In fresh court filings, a defendant in the Georgia election interference case involving former President Trump claimed that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) and a key prosecutor in the case are in an “improper” sexual connection, rendering the indictment “fatally defective.”
Mike Roman, a Philadelphia-based political operative who served as Trump’s director of Election Day operations for his 2020 reelection campaign and is facing seven federal charges, could not provide any hard evidence of the allegations.
In court papers, Roman’s lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, alleged that “sources close” to both Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade indicated the two are in an “ongoing, personal and romantic relationship.”
“This Motion is not being filed lightly.” “It is also not being filed hastily, without considerable thought, research, or investigation,” Merchant added.
The district attorney’s office and Roman’s lawyer have been contacted for comment.
Willis and Wade, according to the Trump co-defendant, have visited “traditional vacation destinations” such as the Caribbean and Napa Valley, and have been spotted in private together “in and around the Atlanta area.” The purported trips were not documented in the filing.
According to the complaint, “sources close to both the special prosecutor and the district attorney” indicated the couple had an ongoing, personal relationship before the election meddling case was launched. These assertions have not been independently validated by The Hill.
Wade was a private attorney before being retained by the district attorney’s office to assist in the prosecution of the election meddling case, which ended in accusations against Trump and 18 others in a massive indictment last August.
According to county records, Wade was paid approximately $654,000 in legal fees in 2022 and 2023 while working on the inquiry. According to the records, the payments are authorized by the district attorney’s office.
Roman’s attorney contended that the arrangement constituted an irreparable conflict of interest, and he sought dismissal of the charges as well as a stay of prosecution against Willis, Wade, and the Fulton County district attorney’s office.
“Wade has personally and financially benefited from his personal relationship with Willis since he has received lucrative amounts under his continued contracts with Willis,” the complaint reads. “Because of his personal and financial motivations, he will continue to be incentivized to prosecute this case, so he has acquired a unique and personal interest or stake in Mr. Roman’s continued prosecution.” That is, he is determined to continue prosecuting Mr. Roman for as long as possible in order to continue making excessive sums of money.”
Roman, a relatively low-profile defendant in the case, faces seven charges for allegedly assisting in the coordination of a meeting in December 2020 where a slate of pro-Trump voters signed Electoral College paperwork. He entered a not-guilty plea.
“It is not our intention here to find ways to prosecute the prosecutor, but it must be brought to the attention of the Court that the actions of the two lead district attorneys in this case arguably constitute crimes under federal law,” Merchant wrote in his motion to dismiss.
Another co-defendant in the case, Trump-aligned attorney Kenneth Chesebro, sought dismissal of his charges by claiming Wade failed to file his oath of office paperwork on time, but the move was denied by a judge.