7 questions about the future of Fani Willis in the Georgia election interference case

A Georgia appeals court has granted oral arguments after former President Trump appealed a decision allowing Fani Willis to stay on the case.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade in court in January 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Accusations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had an inappropriate relationship with a special prosecutor she hired to seek convictions of Donald Trump and others for interfering in Georgia’s 2020 election have led to renewed calls to remove Willis from the case.

Willis has defended her hiring of Nathan Wade, who has little prosecutorial experience, and has not directly denied a romantic relationship. The allegations were first made public in a motion filed earlier this month by defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who represents former Trump campaign staffer and White House aide Michael Roman.

Merchant alleges that Willis’ office paid Wade large sums and that Willis improperly benefited when Wade then paid for the two of them to go on vacations. Merchant has not offered any proof of the alleged relationship. But a filing last week by Wade’s wife in their divorce case includes credit card records that show that Wade bought plane tickets for Willis to travel with him to Miami and San Francisco.