ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� State senators on Friday grilled the former special prosecutor who led the against President Donald Trump about communications his team had with federal investigators. But their efforts were largely frustrated by his repeated assertions that he couldn’t remember details.
appeared before a subcommittee of the Special Committee on Investigations, which was created by the Republican-dominated state Senate in January 2024 to of misconduct against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, an elected Democrat, with regard to her prosecution of Trump.
While the committee has met multiple times to hear from witnesses, including a in December, it has unearthed little that wasn鈥檛 already known. Republicans expanded the committee鈥檚 mission to also look into Democrat Stacey Abrams, but the committee has thus far done nothing publicly with her.
Willis obtained an indictment against in August 2023. Using Georgia鈥檚 , she alleged that they had participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to illegally overturn Trump鈥檚 in Georgia. Four people in the months that followed after reaching deals with prosecutors.
The resolution creating the committee focused on Wade’s hiring as a special prosecutor, saying a romantic relationship between him and Willis amounted to a 鈥渃lear conflict of interest and a fraud upon the taxpayers鈥� of the county and state. An appeals court in December 2024 , finding the relationship created 鈥渁n appearance of impropriety,鈥� and a new prosecutor .
While the senators did ask Wade about his hiring 鈥� including the timing and how he came to be chosen 鈥� there was no mention of his romance with Willis. An opening statement Wade read at the start of the hearing indicated that there had been an agreement beforehand that no personal relationship would be discussed.
Focus on invoices
Mostly, though, Sen. Greg Dolezal asked Wade about his invoices, particularly several billing entries that seemed to indicate contact with the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and meetings with U.S. Department of Justice officials. But Wade repeatedly said he could not recall when trips or calls happened, who he met or spoke with, who else from his team had participated or what was discussed.
Wade also pushed back, saying there seems to be a big focus on who the team was talking to, but he asserted that the investigative work was done by the team Willis assembled.
鈥淪he led us, I led the team and we did the work,” he said. 鈥淲e didn’t get assistance, coordination, however you want to characterize it. No one held her hand and guided her through the process. This is her work.鈥�
Wade also defended the integrity of the case against Trump and others.
鈥淭he investigation was not politically motivated or influenced,鈥� he said. 鈥淩ather, it was an independent investigation based on facts, interviews, evidence and the rule of law.鈥�
Lawmaker says testimony raises questions
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Dolezal conceded that he did not get everything he wanted. 鈥淟ook, I wish Mr. Wade had a better memory,鈥� he said, adding that he appreciated Wade appearing and answering questions 鈥渢o the best of his recollection.鈥�
But Dolezal said he was glad to have established that Wade and his team met with someone connected with the Jan. 6 investigation and also that they were in touch with Department of Justice officials. He said it raises questions about how much coordination existed in an attempt to 鈥済et Trump.鈥�
鈥淭hat notion that it was part of some big conspiracy is absolute fiction,鈥� said Andrew Evans, a lawyer for Wade. He accused the Republican senators of trying to use the committee to shift the focus from real issues that are unfavorable to them as midterm elections approach.
Including Dolezal, who is running for lieutenant governor, four of the five Republicans on the committee are running for statewide office in 2026. Bill Cowsert is running for attorney general, while Sens. Blake Tillery and Steve Gooch are also each seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. Another Republican who had been on the committee, John Kennedy, resigned to pursue his own lieutenant governor bid. Only Dolezal and Cowsert were present for Friday’s subcommittee meeting.
The subcommittee also heard testimony Friday from Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Jeff DiSantis, who handles media relations for Willis’ office. He was asked about Wade’s hiring, which he said he wasn’t aware of until it had been decided, and about the district attorney’s office’s use of a media monitoring service.
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