In the past week, we’ve seen commentary from law professors and former federal prosecutors arguing that Fulton County (Georgia) District Attorney Fani Willis should not be disqualified—even though she hired as a special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a man she was allegedly dating, paid him nearly $700,000, and received vacations in return.
I disagree.
Before I get into why, a disclaimer. If these allegations are false, there is no basis to disqualify Nathan Wade or Fani Willis. There is no reason why hiring an inexperienced person for this role and paying him a lot of money should, by itself, have any impact on the Donald Trump RICO case Willis is prosecuting. We can expect a hearing on these allegations in February, and if Judge Scott F. McAfee finds them not to be credible, the case will continue as it was.