Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade has reached a temporary divorce settlement with his estranged wife, canceling a public hearing on Wednesday in which Wade was expected to be asked about his relationship with District Attorney Fani Willis.
The settlement reached Tuesday means Willis is likely to avoid testifying in the case. Willis, in court filings in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others, is accused of having an improper romantic relationship with Wade with him paying for their vacations to Napa Valley and the Caribbean.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson on Tuesday signed an order approving the temporary settlement, noting that both Nathan and Joycelyn Wade agreed that its terms and that the conditions would not be filed with the court.
On Jan. 8, Willis was subpoenaed to testify in the divorce case by attorneys for Joycelyn Wade, and Willis’ lawyer asked Thompson to quash the subpoena. But Thompson declined to do so, saying he would not decide whether the DA had to testify until he first heard testimony from Nathan Wade, which was expected to occur at Wednesday’s hearing.
“All of the issues we pled for temporary support and attorneys fees have been resolved by this agreement,” said Andrea Hastings, one of Joycelyn Wade’s attorneys. “The case is not resolved on a final basis. We still have a lot of work to do to be able to resolve this case through either a final settlement or a trial.”
Scott Kimbrough, Nathan Wade’s attorney, declined to comment on the matter.
Willis has been told by Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to respond to the allegations in the election interference case by Friday. The motion, filed by lawyer Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, seeks to disqualify Willis and her office from having anything more to do with the election interference case.
Roman’s motion has since been joined by Trump and co-defendant Bob Cheeley. McAfee has scheduled a hearing on the matter for Feb. 15.
Wade was appointed special prosecutor on Nov. 1, 2021, the day before he filed for divorce. He is billing the county for $250 an hour, a relatively inexpensive rate for a private attorney.
Since becoming special prosecutor, Wade has billed the county for more than $654,000 in legal fees. Roman’s motions alleges that Wade paid for his vacations with Willis out of the money he received from Fulton County.
