Here's How Allegations of Fani Willis' Affair Could Impact Trump's Georgia Election Interference Case

Former President Donald Trump is embroiled in massive legal troubles right now, and recent allegations leveled by his Georgia election subversion case legal team against District Attorney Fani Willis could have some impact on his case.

There has recently been a tornado of controversy around Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis (D), and the significant prosecution against the business mogul. The controversy stemmed after allegations leveled by Trump's team suggested a romantic relationship between her and the special prosecutor she designated to lead the Georgia case against Trump for 2020 election tampering.

The shocking accusation first arose earlier this month in court documents filed by a co-defendant in the case, who was a former Trump 2020 campaign operative. He claims that the sweeping racketeering charge is “fatally defective” because of the alleged link between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. 

Michael Roman, the defendant, requested the court that the accusations against him be dismissed and that Willis, Wade, and the district attorney's office be disqualified from litigating the case before a Georgia judge. Willis has been directed by Judge Scott McAfee, who is supervising the Georgia election tampering case, to provide a written response to Roman's accusations by February 2. 

The alleged relationship between Willis and Wade has been used by Trump's most ardent supporters in recent weeks as solid proof of prosecutorial wrongdoing. Norman Eisen, a supporter of Willis and special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during Trump's initial impeachment, suggested that Wade withdraw from the case. Eisen contended, along with two other legal experts, that the affair claim “had become a distraction” even though there is “no basis”  for disqualifying the couple. “Defense attorneys cannot use allegations of prosecutorial ethics violations, real or imaginary, that have nothing to do with a trial to delay or force prosecutors off of a case,” Eisen, along with University of Alabama law professor Joyce Vance and University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter, wrote in a statement.

According to Roman's motion, Willis and Wade had an “improper, clandestine personal relationship” before Wade was named a special prosecutor and the district attorney's office started an investigation into Trump. Additionally, it claims that because Willis covered their airfare to “traditional vacation destinations,” he made money off of Wade's appointment.

The affair claim, despite the political uproar in recent weeks, is unlikely to have much of an effect on the case itself, especially since there are no legal statutes requiring Willis or Wade to recuse themselves from the case. “There’s little doubt that this was poor judgment,” said Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University. “But I think there is doubt as to whether or not this amounts to disqualification.”

According to Levinson, prosecutors may be excluded from cases due to personal conflicts, but this usually doesn't apply to relationships with coworkers. “If there’s a letter where [Willis] says, like, ‘God, Nathan’s not qualified but he needs some money so he can take me on vacations’ — sure, then we have a problem,” she said. 

Judge McAfee has set a hearing for February 15th, but Roman's request is likely to be dismissed without any clear “smoking gun,” according to Levinson. Painter, Eisen, and Vance came to the same conclusion.