According to a court motion filed Friday, special prosecutor Nathan Wade bought airline tickets in his and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ name for trips to San Francisco and Miami.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the filing was made on behalf of Joycelyn Wade in her divorce case with Nathan Wade in Cobb County Superior Court.

“Credit card statements in the filing appear to bolster allegations of a romantic relationship between Nathan Wade and Willis,” The AJC’s Bill Rankin writes. “The trips took place in 2022 and 2023, after Willis had hired Wade as the special prosecutor in the probe of election subversion by Donald Trump and his allies.”

Rankin adds that Joycelyn Wade’s divorce attorneys have “sought to depose Willis and in the filing on Friday criticized Willis’ attempt the day before to avoid giving a deposition in the case, calling her arguments disingenuous and specious.”

Nathan Wade’s Capital One bank account reportedly showed he purchased $817.80 tickets for himself and Willis on April 25, 2023, “with subsequent purchases at the Doubletree hotel in Napa Valley,” Rankin explains. “There were also purchases of $477.21 plane tickets in both their names to Miami on Oct. 5, 2022 with accompanying purchases from Royal Caribbean Cruises totalling more than $2,600.”

Rankin adds that the tickets do not show whether Wade and Willis stayed in the same room “but show they did go on trips together over the past year.”

Ashleigh Merchant, attorney for Trump defendant Michael Roman, was the first to underscore the relationship between Wade and Willis. “She contended that the relationship was improper because Willis financially benefited from the ‘lavish’ vacations paid for by Wade, who has been paid more than $654,000 in legal fees for his work on the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others,” Rankin writes.

On Thursday, the judge overseeing the election interference case against former president Donald Trump in Georgia scheduled a hearing for Feb. 15 to examine recent allegations made about Wade and Willis.

Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee directed Willis to file a written response by February 2.

“The accusations first came to light in a filing from one of Trump’s co-defendants, former campaign aide Mike Roman,” The Washington Post’s Amy Gardner and Holly Bailey report.

Willis jumped right into the fray Sunday morning, addressing the accusations.

Speaking from the pulpit at Big Bethel Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta, Willis referenced what she believes to be a double standard by those accusing her of giving Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade preferential treatment and pay while working for her.

Willis did not use Wade’s name as she launched into the speech, only telling audience members at the historical church that the special prosecutor she hired was the same person hired in a different county to do a similar job at a much higher pay rate.

She spoke glowingly about the credentials of everyone on her team and the importance of their jobs.

Willis was at Big Bethel Church to speak ahead of the Martin Luther King holiday.

Last Friday, Mike Roman’s lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, said, “I would never have filed something like this if I didn’t have multiple sources to corroborate.” Merchant told our partners at Channel 2 that the alleged relationship could potentially taint the case against her client.

The motions were one of several topics covered in a Jan. 12 hearing in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.

At the time, former President Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow, did not want to commit to whether or not he would be on board with the motions: “I’m leery to move and adopt motions that make such allegations without having a better understanding or substantiation of the allegation.”

Trump referenced Willis Sunday at a pre-caucus rally in Iowa, saying the allegations are proof that the case against him in Georgia should be dropped.

“You saw Fani Willis gave her boyfriend a million bucks to go get Trump,” he said. “She has been exposed. I can’t imagine they can continue on with that case... they should drop that Georgia case.”

Fulton County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Jeff DiSantis said the office will respond to Merchant’s allegations in court filings: “We look forward to addressing the matter.”

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The Washington Post and Atlanta Journal Constitution contributed to this story

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