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By Rachel Dobkin
Weekend Reporter
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The chances of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis being disqualified from Donald Trump's Georgia election subversion case just decreased, according to legal analyst Anthony Michael Kreis.
The former president and 18 co-defendants were indicted last August for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia after Joe Biden's slim victory over Trump, following a years-long investigation led by Willis. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claimed that the case is politically motivated as he is the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race.
Last month, in an effort to throw Willis and her team off the case, one of Trump's co-defendants who once served as his former campaign official, Michael Roman, filed a motion that accused Willis and a special prosecutor she hired, Nathan Wade, of having an "improper, clandestine personal relationship."
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For weeks, Willis and Wade remained tight-lipped over the allegations, until Willis admitted to a "personal relationship" between her and Wade in a filing on Friday. However, Willis said that their relationship "has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit."
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An affidavit from Wade, which was a part of Willis' filing, backed up her claims and helped their chances of beating Roman's motion, according to Kreis.
"The chances of a successful disqualification went from 5% to .05%," Kreis wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
Kreis attached part of Wade's affidavit to his post, in which the special prosecutor stated, "While professional associates and friends since 2019, there was no personal relationship between District Attorney Willis and me prior to or at the time of my appointment as special prosecutor in 2021."
Wade also debunked any rumors of financial benefit within his relationship with Willis, which he said started in 2022.
"The District Attorney received no funds or personal financial gain from my position as Special Prosecutor," Wade said. "The District Attorney and I are both financially independent professionals; expenses for personal travel were roughly divided equally between us."
In a follow-up post, Kreis said of Roman's motion: "I think this has borne out. The thin amount of evidence proffered in the initial motion looks entirely immaterial now."
A hearing to consider Roman's motion to disqualify Willis will be held on February 15.
When asked about how everything will play out in court on February 15, Kreis told Newsweek via X direct message on Friday: "I suspect the assertions raised by the D.A. will be subjected to further inspection with the rules of evidence applied. I think Judge [Scott] McAfee will be able to easily dismiss these motions but will want to verify in court the facts laid out in the brief and make sure nothing is left uncertain."
Ryan Goodman, former Special Counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense, wrote on X, in reaction to Wade's affidavit, "This should end the matter," noting that he has been critical of Willis and Wade.
Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor, posted on X, "The new Fani Willis brief, supporting affidavit and exhibits are so powerful you wish the substance was public right after the allegations, so as to nip them in the bud. And unless something changes, this makes the Feb. 15 hearing much ado about nothing, by a desperate defendant."
Newsweek reached out to Willis' office via email and Roman's lawyer via phone for comment.
Update 2/2/24, 4:51 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Kreis.
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