fani willis trump case
© Getty ImagesDA Fani Willis will be allowed to stay on the Trump case.
Nathan Wade, the lead prosecutor on the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump, has resigned.

Wade bowed out from the case a few hours after Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee ruled either he or district attorney Fani Willis had to go after their romance complicated the case.

"I am proud of the work our team has accomplished in investigating, indicting, and litigating this case," Wade wrote in his resignation letter to Willis.

Nathan wade
© Associated PressThe Georgia State Bar Association may probe Wade’s ethics after it’s been alleged that he took his boss Willis on lavish vacations paid for with his DA salary.
"Seeking justice for the people of Georgia and the United States, and being part of the effort to ensure that the rule of law and democracy are preserved, has been the honor of a lifetime," he added.

Willis accepted Wade's resignation, and heaped praise on him in her own statement.

"I will always remember - and will remind everyone - that you were brave enough to step forward and take on the investigation and prosecution of the allegations that the defendants in this case engaged in a conspiracy to overturn Georgia's 2020 Presidential Election," the DA wrote.

Wade - who was divorced in January - was appointed to the special prosecutor position in November 2021.

In January this year, one of Trump's co-defendants alleged Wade had already been having an affair with Willis since 2019, long before he was hired - which, they argued, presented a conflict of interest.

During two days of testimony last month, Willis and Wade maintained that they did not start seeing each other romantically until 2022.

But others - including former DA's office employee Robin Yeartie - insisted they were together two years earlier.

The defense also argued that Willis purposefully prolonged the case against Trump in order to further enrich Wade - who then supposedly used some of the cash he made in the plum position to take her on lavish trips.
Judge Scott McAfee fani willis nathan wade trump
© NBC NewsJudge Scott McAfee
In his ruling issued Friday, McAfee found that there was not enough evidence to prove a serious conflict of interest, but took issue with the timeline presented by Wade and Willis.

"An odor of mendacity remains," he wrote in the scathing opinion, adding that Willis and Wade's behavior "further underpin the finding of an appearance of impropriety and the need to make proportional efforts to cure it."

He presented the state with two options: Either Willis could take herself off the case, or she could remain under the condition that Wade resigned, instead.

What to know about District Attorney Fani Willis' trial
  • Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis is being accused of misusing state and federal funds, and also engaging in an "improper" relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
  • Willis admitted to having a "personal relationship" with Wade, but said it didn't become romantic until after 2022 due to the case against former President Donald Trump.
  • Willis hired Wade to work on the Trump case and paid him $654,000 in 2022, according to Trump co-defendant Michael Roman.
  • Trump and his co-defendants are looking to disqualify Willis from the case and to have all charges, centered around the state's expansive anti-racketeering RICO law, dismissed.
  • The defense has presented dozens of pings from Wade's cellphone that placed it at Willis' rented condo prior to 2022. A former friend of Willis, who owned the condo, has testified that she saw the two of them "hugging" and "kissing" in 2019.
  • On March 15, a judge ruled Willis can stay on and prosecute the Georgia election interference case against Trump and his co-defendants for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election — if Wade steps aside.