The Georgia prosecutor who charged Donald Trump with election interference, Fani Willis, has revealed that she had a romantic relationship with a lawyer she appointed to help in the case.
The disclosure of the romance between Ms Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade has prompted the former US president and two other co-defendants to ask for her removal and the dropping of charges against them.
In reply to this request, Ms Willis submitted a 176-page document to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, claiming the proposal is baseless and should be rejected.
Nathan Wade was hired as special prosecutor in November 2021
She stated there was no personal relationship with Mr. Wade when he was employed in November 2021 as a special prosecutor, for which he was allegedly paid over $650,000.
Mr. Wade, who is divorcing, verified in an accompanying affidavit that he and Ms. Willis started a personal relationship in 2022 but stressed that she did not benefit financially from his role as special prosecutor.
Ms Willis also said that she and Mr Wade split the costs for holidays they went on together, including a Caribbean cruise.
Mr. Trump, who is currently the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, maintains his not-guilty plea to charges related to an alleged criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. Democrat Joe Biden won the state with a margin of approximately 12,000 votes.
In a recent post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump attacked Ms Willis, alleging that her confession of a sexual relationship undermines the case against him.
Ms Willis has asked that the trial of Mr Trump and his 14 co-defendants start on 5 August, three months before the November presidential election.
Several co-defendants, including three former Trump campaign lawyers, have admitted to lesser charges, avoiding jail sentences.
Others charged in Georgia include former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, constitutional lawyer John Eastman, and mid-level Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark.
Besides the Georgia case, Mr. Trump faces federal charges related to his attempts to subvert the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, raid of the US Capitol by his supporters.
The trial for these federal charges, initially set to begin in Washington in March, will likely be delayed.
Moreover, Mr Trump and his two oldest sons, Don Junior and Eric, are on trial in New York for business fraud, with the former president going on trial in Florida in May for alleged mishandling of top-secret documents after he left the White House.
