Nathan Wade resigns after judge says Fani Willis and her office can stay on Trump Georgia 2020 election case if he steps aside

Judge in Georgia Trump election case says while he couldn't "conclusively establish" when Willis' relationship…

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By Melissa Quinn, Jared Eggleston

Atlanta — Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor working with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, resigned his post after a judge ruled Friday that District Attorney Fani Willis and her office may remain on the 2020 election case involving former President Donald Trump and his allies if Wade stepped aside.

Wade’s resignation as special prosecutor came hours after Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee laid out two options that would allow for the continued prosecution of the racketeering case against Trump and his co-defendants stemming from an alleged scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

“The district attorney may choose to step aside, along with the whole of her office, and refer the prosecution to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council for reassignment,” McAfee wrote in his 23-page decision. “Alternatively, [special assistant district attorney] Wade can withdraw, allowing the district attorney, the defendants, and the public to move forward without his presence or remuneration distracting from and potentially compromising the merits of this case.”

Wade said in a letter to Willis, with whom he had a romantic relationship with while serving as special prosecutor, that he was stepping down “in the interest of democracy, in dedication to the American public, and to move this case forward as quickly as possible.” The district attorney accepted his resignation and in her own letter to Wade, praised him for his “professionalism and dignity.”

Willis lauded Wade’s “patriotism, courage and dedication to justice” in the face of threats against himself and his family, “as well as unjustified attacks in the media and in court on your reputation as a lawyer.”

McAfee’s decision was in response to a request to disqualify Willis and Wade by Michael Roman, a longtime GOP operative and one of Trump’s co-defendants, who said there was a romantic relationship between the pair and that Willis had improperly benefited from that relationship. Although Willis acknowledged she and Wade were romantically involved, she fiercely disputed the claims that the relationship began before she hired him in November 2021. The allegations set off days of fiery testimony which included Willis taking the stand in her own defense.

Though McAfee’s decision allowed Willis and her office to continue prosecuting the case — albeit if Wade withdrew from the team — he chided Willis for what he said is a “tremendous lapse in judgment” and criticized the “unprofessional manner” of her testimony during an evidentiary hearing last month…