The special prosecutor on Donald Trump’s election interference case in Georgia reached a temporary agreement in his contentious divorce dispute on Tuesday—just one day before he was set to testify at a hearing that would likely include questions about an alleged affair he had with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The two-year-old divorce case between Nathan Wade and his estranged wife, Joycelyn Mayfield Wade, is not finalized as a result of the agreement. The Tuesday filing, however, does indicate that the Wades have come to an understanding on several undisclosed matters ahead of a final settlement.
“While this negates the immediate need for a hearing, it does not settle the case,” attorneys for Joycelyn Wade said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “It merely means that the issues of Temporary Alimony and Attorney’s Fees, which were set to be heard by the Court on January 31st, have been resolved.”
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At the Wednesday hearing, Wade was expected to answer questions under oath about his finances, in what would have been the first instance of either the special prosecutor or Willis answering direct inquiries about the allegations, which have dominated national headlines for several weeks. After Wade’s deposition, Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson was set to rule whether Willis would testify in the divorce case.
“Now that our client has the financial resources to support herself while this case is pending, we are focused on the hard work of moving the case toward resolution, whether that is through settlement or trial,” Joycelyn Wade lawyers added. “We are continuing to work to obtain information from Mr. Wade to ensure that the couple’s assets are divided properly after more than twenty-six years of marriage.”
Wade’s alleged affair with Willis was first made public earlier this month in a court filing submitted on behalf of Mike Roman, a former campaign official for Trump’s 2020 re-election bid. Roman, one of 18 co-defendants charged alongside Trump, asked that Judge Scott McAfee bar Willis from continuing to prosecute his case.
His motion claimed that Willis and Wade took multiple lavish vacations together last year and that they carried out an “improper” relationship.
At the same time, Joycelyn Wade’s attorneys filed a request to subpoena Willis, arguing that the DA has personal knowledge about the estranged couple’s finances. The lawyer later filed Nathan Wade’s credit card statements in another motion, which showed he bought flight tickets for himself and Willis to multiple places, including Aruba, between 2022 and 2023.
Attorneys for Wade's estranged wife had previously indicated they wished to question Willis in the case, arguing that she had “unique knowledge” about Wade’s finances and marriage.
“[Willis] is trying to hide under the shield of her position,” Joycelyn Wade’s attorney, Andrea Hastings, argued last week. “Whatever her job is has nothing to do with whether or not she should have to sit for this deposition.”
The District Attorney has sought to quash the subpoena, arguing in a searing motion that Joycelyn Wade is attempting to “damage her professional reputation” and conspire to harm the Trump investigation.
Nathan Wade’s lawyer, Scott Kimbrough, declined The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Attorneys for Joycelyn Wade said in the Tuesday statement that their goal at the end of this case is “a just and equitable divorce resolution—without political agenda or public scrutiny.”
“We are not connected to, nor concerned with, any other case,” the lawyers added. “Joycelyn Wade’s primary focus remains on her family.”
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is handling the Trump racketeering case, has set a Feb. 15 hearing to review the misconduct allegations. Willis and Wade have until Friday to formally respond to McAfee’s hearing and the allegations, which many critics believe should be grounds for their removal from the Trump case.
Last week, Georgia Senate Republicans passed legislation to establish a panel to investigate allegations that Willis had any conflict of interest in hiring Wade or misused public funds. The special committee consists of three Democrats and six Republicans.
