Former Atlanta prosecutor Nathan Wade was in the middle of an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins when the news anchor asked about his relationship with Georgia’s District Attorney Fani Willis — and Wade’s own media team interrupted the moment. Wade and Willis’ relationship nearly derailed Georgia’s case against Donald Trump for interfering in the 2020 presidential election.
The exchange took place after Collins asked “when exactly” the relationship began, and Wade answered that “there’s been this effort to say that, OK, these exact dates are at issue and these exact dates are–” before he stopped, noting, “I’m getting signaled here.” They asked to speak with him off mic and he left to talk privately with an advisor.
After he returned about 30 seconds later, Collins asked, “Everything OK?” to which Wade nodded and replied, “Yeah.” Collins then asked the question for a second time, and Wade insisted that questions about the relationship are “just a distraction.”
“It is not a relevant issue in this case,” he added, “and I think that we should be focusing on more of the facts and the indictment in the case.”
Collins clarified that the question has relevance due to Wade’s previous statements that he’s proud of the work the office did on the case. The question, she said, is “did the relationship jeopardize that work that you did in this investigation?”
Wade agreed that the “pending issue” the court of appeals faced is important, and said that “we should allow them to take a step back and allow them to take the evidence that they have and do their work to make the decision.”
Collins continued to push Wade, noting he testified to the timeline about when his relationship with Willis began and ended. “It just wasn’t completely clear, because before it said, before the indictment — which was Aug. 15, here in Atlanta — and then later, the answer was at the end of that year. And so I think that was the clarity people were seeking of when it started, and when it ended.”
Wade reiterated that he wanted to allow the court to work through the issues before them and that he would avoid saying anything that could interfere with their decisions.
When asked if his relationship with Willis was a “mistake,” Wade answered, “Absolutely not,” reiterating that their conversation was a “distraction.”
He added, “It’s a tool to stop the train, to slow down the inevitable, which is the trial of the defendants named in the election interference case.”
Wade also stated that he believes the Georgia trial against Trump will take place.
The former prosecutor joined the case on Nov. 1, 2021, which was also the same day he filed for divorce from his ex-wife, who had previously accused of him of using “marital funds” to “entertain” Willis.
Wade was ordered to resign from his position after Judge Scott McAfee concluded that Willis and Wade’s affair didn’t meet the criteria of a conflict of interest. McAfee criticized Willis for “unprofessional” behavior and a “tremendous lapse in judgment,” stating that the relationship gave her office “a significant appearance of impropriety.”
Wade defended the relationship in May during an interview with Joy Reid. He told the MSNBC host, “I needed to be clear that, when the relationship began, my then-wife was not in the home, she had moved to Texas, and we had been separated for a period of time.”
“We did not have a relationship. She knew and I knew, by agreement, that as soon as our youngest child graduated high school and matriculated into college, then we would then formally file the divorce,” Wade said.
