Former Fulton County, Georgia, special prosecutor Nathan Wade told lawmakers Monday that District Attorney Fani Willis planned to pursue charges against Donald Trump before she officially took the job, and admitted to meeting with Biden administration officials at least twice during Willis' probe of the former president.
In August 2023, a grand jury handed up an indictment to Trump and 18 allies for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Wade was forced off Willis' legal team after their romantic relationship was exposed. Late last month, he was subpoenaed to appear before the House Judiciary Committee, which is probing prosecutions of Trump.
In a closed-door deposition before the committee last week, Wade said he was on a "search committee" — set up before Willis took office on January 1, 2021 — to find prosecutors to go after Trump.
After being asked when the search for prosecutors started, Wade said, "Sometime after the election, but prior to her taking office," according to the House committee's transcript released Monday.
The transcript also showed that, at least 58 times during his testimony, Wade said he could not "recall" or didn't "know" key details of documented interactions he had with Biden White House officials and members of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
The Judiciary Committee discovered that Wade billed Willis his $250-per-hour fee for a meeting with a member of the White House counsel's office in May 2022.
After trying to insist his invoice did not say he met with White House counsel, Wade later admitted, "yes," when pressed on whether the reference to White House counsel meant he billed for a conference with such an official.
Wade then was asked about details of a meeting denoted by a record saying, "Interview with D.C./White House, November 18th, 2022. Eight hours at $250. Cost $2,000."
After insisting he did not recall the meeting's participants, connected travel, or who was involved in scheduling of the meeting, Wade was asked, "And if you billed for it, if you billed 8 hours for interview with D.C./White House, it's safe to assume that you would have taken part in the interview?" the transcript said.
Wade replied, "Yes ma'am."
Earlier this month, Willis requested Georgia's Court of Appeals to reinstate six charges in the Georgia election interference case against Trump and five of his co-defendants.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Willis' office filed a brief Oct. 15 asking the appellate court to reverse a March ruling by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who had determined that the state failed to provide the defendants with sufficient detail regarding the charges, hindering their ability to prepare an adequate defense.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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