Left: Michael Roman; Right: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks on Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta (Fulton County Jail mug shot; AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade have been subpoenaed to testify in an upcoming hearing over allegations they are having an affair that has resulted in the misuse of public funds, a lawsuit filed Tuesday says.
On Tuesday, attorneys representing Michael Roman, a staff member for Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, sued the district attorney’s office alleging instances in which the Georgia Open Records Act has been violated in the course of seeking documents related to the alleged affair. Roman is a co-defendant in the election subversion and racketeering (RICO) case against Trump and various others.
In early January, Roman first publicized the allegations against Willis and Wade in a bombshell lawsuit arguing the prosecutorial duo should be disqualified from the proceedings due to a “conflict of interest” because of their alleged self-dealing, nepotistic relationship.
A hearing over those allegations is slated to be held on Feb. 15 before Fulton County Superior Court Scott McAfee.
“Mr. Roman has subpoenaed Willis and Wade to testify at the February 15, 2024 hearing,” the lawsuit filed Tuesday by Marietta-based attorneys Ashleigh Merchant and John Merchant reads.
While Willis and Wade have been subpoenaed, however, that is no guarantee they will actually testify in the matter. The judge has given the deposed parties until Feb. 2, to respond to the subpoena request. And, if past filings in the romantic subplot of the RICO case have been any indication, both will likely seek to quash their subpoenas.
Roman’s latest lawsuit contains a nod to some prior proceedings.
“Wade is scheduled to appear at a separate evidentiary hearing in his pending divorce matter tomorrow,” the Tuesday complaint reads.
That, of course is now a bit out of date.
On Wednesday morning, Wade temporarily settled his long-running divorce with his estranged wife — thereby avoiding testifying in divorce proceedings over the division of the marital estate and assets. Earlier this month, Fulton County Judge Henry Thompson stayed a subpoena request for Willis to testify in the family law matter pending Wade’s testimony in that since-scuttled hearing. Now, it is more likely than not that neither Wade nor Willis will have to testify in the divorce matter.
Still, if McAfee refuses to quash the Merchants’ subpoenas, the prosecutors will almost certainly have to testify about the divorce.
The heart of the underlying lawsuit announcing those subpoenas is a claim the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office intentionally and repeatedly violated Georgia law by refusing to provide documents relevant to the allegations against Willis and Wade.
“None of the records sought from the Defendant are subject to any exception,” the lawsuit reads. “Defendant has refused to provide Plaintiff access to public records, including those sought in the Request, for an unreasonable time period and without a proper or legal basis for doing so.”
The filing outlines well over a dozen instances in which the district attorney’s office failed to respond to records requests within the three days mandated by statute. Roman’s attorneys claim the office has only, on a handful of occasions, and after repeatedly being asked to do so, provided a meager amount of records.
“Defendant has no legal basis under the Act to withhold responsive documents without substantial justification,” the lawsuit goes on. “Indeed, it appears that Defendant is acting intentionally and in an effort to hide from public view public documents showing how FCDA has spent public monies related to the operation of the office of FCDA.”
The filing also says several requests were “prematurely closed” without reason. More often than not, the DA’s office has belatedly, and falsely claimed not to have such documents in their possession, the filing claims.
“Upon information and belief, Defendant is in possession of additional documents and materials that are responsive to Plaintiff’s Request pursuant to the Act, and which are not subject to any exception under the Act, but which nonetheless still have not been produced. ”
The lawsuit alleges one instance — after nearly five months of disavowals, closed requests, and denials of having such records — in which the DA’s office provided “numerous documents” in response to the initial open records request. The attorneys maintain the DA’s office, however, still left “numerous documents” outstanding.
“Defendant has acted in violation of the Act without substantial justification, continues to act in violation of the Act without substantial justification, and will continue to act in violation of the Act unless the Court intervenes to compel Defendant’s compliance with the Act,” the lawsuit alleges.
Roman’s attorneys claim those extant documents could be key to his broader claim about the DA’s alleged self-dealing.
“Among other grounds, Mr. Roman has asserted that Willis and Wade should be disqualified because Willis used taxpayer money to pay Wade, with whom she has had a romantic relationship at the time, and, in turn, has received financial benefits from such payments in the form of vacations, hotel stays and other personal gifts,” the filing reads. “In light of this information, Mr. Roman believes that Willis’ use of money budgeted to FCDA is of utmost importance in evaluating whether Willis and Wade have an irreparable and fatal conflict of interest and whether, and to what extent, Willis has otherwise used public monies for her personal gain.”
The district attorney’s office has disputed the allegations.
“Despite consistent communication, you imply that this office has failed to meet its obligation under the Georgia’s Open Records Act — respectfully, we disagree with your disingenuous implication,” an unsigned letter from the Open Records division of the DA’s office sent on Jan. 26, and attached as an exhibit to the lawsuit, reads.
Roman’s filing comes on the heels of a Monday lawsuit alleging similar violations of the Peach State’s open records law filed by conservative government watchdog organization Judicial Watch.
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