Nathan Wade says he stands behind Trump prosecution

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(The Center Square) – Former Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade stood behind his prosecution of President Donald Trump and others during testimony before a Georgia Senate subcommittee on Friday.

Wade led the case against Trump and 18 others related to the 2020 election. He stepped down in March 2024 after a judge ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis could continue to prosecute the case if Wade was no longer the lead prosecutor after it was revealed that Wade and Willis had a romantic relationship.

A judge eventually disqualified Willis from the Trump prosecution because of the relationship.

Peter Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia, moved to dismiss the case after taking over the prosecution. He appointed himself, he said, after no other prosecutor would take the case. Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee signed the order.

Wade said he was proud of the work he and his team did on the case during testimony before a subcommittee of the Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations.

"I doubt anyone, other than this team, had an ample amount of time and opportunity to review all of the evidence in this case," Wade told the committee. "It is impossible to do that within such a short time frame. So anyone who says they have reviewed this case in its entirety they're not being forthcoming because it's not possible to do so. I stand by our work.”

Wade denied allegations that the Fulton County prosecution was influenced or driven by the White House or the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack.

"This investigation was not politically motivated or influenced, rather it was an independent investigation based on fact, interviews, evidence and the rule of law," Wade said before he was questioned. "No one at the White House, the White House Counsel's office, the Department of Justice or the Jan. 6 Committee directed, ordered, asked, coerced, importuned or pressured me to do anything in that case."

Willis has also stood by her decision to prosecute the case. She appeared before the committee in December. When asked why she took on the case, Willis said, "Because people came into my jurisdiction and they broke the law."

Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, who represents Willis and said he was acting as co-counsel for Wade, snapped back at questions from subcommittee Chairman Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, about meetings held between Wade's team and the Jan. 6 committee. Later, Barnes and Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, exchanged words when Barnes objected to a question from Cowsert.

Barnes had earlier called Jan. 6, 2021, "the greatest coup in history."

"Well I object to you saying it's the greatest coup in history on January 6, that's your personal opinion," Cowsert said.

"So you are defending what happened on Jan. 6 and the president's standing out there and saying, 'If you don't go up there right now, you'll lose your country,' you're defending that?" Barnes said to Cowsert. "I just want to know if you're defending that."

"I am not under examination from you, governor. I know you are making your political points. I hope you get your TV time from doing that," Cowsert said.

The Senate Special Committee on Investigations was created by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in 2024 to investigate the Trump prosecution. In 2025, the committee expanded its scope to include the New Georgia Project, led by former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.