Nathan Wade, the former special prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against former President Trump, has spoken out for the first time since his resignation, denying any wrongdoing and expressing frustration with the public scrutiny he has faced.
Nathan Wade, a former special prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against former President Trump, has given his first interview since resigning over allegations of an improper relationship with District Attorney Fani Willis. During the interview with ABC News, Wade denied any wrongdoing and claimed he had been treated unfairly.
"I don't feel as though I've done anything wrong. I feel like I have been, I guess in my silence, I've been treated a bit unfairly, a bit harshly," Wade said.
Wade resigned from the case after allegations surfaced that he and Willis had an improper romantic relationship. Willis hired Wade in 2021, and the couple claim their relationship began in 2022. Wade said their relationship ended in the summer of 2023, but they remained friends.
During the interview, Wade addressed criticisms of his and Willis's relationship, specifically a Washington Post columnist who questioned their judgment.
"You don't plan to develop feelings. You don’t plan to fall in love. You don’t plan to have some relationship in the workplace. You don’t set out to do that. Those things develop organically. They develop over time. And the minute we had that sobering moment, we discontinued it," Wade said.
Wade also addressed the suggestion that he and Willis should have paused their relationship due to the high-stakes nature of the case against Trump.
"That could have been an approach. But when you are in the middle of it, these feelings are developing, and you get to a point where the feelings are so strong that you start to want to do things that really are none of the public's concern. It wasn't lost upon the two of us that things could bleed over into the case and start to affect it," Wade said. "So we made the adult-like decision to do what we did."
Wade explained that their decision to end their relationship was motivated by a desire to protect the integrity of the case and keep their personal lives out of the spotlight.
"In terms of protecting the integrity of the case, keeping the rest of the office out of our personal and private lives, and at the point we decided to discontinue the relationship, we did," he said.
ABC News pushed back on Wade's claim that the relationship ended due to concerns it could impact the case, suggesting it ended because of differences in their views on gender roles. Wade denied this, saying the comment Willis referenced was likely made in jest.
"Workplace romances are as American as apple pie," Wade said. "It happens to everyone. But it happened to the two of us."
Wade's interview is likely to fuel further speculation about the nature of his relationship with Willis and the potential impact it may have had on the Trump case. However, Wade remains adamant that he did nothing wrong and acted in a professional manner throughout his tenure as special prosecutor.
