Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade Leaves Trump Election Interference Case

ATLANTA — The special prosecutor who had a romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis withdrew Friday from the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump following a judge's ruling that one of them had to leave the case for it to continue.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Friday morning said Nathan Wade or Willis and her office should leave the case due to the appearance of impropriety due to the pair's romantic relationship.

The judge said there was no "actual conflict" due to their relationship, which would have disqualified Willis.

"Without sufficient evidence that the District Attorney acquired a personal stake in the prosecution, or that her financial arrangements had any impact on the case, the Defendants’ claims of an actual conflict must be denied," the judge wrote, according to NBC News.

Wade offered his resignation in a letter to Willis, saying he was doing so "in the interest of democracy."

McAfee had said the court "condones this tremendous lapse in judgment" but said state law doesn't permit the finding of an actual conflict for "simply making bad choices — even repeatedly."

See also: Witness Contradicts Fulton DA's Romantic Relationship Timeline: Report

McAfee, who is overseeing the Georgia 2020 election interference case, on Wednesday dismissed some of the charges against Trump and others, but the rest of the sweeping racketeering indictment remained intact.

McAfee quashed six counts in the indictment, including three against Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee. But the judge left in place other counts — including 10 facing Trump — and said prosecutors could seek a new indictment to try to reinstate the ones he dismissed.

The nearly 100-page Georgia indictment details dozens of alleged acts by Trump or his allies to undo his defeat, including harassing an election worker, who faced false claims of fraud, and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of Electoral College electors favorable to Trump.

Of the 19 people originally charged in the indictment, four have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. They include prominent Trump allies and attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro.

The Georgia case covers some of the same ground as the federal case in Washington brought by special counsel Jack Smith that charges Trump with conspiring to overturn his election loss in a desperate bid to stay in power. Trump is charged separately by Smith with hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and thwarting government efforts to retrieve them.

Trump is scheduled to go to trial later this month in the New York case accusing him of falsifying his company’s internal records to hide the true nature of payments to a former lawyer who helped Trump bury negative stories during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.