "which prosecutes misdemeanors and traffic citations", and appeared "to have had little prosecutorial experience beyond that", according to The New York Times. [2]

A February 2024 court filing in the case revealed that Wade was in a personal relationship with Willis according to an affidavit by Wade. [7] [8] The filing was made in response to an allegation of a conflict of interest and improper romantic relationship from a defendant in the racketeering case, which Willis has denied. According to the filing, Wade and Willis began their relationship in 2022, after Wade's hiring. [7] [8] However, a former friend and employee of Willis, Robin Yeartie, gave testimony that she believed the pair were engaged in a romantic relationship since at least 2019 and prior to Wade joining the prosecution team. [9] [5]

Personal life

Wade married Joycelyn Mayfield Wade in 1997. They separated in August 2021 and filed for divorce in November 2021, a day after he was hired as special prosecutor in the election interference case. They have two adult children. [5] Wade engaged in a romantic relationship with Willis after the filing of the divorce. Both Wade and Willis have claimed that their romantic relationship ended in the summer of 2023. [10]

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References

  1. ↑ Fausset, Richard; Hakim, Danny. "Here are the latest developments in the indictment". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas; Fausset, Richard (January 11, 2024). "Lawyer Tapped to Prosecute Trump in Georgia Is Now Under Scrutiny Himself". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ Kovaleski, Serge F.; Fausset, Richard (January 20, 2024). "How Allegations of an Office Romance Came to Complicate the Case Against Trump". The New York Times.
  4. 1 2 3 Bushard, Brian (February 2, 2024). "Who Is Nathan Wade? Trump Prosecutor At Center Of Fani Willis Debacle". Forbes.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Gardner, Amy; Bailey, Holly; Boburg, Shawn (January 15, 2024). "Nathan Wade, embattled prosecutor in Georgia Trump case, has little prosecution experience". The Washington Post.
  6. ↑ Valencia, Nick; Morris, Jason; Cohen, Zachary (January 12, 2024). "Lead prosecutor in Georgia election subversion case under scrutiny over alleged affair with DA". CNN.
  7. 1 2 Hallerman, Tamar; Rankin, Bill (February 2, 2024). "Fulton DA Fani Willis says relationship with Trump prosecutor shouldn't disqualify her". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Cohen, Zachary; Morris, Jason; Rabinowitz, Hannah; Lybrand, Holmes (February 2, 2024). "Fulton County DA acknowledges personal relationship with lead prosecutor on Trump case, but says it doesn't disqualify her". CNN . Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  9. ↑ Honderich, Holly; Halpert, Madeline (February 15, 2024). "Fani Willis: Trump prosecutor gives fiery testimony". BBC . Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  10. ↑ Wickert, David (February 23, 2024). "Judge sets March 1 hearing on Willis disqualification". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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