Fani Willis, Nathan Wade referred to Georgia state bar for misconduct by watchdog group

FIRST ON FOX - Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis and her former lover Nathan Wade are facing two ethics complaints from a conservative government watchdog group based on their court testimony on allegations they had an 'improper' affair.

The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) is requesting that the Georgia state bar open disciplinary proceedings against the Fulton County DA and Wade for violations of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct.

AAF is alleging Wade lied under oath about his relationship with Willis, and alleging that Willis admitted to keeping campaign money for personal use on the witness stand. 

"To ensure that the citizens of Fulton County and the State of Georgia understand that the Bar will not countenance any violation of its ethics by those charged with upholding it, we urge you to revoke Ms. Willis’ license to practice law and permanently bar her from practicing law," adding the same request in a separate complaint against Wade.

KEY WITNESS IN FANI WILLIS CASE TESTIFIES HE MAY HAVE LIED IN TEXTS ABOUT FRIENDS' AFFAIR

Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Alyssa Pointer)

The complaint against Willis notes that on Feb 15. 2024 she testified before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee and was questioned regarding her reimbursement of Wade and her use of cash with no bank or transaction receipts. Willis was asked where the cash originally came from, to which she replied:

"Cash is fungible. I’ve had cash for years in my house. So for me to tell you the source of where it comes from ... when you go to Publix and you buy something and you get fifty dollars and you throw it in there. It’s been my whole life. When I took out a large amount of money during my first campaign, I kept some of the cash of that."

AAF claims that Willis’ "admission" represents "the admission of a clear violation of Georgia Campaign Finance law." The portion of that law they say is applicable states that, "Nothing in this Code section shall permit or authorize a candidate to utilize campaign funds for the purpose of making gifts, loans, or investments directly to: (A) The candidate…"

"The statute is unambiguous – and the facts are not in dispute – as Ms. Willis described in her testimony, she placed the money that was intended for her campaign into a "fungible" slush fund with other moneys that she would use for various other purposes, including reimbursing her boyfriend for leisure travel," the complaint states. 

FANI WILLIS’ TESTIMONY WAS ‘BELLIGERENT’ AND COULD DAMAGE HER CREDIBILITY, FORMER PROSECUTOR SAYS

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The complaint also states that her "keeping some of the cash" was a "willful intentional act and denied the citizens of Georgia the ability to exercise effective oversight over her campaign."

"It is unreasonable to believe that a barred attorney running for public office would not have been aware that the strict reporting guidelines of Georgia campaign finance law existed to protect the public’s right to oversee elections and that she had an obligation to scrupulously abide by them," the complaint states. 

The complaint against Wade alleges that he lied under oath on more than one occasion. When asked on an interrogatory to "describe each instance in which you have had sexual relations with a person other than your spouse during the course of the marriage," and he said, "none."

Wade testified that his marriage "was irretrievably broken in 2015" but that he and his wife agreed to delay a divorce for the sake of their children. 

"First it is simply not credible that Mr. Wade did not know that he had sexual relations with Ms. Willis when he replied to the interrogatories above in his divorce case. Put simply, it is clear Mr. Wade knew that he had had sex with Ms. Willis, and he knew that at the time he was still married, and he simply lied in the interrogatories," the AAF complaint states. 

FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ACCUSED OF LYING ABOUT TIMING OF AFFAIR WITH TRUMP PROSECUTOR

Nathan Wade and Fani Willis.  (Getty Images)

"Whether he was married was not a complicated question. In fact, he was the plaintiff in a divorce case, a case that cannot proceed without the parties being married. As an officer of the court, this is simply unacceptable. It is challenging to think of a more clear-cut example of ‘dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation,’" the complaint says.

The complaint goes on to say that Wade’s "rationale for not answering the interrogatories truthfully under questioning shows a whole lack of understanding of the law that makes him unfit to practice law in the State," deeming him a risk to future potential clients.

"The Bar owes the profession and the public a duty to guard the practice from charlatans and incompetents. Any simple reading of Mr. Wade’s testimony quickly reveals that he is so grossly unfamiliar with the simple understanding of a legal concept like marriage that the risk he and his incompetence poses to vulnerable members of the public requires his exclusion from the profession," it states. 

Willis and Wade did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Brianna Herlihy is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.