President Donald J. Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md. Wednesday, June 26, 2019, en route to Osaka, Japan. (Official White House P
Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade broke his silence Friday after his publicly released billing statements revealed prosecutors met with the House Jan. 6 select committee prior to indicting former President Donald Trump.
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman filed a motion Monday to dismiss the case, claiming Wade is romantically involved with District Attorney Fani Willis, who signed his “lucrative” contract and allegedly traveled with him on vacations and cruises Wade paid for using money he earned from the county.
Wade said during a hearing Friday before Judge Scott McAfee that prosecutors did not receive any “tangible documents” from their meeting with the Jan. 6 committee, addressing the issue for the first time since billing statements referencing the meetings were released with the Monday motion.
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Willis did send a letter to committee Chairman Bennie Thompson making requests, but never received a response, Wade said.
“As related to travel to D.C., Chairman Thompson shared with us during this conversation regarding the letter that his directives were that we were allowed — we being the district attorney’s team — would be allowed to have a conversation with his investigative team,” Wade told the judge.
Wade billed $6,000 for 24 hours between April 18 and 21, 2022 for, “Team meeting: Conf w/ Jan 6: Research legal issues to prep interv,” according to the billing statements. This meeting involved prosecutors traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet in-person with committee staff, Politico reported Tuesday.
“We were not to share any information,” he said. “We were not to exchange any information. We could have a conversation…but there were no photocopies of anything, and there was no sharing of tangible documents of any kind.”
Wade’s comments came in response to a discussion about a motion filed Monday by Trump’s attorney, Steve Saddow, to compel prosecutors to disclose information about their communications with the Jan. 6 committee.
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“Everything that was shared in that conversation was made publicly available through the Jan. 6 committee when they released all their documents,” Wade said, later noting there were no notes taken by prosecutors that contained information that was not publically released.
The House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation Friday into Wade, writing they have reason to believe that he has “documents and information about the coordination of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office (FCDAO) with other politically motivated investigations and prosecutions and the potential misuse of federal funds.”
During the hearing, Trump’s attorney also indicated interest in potentially joining co-defendant Roman’s motion to dismiss, asking the judge if he would be permitted to do so after Willis files a response.
McAfee said a hearing to consider the motion and its allegations would take place after Willis responds, in early February at the earliest.
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