Attorneys prosecuting former president Donald Trump are expected to be subpoenaed over allegations that they have had an improper romantic relationship, CNN reported Thursday.
Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she appointed to lead the election subversion case against Trump, will likely receive subpoenas to appear at a hearing next month regarding whether the two should be disqualified from the case over alleged romantic and financial ties between them, according to the report.
Lawyers for Mike Roman, a codefendant of Trump, have alleged that Wade—who has little experience prosecuting criminal cases—took Willis on lavish vacations after his appointment and that the two have a conflict of interest, constituting grounds to dismiss the case. The alleged evidence linking Wade to Willis romantically came to light in Wade's divorce proceedings.
The Fulton County judge overseeing the case against Trump called for the hearing, which is scheduled to be live-streamed on Feb. 15, per CNN. Two of Wade's law partners, one current and one former, will also likely receive subpoenas.
Willis will probably fight any subpoena for her or her staff, CNN reported.
Ashleigh Merchant, Roman's lawyer, told the network that she hoped not to focus on the allegations of romantic involvement during the hearing.
"I think the real issue here is not this relationship," Merchant said. "I think it’s more about the impropriety of having him on the team and having him present this to the grand jury and the conflict of interest in the appearance of impropriety."
Thursday's development comes days after the Washington Free Beacon reported that Willis promised in April 2020 that she would not be "choosing people to date that work under me." She also said she does not believe "the community is concerned about" when husbands and wives have "outside relationships."