Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s (D) ally, who served as special counsel in the first impeachment of former President Trump, said that it would be a “wise thing” for prosecutor Nathan Wade to step aside in the Georgia election interference case considering the allegations that Willis hired him while they had a romantic affair.
Norm Eisen, who was the House of Representatives special counsel during Trump’s impeachment, said that the Georgia law does not require Wade to remove himself from the case, but that it would be a good thing to consider.
“My view is that the law does not require Mr. Wade to step down, but I think it would be the wise thing for him to voluntarily consider doing so,” Eisen said during an interview with The Hill on Saturday. “The advice that I would give Mr. Wade, if he asked me would be that this is a good time to step away from the case.”
Wade is an Atlanta-area attorney whom Willis hired as a special prosecutor to lead the case.
The former special counsel’s remarks represent the first instance that a Willis ally acknowledged the severity of the damages the allegations added to her and the ongoing case. Eisen also added that the facts of the relationship between the two “are not fully known, so we need to see how that develops.”
Eisen said that the case against Trump and his co-conspirators is “strong” and that the evidence is “powerful,” but that the parties involved should not waste time since the growing controversy could slow down the case.
“Trump could not have done that alone and his alleged co-conspirators, like Mr. Rome…need to be the focus of these proceedings,” Eisen said. He was referring to co-defendant Mike Roman, who sought to disqualify both Willis and Wade from the case in the allegations included in the fillings two weeks ago.
Eisen added that Willis should not step aside because of the importance of the case and because she was elected by her constituents to prosecute crimes.
“Willis has no legal obligation to step down,” Eisen said. “Their management of the case has been successful. She was elected by the people of Fulton County to prosecute crimes, and this is a serious one that impacted her jurisdiction. So I not only think that she can remain, but I think that she must remain and continue working on the case.”
The accusations against Wills and Wade were filed by Roman’s attorney last week, claiming that Willis and Wade engaged in an “improper” romantic relationship, therefore making the indictment “fatally defective.”