Trump Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis admits relationship with colleague, but denies tainting case
- Trump and 2 co-defendants say Willis benefited financially from a ‘personal relationship’ with Nathan Wade, a lawyer she hired to help lead the investigation
- They are seeking to have the Fulton County district attorney disqualified, and the charges over the bid to overturn the 2020 election results dismissed
The Georgia prosecutor trying former US president Donald Trump for seeking to overturn his 2020 election defeat acknowledged on Friday having a personal relationship with another lawyer on the case but denied it tainted the prosecution.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a court filing said claims that threatened to upend her office’s historic prosecution had “no merit”.
Trump and two co-defendants are seeking to disqualify Willis and dismiss the charges, alleging Willis benefited financially from an “improper, clandestine personal relationship” with Nathan Wade, a lawyer she hired to help lead the investigation.
“While the allegations raised in the various motions are salacious and garnered the media attention they were designed to obtain, none provide this court with any basis upon which to order the relief they seek,” Willis said in the filing.
The case is one of four criminal prosecutions Trump faces as he closes in on the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic US President Joe Biden in November’s election. Trump has launched multiple challenges that could delay the start of any trial by weeks or months.