Trump’s Georgia inquisitor allowed to stay on his case, but at what cost?

Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor in Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case, resigned after a judge said his affair was inappropriate.

Words by US Correspondent Dan Rivers and Washington News Editor Jonathan Wald

Friday's ruling is a victory of sorts for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Judge Scott McAfee ordered either she or her lead prosecutor Nathan Wade must step aside in the Election interference case against Donald Trump in Georgia, meaning she could continue without her ex-boyfriend’s involvement.

Hours after the order, lead Prosecutor, Nathan Wade announced his resignation in a letter hand-delivered and written to the District Attorney's office.

In it, he made clear his resignation was "in the interest of democracy... and to move this case forward as quickly as possible".

But the ruling has come at a considerable personal cost to Willis, exposing in tawdry detail her private life and has damaged her reputation.

While Willis can continue to prosecute Trump, McAfee was damning in his criticism of her and Wade.

He accused them of a “tremendous lapse of judgement, and noted “the unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony”.

While he said the case against Willis and Wade could not be proved, “an odour of mendacity remains.”

The case Trump and 18 other defendants are facing in Georgia centres around their alleged attempts to interfere with the results of the 2020 election. It was brought by Willis.

But recently it came to light that Willis was in a relationship with one of the lead prosecutors in this case, Wade.

Their romantic entanglement came to light during divorce proceedings between Wade, and his ex-wife Joycelyn Wade.

Why does this matter? Trump’s lawyers have tried to suggest there is a conflict of interest here and have sought to get Willis kicked off the case, thereby delaying it.

They say that Willis financially benefitted from Wade’s involvement in the case, accompanying him on exotic holidays to places like the Bahamas and Belize.

She has vehemently denied she benefitted from her ex-boyfriend’s employment on the case, claiming she paid him back for every trip they took together.

When asked where the evidence was of this reimbursement, she said there were no bank records, because she paid him back in cash.

She also claims she appointed him as a prosecutor before they got involved romantically and therefore there was no conflict of interest.

But the whole episode has put Willis and Wade under an uncomfortable spotlight, deflecting attention from the actual defendants, Trump and his associates.

Willis angrily pointed out: “You think I am on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial no matter how much you try to put me on trial.”

This has created the perfect excuse for Trump’s lawyers to further delay this trial.

It’s already led to weeks of testimony and cross-examination of both Willis and Wade.

It comes as no surprise then that Trump’s lawyers are expected to appeal this decision which means the trial isn't likely to start until the appeal is heard. It casts doubt on whether this case would be heard before November's election.

Anna Bower from Law Fare, a publication that offers non-partisan legal analysis told us: "The election is the most important thing here, in terms of whether or not we will see Donald Trump go to trial because if he's elected, it is very likely this case will be put on hold until after his Presidency."

Two days ago, Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six counts from the indictment, including three against Trump, because the charges did not provide “sufficient detail” although the Judge gave Willis’ team six months to resurrect the charges by presenting them to a Grand Jury.

Zoom out and look at the big picture: this is all part of a concerted strategy by Trump’s legal team to delay each and every trial he is facing.

They have deployed similar tactics in the classified documents case in Florida, which is still a long way from reaching court.

The so-called Hush Money trial in New York is also facing delays. This is the case in which Trump is accused of covering up payments to silence women he had alleged affairs with, therefore benefitting his election campaign in 2016.

Now it has emerged Federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have disclosed over 70,000 pages of new documents from their abortive attempt to prosecute Trump years ago with another 30,000 to come.

They abandoned the case and instead, it was taken up at a State level by Manhattan’s District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Now Bragg and Trump’s lawyers will need to wade through those ‘new’ documents to assess what is relevant. That will further delay that trial.

Although it remains likely that the trial will start and finish before the election, the delay does at least raise the possibility that Trump will not face trial for any of the criminal charges he is facing.

The same can’t be said for the January 6 Federal Trial, in which Trump is accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election result.

That is delayed pending a Supreme Court ruling on whether Trump had presidential immunity from prosecution.

The Justices probably won’t come back with their judgement until the summer, making it possible this case won’t finish before November’s election.

That same ruling may also further delay the Georgia case, according to Anna Bower.

So will Trump face justice before November’s election?

The answer appears to be yes, but as it stands it may only be the Hush Money trial in New York - the weakest, legally, of the four he is facing and also the one which carries the least risk of his going to jail if he is found guilty.

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