Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis, in his capacity as the chair of the Fulton County Audit Committee, sent a letter on Monday demanding answers from District Attorney Fani Willis over her alleged affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she appointed to prosecute her case against former President Donald Trump and has compensated more than $650,000 in taxpayer dollars.
Ellis (pictured above, left) wrote in his letter to Willis that he “must reasonably inquire” about the allegations she “misused county funds and accepted valuable gifts and personal benefits from a contractor/recipient of County funds.”
The commissioner referred to the recent allegation by Michael Roman, a defendant in Willis’ case against Trump, which alleged the district attorney was engaged in an improper romantic relationship with Wade. Further, Roman alleged Wade’s compensation from her office via luxurious vacations paid for by the special prosecutor.
Invoices reflecting Wade’s vacation purchases, including tickets purchased in Willis’ name, surfaced in his ongoing divorce case, which he initiated one day after Willis appointed him her special prosecutor.
In his letter, Ellis noted that Wade allegedly lacks “relevant prosecutorial experience in a case of this type and complexity,” purportedly paid for Willis’ “portion of multiple instances of joint leisure travel” and is alleged to “be in a romantic relationship” with Willis “that was not disclosed to the court or parties in the case.”
Ellis also indicated Fulton County will not be placated by any statewide investigation against Willis because “this situation requires confirmation of whether County funds provided for the operation of your office and its prosecutorial function were used in an appropriate manner” and whether payments to Wade “were converted to your personal gain in the form of subsidized travel or other gifts.”
The commissioner gave Willis until February 2 to provide information about Wade’s appointment, which is the same day Willis must file her response to Roman’s allegations with Fulton County Superior Court.
On the same day, Ellis sent his letter, Georgia State Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) filed SR 465 to empower a new State Senate committee to investigate the allegations against Willis.
Filed with a total of 30 sponsors, Dolezal’s resolution would create the State Senate Special Committee on Investigations to investigate the claims that Willis is engaged “in various forms of misconduct relating to the prosecution of cases related to the 2020 presidential election” and states that the purported relationship between Willis and Wade “would constitute a clear conflict of interest and a fraud upon the taxpayers of Fulton County and State of Georgia.”
Willis currently faces both a criminal referral and a complaint with the Georgia Bar Association. She is scheduled to appear in court on February 15 to respond to the accusations about Wade.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Bob Ellis” by Bob Ellis, Fulton County District 2 Commissioner. Photo “Fani Willis” by Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.
