Election

Marjorie Taylor Greene files complaint about Georgia prosecutor who charged Trump

A co-defendant in Trump’s case has alleged that Fani Willis improperly benefited from the hiring of an outside attorney on the case.

Former President Donald Trump arrives a Waffle House with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Former President Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene arrive at a Waffle House in Columbus, Ga., last June.Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images file

WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., filed a complaint Wednesday alleging criminal misconduct by the district attorney prosecuting former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case.

Greene, a vocal Trump ally, requested a criminal investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the prosecutor representing the DA’s office in the case after an attorney for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, in a filing seeking dismissal of the charges, alleged that the two had an improper relationship — what Greene called an “illegal conflict of interest.”

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The referral, submitted to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr and first reported by NBC News, pertains to claims that Willis may have personally benefited by tapping special prosecutor Nathan Wade amid accusations that the two have traveled together to destinations such as the Napa Valley and the Caribbean.

Willis has not responded to the claim, in either court filings or through requests for comment.

Greene notes that invoices submitted by Wade to the district attorney’s office total “nearly $700,000 in official funds” and include one billing on Nov. 5, 2021, “for 24 hours on a single day,” and another for two trips to Washington, D.C.

The allegations suggest an “unlawful partisan pattern … to illegally politicize and weaponize her public office” against Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election, she writes.

Greene argues that “[i]f proven true, these actions reflect Fani Willis’ serious lawlessness, including potential violation of public oath” and other Georgia statutes.

Roman’s filing, which calls for Willis, Wade and the district attorney’s office to be removed from the case, does not provide direct evidence for its claims of a romantic relationship between Willis and Wade, citing only “sources with knowledge.”

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Four defendants have pleaded guilty, while Roman and Trump, who faces 13 criminal counts, have pleaded not guilty. Roman, one of 18 co-defendants, worked for Trump’s presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020.

Trump, citing a report by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Roman’s filing, accused Willis and Wade of professional and financial improprieties in a series of Truth Social posts.

With a busy legal calendar, and as the Republican primary contest gets underway, the former president has deployed surrogates in key states, including Greene, who spoke at a campaign event in Iowa last week.

 

www.nbcnews.com