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Lead prosecutor in Georgia election subversion case under scrutiny over alleged affair with DA | CNN Politics

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Lead prosecutor in Georgia election subversion case under scrutiny over alleged affair with DA | CNN Politics



Fulton County, GA
CNN
 — 

When Nathan Wade was appointed lead prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case in 2021 to prosecute former President Donald Trump, some of his closest allies, lawyers in Cobb County where Wade practiced law, universally wondered, “Why him?”

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had the largest staff of any judicial circuit in Georgia, including salaried lawyers with more experience as felony prosecutors. Wade had once been a prosecutor briefly, but mostly handled misdemeanors and never such a high-profile case.

More than two years later, questions are surfacing about Wade’s role. One of Trump’s co-defendants facing criminal charges over efforts to overturn the 2020 election has alleged in court papers that Wade is romantically involved with Willis and used money he billed the district attorney’s office for his work on the case to take her on lavish vacations.

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While the filing didn’t include direct evidence of their romantic involvement, Willis was served this week with a subpoena to appear at a deposition in Wade’s divorce proceedings.

Pallavi Bailey, a spokesperson for Willis, told CNN that the office will respond to the allegations “through appropriate court filings.”

Wade has not responded to CNN’s requests for comment and was smiling as he walked into a scheduled Friday afternoon motions hearing regarding multiple matters related to the case.

The situation has created a political firestorm for Willis, with Trump and his co-defendant arguing Wade, Willis and the entire district attorney’s office should be taken off the case. The allegations, if true, may not derail the prosecution, but multiple lawyers tell CNN that the appearance of a conflict of interest could hurt Willis’ chances of securing a conviction before a jury.

The judge overseeing the case said on Friday that he planned to hold a hearing on the allegations in early February.

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Former DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James does not question Wade’s qualifications but does have concerns with Willis’ decision to bring him onto the case – if the allegations of an improper relationship hold up.

“If I had a personal relationship, I probably would have not done it,” James said in an interview with CNN, “not because there’s anything inappropriate about it, only because people will take it, twist it and make it look like there’s something inappropriate going on.”

“It’s, just politically, is not something that I think is wise,” James said.

Michael Moore, a former US Attorney in Georgia and a CNN legal analyst, said Willis should consider stepping away from the case given its high-profile nature.

“I’d tell her to get out of the case. I really think in this type of case with these allegations, this case is bigger than any one prosecutor,” Moore told CNN. “And I think probably to preserve the case to show what’s most important to her is the facts of the Trump case as opposed to her political career if you will at this moment.”

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On Friday, the Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, sent a letter requesting that Wade turn over documents and communications pertaining to the Georgia investigation into Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.

Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have long sought to undermine the credibility of Willis’ case. Her office has rebuffed previous demands from Jordan’s asking for documents.

The allegations against Willis and Wade came in a 127-page court filing this week from Michael Roman, a former Trump 2020 campaign official who was indicted over his role in the fake electors plot in Georgia.

Trump’s team is actively considering whether to join Roman’s motion, a move that would represent a formal endorsement of its allegations about both Wade and Willis, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

But there is no sign Trump is in a rush – he can amplify these allegations publicly with little legal risk while waiting to see how the DA’s team responds, the sources said. A Cobb County court has a hearing scheduled January 31 to address Roman’s motion to unseal documents in Wade’s divorce case.

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Trump and his political allies are also seizing on entries in Wade’s expense reports that show previously undisclosed contact between Fulton County prosecutors and the Biden White House, claiming they are proof of a coordinated conspiracy to tank the former president’s reelection bid.

The expense reports were included as exhibits in Roman’s filing, showing a phone call with the White House counsel’s office in May 2022 and an “interview with DC/White House” in November 2022.

White House visitor logs from November 2022 show they do not contain any entries for Nathan Wade, according to a CNN review of those records.

Sources familiar with the matter tell CNN the contacts were routine, as Willis was gathering evidence and witnesses to testify before a special grand jury as part of her investigation at that time. One source said the discussions with the White House counsel’s office were about the process for contacting former Trump White House officials.

One line item stood out to multiple lawyers who reviewed Wade’s billing document included in the motion filed by Roman: On November 5, 2021, Wade billed the Fulton County DA for 24 hours in a day at $250 per hour.

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“That’s ridiculous,” Fulton County criminal defense attorney Suri Chada Jimenez told CNN. “He could have billed 12 hours at $500 and that’s more credible and along with the rate of other lawyers.”

CNN has not been able to confirm what Wade did that day, but it was almost half a year before the special purpose grand jury was empaneled with investigative powers to spearhead exploring whether crimes were committed in Georgia by Trump and his associates.

Over the past two years, Wade has earned more than $650,000 for his work on the case, according to Roman’s filing which includes invoices from Wade’s firm. The filing alleges that Wade made more than other prosecutors in the DA’s office.

“Prosecutors must be held to the highest standard because unlike us poor defense lawyers they get to take away people’s liberty,” criminal defense attorney Scott Grubman told CNN. Grubman faced off against Wade as the former defense attorney for one-time Trump co-defendant Ken Chesebro, who struck a plea deal with Willis’ team last year.

Others who know Wade and spoke to CNN on conditions of anonymity now worry the allegations could taint Fulton prosecutors’ case against Trump.

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“Now, you’ve made it that much harder at having a chance at securing any sort of conviction,” a lawyer who knows Wade personally told CNN. “It’s disappointing.”

This is not the first criticism of missteps against Willis and Wade to surface in the high-profile case.

In 2022, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, the judge who oversaw the initial investigation by Fulton prosecutors which lead to the historic state charges, disqualified Willis from pursuing charges against Georgia state Sen. Burt Jones, who also served as a pro-Trump fake elector. The judge’s decision came after Willis held a fundraiser for Jones’ Democratic political opponent and later informed the state Senator, he was a target of her probe.

In a court hearing on the issue, McBurney criticized Willis for hosting the fundraiser for a Democratic candidate running against one of the investigation’s potential targets.

“It’s a ‘What are you thinking?’ moment,” McBurney said. “The optics are horrific.”

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And last year, multiple defendants in the election subversion case complained after they received an advertisement brochure mailer at their homes from Wade & Campbell, Nathan Wade’s Atlanta-based defense firm.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who oversees the Fulton case, rejected requests from several defendants in the Georgia election subversion case to have a hearing about the brochure to try to force some type of punishment.

McAfee said the incident was “embarrassing” for prosecutors, but did not find proof it was intentional. “While presumably embarrassing on the part of Special Prosecutor Wade and his firm, this case should not be sidetracked by matters which facially lack merit,” McAfee wrote in his September 2023 order.

Wade’s biography on the website of his Atlanta law firm Wade & Campbell describes him as a “former prosecutor and trial attorney” who is a “skilled negotiator who knows when to take a case to trial.”

He was appointed to oversee the 2020 election subversion investigation by Willis in late 2021, as their special purpose grand jury investigation was ramping up.

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Wade & Campbell’s website says the partnership focuses on personal injury, contract litigation law, family and domestic law, and criminal defense. And says that Wade serves as Associate Municipal Court Judge and Pro Has State Court Judge in Cobb County.

Manny Aurora, a defense attorney who also worked with Grubman representing Chesebro before he negotiated a plea deal, told CNN he is more concerned by Wade’s “utter lack of experience” more so than the alleged affair and potential payments being made.

“The bigger concern (than the alleged affair and financial payments) is hiring an attorney to handle the biggest RICO case, possibly in the history of US jurisprudence, when that counsel has never handled a RICO case before,” Aurora told CNN.

John Floyd, a lawyer with deep expertise in racketeering cases, joined Willis’ team in 2021 to focus on the Trump case as well as others, including Willis’ gang indictment against the rapper Young Thug.

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Georgia vs Lithuania Match

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Georgia Finishes 15th at NCAA Championships – University of Georgia Athletics

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March 28, 2026

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Georgia Finishes 15th at NCAA Championships – University of Georgia Athletics


ATLANTA – Senior Ruard van Renen reached one final podium as the University of Georgia men’s swimming and diving team closed out competition at the 2026 NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships Saturday at the McAuley Aquatic Center.
 
In the overall standings, Georgia finished 15th with 64.5 points. Texas won its second-consecutive national championship with 445.5 points, followed by Florida (416), Indiana (351), and Arizona State (328). For the week, the Bulldogs tallied 17 All-America citations, including three First Team honors, with eight different athletes scoring in the meet.
 
Fast Facts
200y Backstroke – van Renen closed out his Bulldog career with First Team All-America honors, placing sixth in the final with a time of 1:39.05. Swimming in the first heat of prelims, van Renen finished fifth with a time of 1:38.05, the second-fastest time of his career and fourth-fastest in program history. The Cape Town, South Africa native wrapped up the meet with a team-high five All-America citations, finishing with 12 toal for his career at Georgia and Southern Illinois. Freshman Hayden Meyers earned Second Team All-America honors with a 16th-place time of 1:39.29, setting a new personal best and strengthening his position as the sixth-fastest performer in program history.
200y Butterfly – Sophomore Drew Hitchcock narrowly missed scoring with a 17th-place time of 1:40.43, his second-fastest mark of the season.
200y IM – Senior Cale Martter closed out his collegiate career with a 21st-place time of 1:43.05, the second-fastest of his season.
400y Freestyle Relay – Sophomore Tane Bidois, van Renen, junior Tomas Koski, and freshman Kris Mihaylov turned in an initial time of 2:48.37, but the team was disqualified due to an early takeoff.
 
Events
200y IM
1. Maximus Williamson, Virginia – 1:38.48
2. Owen McDonald, Indiana – 1:38.57
3. Baylor Nelson, Texas – 1:40.08
21. Cale Martter, Georgia – 1:43.05
 
100y Freestyle
1. Josh Liendo, Florida – 39.91
2. Jere Hribar, LSU – 40.33
3. Gui Caribe, Tennessee – 40.41
 
200y Butterfly
1. Ilya Kharun, Arizona State – 1:37.66
2. Thomas Heilman, Virginia – 1:38.16
3. Tyler Ray, Michigan – 1:38.47
17. Drew Hitchcock, Georgia – 1:40.43
 
200y Backstroke
1. Hubert Kos, Texas – 1:34.13
2. Jonny Marshall, Florida – 1:37.15
3. David King, Virginia – 1:37.43
6. Ruard van Renen, Georgia – 1:39.05
16. Hayden Meyers, Georgia – 1:39.29
 
Platform Diving

1. Emilio Trevino, Texas A&M – 465.30
2. Tyler Wills, Purdue – 451.15
3. Jesus Gonzalez, Florida – 427.25
 
400y Freestyle Relay
1. Arizona State – 2:42.38
2. NC State – 2:43.31
3. Florida – 2:44.38
Georgia – DQ
 
Standings
1. Texas, 445.5
2. Florida, 416
3. Indiana, 351
4. Arizona State, 328
5. Tennessee, 272
6. NC State, 258.5
7. California, 231
8. Michigan, 220
9. Virginia, 192
10. Stanford, 136
11. Virginia Tech, 86
12. Louisville, 82
13. Ohio State, 72
14. USC, 69
15. Georgia, 64.5
 



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A Snob’s Guide to the Georgia Coast

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March 28, 2026

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A Snob’s Guide to the Georgia Coast


The coast of Georgia doesn’t do kitsch—at least not to the degree of the neighboring Carolinas. Its rugged barrier islands, wild salt marshes, and dense maritime forests aren’t quite as conducive to charmingly tacky beach towns and endless rows of rental homes. Instead, it holds tight to a sense of privacy—protected by boundaries both natural and man-made—and an enduring connection to the raw beauty and slower pace that have defined the region for centuries.

And even though this part of the world has historically been a magnet for larger-than-life names like Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Kennedy, a mere Southern version of New England this is not. “The integrity of the barrier islands is really something special in Georgia,” says jewelry designer Gogo Ferguson, who is a member of the Carnegie family (who were long-time stewards of Cumberland Island).

Some of this land—which comprises Cumberland, Jekyll, and Little St. Simons—remains privately owned. Some of it is only accessible by boat. Some has been transferred to the state or the National Park Service. Whatever slice of these 110 miles coastline you choose, there are no bad options—you will want to return again and again anyway—though a plan helps. Here’s ours.

Contrarian Wisdom: Summer might feel like the most obvious time to visit, but you’ll be met with the oppressive Southern heat and humidity (and the pesky bugs). Instead, come down in the spring or fall, when the air is less sticky and the crowds less dense.

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For the Solitude Seeker

Peter Frank Edwards

Greyfield Inn is the only hotel on Cumberland.

The natural world has the upper hand on Cumberland Island, which is the largest of Georgia’s barrier islands but also one of the most untamed. On this 17-mile-long strip—made up of national seashore, beach ecosystems, salt marsh, and maritime forest—wild horses run free, daily rhythms are influenced by the tide, and you can spend days strolling the coast or weaving beneath live oaks on a bike and never once cross paths with another human. (Cumberland is accessible only by private boat or passenger ferry, which currently limits visitor access to 300).

You will eventually come across signs of civilization, of course, both past and present. “There’s a balance between the natural history and the cultural history,” says Ferguson, who grew up exploring the island “under the tutelage” of her grandmother, Lucy Carnegie Ferguson, granddaughter of Thomas M. Carnegie (Andrew’s brother), who purchased land on the island in the late 19th century. You can see this interplay at the vine-covered Dungeness ruins, which used to be the Carnegie mansion from 1884 to 1959, until a fire left only stone and brick.

In the centuries before the Carnegies arrived, the island moved through various identities—from Timucuan homeland to Spanish possession, then British military base and eventually a Sea Island cotton plantation. Archaeological data even shows human presence dating back to 2,000 BCE. One of the most recognizable relics of this layered past is the First African Baptist Church—the one-room structure was rebuilt in the 1930s, though the church’s roots go back to 1893.

And yes, this is the place where JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette got married in 1996. Ferguson, who knew John since his days at Brown and even designed the couple’s wedding rings, helped make it happen. “They looked at a lot of places, but logistically, it made a little more sense to be on Cumberland,” she tells T&C. “I just thought if we do it properly, we can pull it off without any media, and by God, we did it.”

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Interior hallway with decorative elements and a view into other rooms.
Lucy Cuneo

Old money charm is the vibe at Greyfield.

You can visit the church—and the island—in a day (take the Lands and Legacies tour for the highlights), but to really surrender to Cumberland’s languid flow of time, an overnight stay is highly recommended, especially since the last ferry back to the mainland leaves promptly at 4:45 p.m. There are campsites, but Greyfield Inn is the crown jewel (and the only hotel). The 15-room, two-cottage Carnegie-owned-and-run property is the epitome of unfussy luxury, where you can easily spend hours hiking and birdwatching around the property, rocking on the porch, and getting your fill of locally sourced seafood and the fresh harvest from the inn’s garden.

For the Sporting Set

Luxury villa with outdoor seating and lush surroundings
Sea Island

The Cloister at Sea Island.

Sea Island’s reputation precedes itself. For nearly 100 years, the destination—which is both the barrier island and a privately owned resort community—has cultivated a cultish loyalty. So if it feels like everyone knows everyone, you’re not imagining it. “It was, and still is, generational,” says Wheeler Bryan Jr., Sea Island’s historian. Repeat guests have their favorite fishing spots on the marshes, their preferred horses for rides on the private stretch of coast, and their regular orders at the River Bar—and they’re on a first-name basis with the staff at the beach club and shooting school.

There are a number of accommodation options here, from the Sea Island cottages to the Lodge or the Inn, both on nearby St. Simons Island, but the Cloister is very much the beating heart of the marque. Designed by Addison Mizner, of Palm Beach and Boca Raton fame, the Spanish Mediterranean-style building balances its grand and historic reputation with good old-fashioned Southern hospitality. It also has the best sunset views over the Black Banks River.

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For such a small island—just 5 miles long and 1.5 miles at its widest—Sea Island feels vast, thanks in large part to the range of activities suited for those of a sporting persuasion. “Our golf is extraordinary, and we are home to two PGA Tour courses and one of the best golf performance schools in the country,” says Bryan, who also recommends a cruise on the Sea Island Explorer, horseback riding on Rainbow Island, and a visit to the 5,800-acre Broadfield Sporting Club to try your hand at falconry. Or just luxuriate in Sea Island’s particular brand of leisure: “There is something about the sand on the beach, the marsh swaying in the breeze, and the shrimp cocktail in the dining room.”

Contrarian Wisdom: Golfers will be in heaven along the Georgia coast, thanks to its healthy sprinkling of championship courses, but you don’t need a low handicap to make the most of your trip. Opportunities for birding, horseback riding, fishing, and hiking are just as plentiful—and scenic.

For the Amateur Historian

Scenic view of a river winding through a marsh.

Jekyll Island Authority

Newport may have been the preferred summer retreat of the Gilded Age elite, but in the winter, the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Astors, and Morgans migrated south to Jekyll Island, where the scene centered around its eponymous private club. Some loved it so much they stayed for several months. “For over half a century, they shaped the island to their tastes,” says Andrea Marroquin, curator at Mosaic, Jekyll Island Museum. They brought their architects with them too, commissioning the likes of Horace Cleveland to do their gardens and landscaping, and Carrère and Hastings and Charles Alling Gifford to build their “cottages.” These are now sprinkled around the 240-acre Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District, which you can explore via the Landmark Trolley Tour.

Jekyll Island’s chapter as a private club was, in the grand scheme of things, relatively short-lived. In 1947, Georgia purchased the island and opened it as a state park the following year. In the ’80s, the historic clubhouse was transformed into a hotel: the Jekyll Island Club Resort.

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Historic hotel building surrounded by palm trees and greenery.
Jekyll Island Authority

Jekyll Island Club Resort.

In its modern incarnation, that old aura of hyper-exclusivity has given way to what Marroquin describes as a “unique balance of preservation and access. Development is limited, historic sites are protected, and large portions of the island remain natural.” Yes, there is enough infrastructure to support the community as a vacation destination—from tee times at Jekyll Island Golf Club to live music, fresh seafood, and frozen cocktails at The Wharf—but it’s also incredibly easy to immerse yourself in the quiet that blankets the salt marshes, maritime forests, and ethereal places like Driftwood Beach, with its ancient, sun-bleached tree trunks scattered and half-buried in the sand. Driftwood will make for a dramatic photo backdrop, though it’s not so much for swimming and sunning—for that, go to Great Dunes.

For the Aspiring Naturalist

A vehicle traveling on a dirt path surrounded by lush greenery in a natural landscape.

Benjamin Galland

Although you’re never more than a quick ramble from nature on the Georgia coast, Little St. Simons Island—a private barrier island with an all-inclusive guest lodge that is only reachable via ferry from St. Simons—is a full immersion into undeveloped territory. Alligators, snakes, egrets, and loggerhead turtles are common sightings, and fishing tackle, binoculars, and bug spray are absolutely essential.

“Little St. Simons is here today, the way it exists, because a little over a hundred years ago, there was a gentleman fishing on what we call Mosquito Creek,” says Jamie Pazur, general manager of the Lodge on Little St. Simons Island. He reported his findings—an island teeming with cedar trees—back to his bosses at Eagle Pencil Company, who bought the island in 1908 with the intention of turning the wood into pencils. The warped trees were deemed unusable for the drawing utensils, so instead, Eagle president Philip Berolzheimer purchased the island from his employer and turned it into a private retreat for his family. Fast forward to 2015, when the current owners, the Paulson family, placed the island into a conservation easement with the Nature Conservancy.

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“The island is now protected forever; nobody can ever mess with it,” Pazur says. “What we offer to guests is the ability to see what a piece of this coast looked like since the beginning of time—and a promise that we’re going to keep it that way.”

A rustic cottage surrounded by trees and plants.
Cassie Wright Photography

There are 32 rooms spread out over a collection of homes and cottages at the Lodge at Little St. Simons Island.

At any given time, there are a maximum of 32 guests across the 16 rooms at the Lodge, with 11,000 surrounding acres to explore. The breakfast bell signals the start of the day, “adult summer camp” style. Over family-style pancakes or eggs Benedict, the resident naturalists will chat with you about the day’s activities, whether it’s kayaking along tidal creeks, shelling along the seven miles of beach, joining a truck tour of the wildlife blinds, or attending a discussion on owls or sea turtles. If you’d rather grab a fishing pole or go for a solo hike, the Lodge has everything you need for that, too—picnic lunch included.

As for what to pack, the vibe is casual: technical fishing shirts, a flannel for chilly nights, boots you aren’t afraid to get a little pluff mud on. “We don’t do any dressing up out here,” Pazur. “It’s not fancy.”

Headshot of Lydia Mansel

Lydia Mansel is a travel journalist based in Virginia. She’s a frequent contributor to Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, and Southern Living, among other publications, and she specializes in destinations across the American South and West, as well as the United Kingdom. 

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