COLLUSION! CORRUPTION! DEEP STATE COVERUP!
Nathan Wade, the guy who's prosecuting Donald Trump in Georgia, has settled his divorce. That means he won't have to testify tomorrow about his (rumored) affair with Fani Willis, the Atlanta DA who's in overall charge of the Trump prosecution.
Now, it's never been clear to me why it matters even if they did have an affair. It's a little tawdry, maybe, but it doesn't affect the charges against Trump in any way. Besides, no one else wanted the prosecutor job. They were all afraid of the personal attacks they'd inevitably attract from Trump and his MAGA mob. Like, um, allegations of an affair, for example.
So, good call, everyone else! You were right to avoid this cesspool. You've avoided swatting, congressional hearings, Truth Social rants, attacks from the Georgia legislature, and social media bomb throwing. Congratulations.
Trump is guilty. What else do his supporters have?
Trump has destroyed everything he touches ... until he's stopped.
until he's stopped
to catch a predator: the e jean carroll story
Is hiring your alleged lover allowed by Atlanta/Georgia? It shouldn’t matter in terms of Trump’s guilt/innocence, but it certainly would make for excellent shoot-the-messenger fodder.
I doubt it's "encouraged", but since "lover" is probably not included in the list of relatives covered by the pertinent statute defining nepotism, it may in fact be "allowed". Unless, of course, it can be proved that the position was offered in trade for a "valuable thing".
Is a good screw a "valuable thing"? Yes, it is, but I doubt, again, that the statute so defines it. Too icky for the stately Law to concern itself. You understand.
So, though it is as Kevin says, sort of tawdry, unless he also bribed her between the panky sessions, she's probably OK.
They're trying to say a weekend in Napa Valley, a weekend in the Bahamas and another short trip that he paid transportation for was her 'receiving something of value'. The guy is a lawyer who doe okay for himself and there doesn't seem to be a nexus between his income and payment for the trips other than he has a bank account.
It will require a lot more than that to say she appointed him to receive something of value.
From what I have read Wade was getting a divorce from his wife because she had cheated on him. So he was getting out of the marriage and Willis is single so nothing sordid about them being in a relationship in my opinion. Most of the media is ignoring the fact that Wade was deeply involved in the grand jury case against Trump:
“Wade led prosecutors’ presentation to the special grand jury that spent nearly eight months in 2022 collecting evidence and hearing witness testimony in the Trump case. Multiple special grand jurors previously interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution gave Wade high marks for his work — and personal style.”
https://www.ajc.com/politics/who-is-nathan-wade-fulton-special-prosecutor-in-trump-case/6XUFAK3TCBCOPDK4WZLY2RXVLA/
Clearly he is well versed in the issues in this case and well-received by jurors.
The argument that is bing made is that the money being paid to Wade was paying for the trips, therefore taxpayers were paying for those trips. I find that deeply disturbing. When the Hobby Lobby birth control case was decided I told people the next thing would be employers on the right claiming that since you get your salary from them they should have a right to prevent you from spending it on things like abortions or birth control that their religion forbids. After all your health coverage is part of your compensation but the Supreme Court ruled that the employer can forbid that kind of compensation from being spent on birth control because it is against their religious beliefs. Funny how no one bothered to point out that by that reasoning a Jehovah’s Witness employer could also refuse to allow your insurance to cover blood transfusions because that violates his/her religious beliefs. That is the exact same principle.
Bill Barr hired Robert Mueller, who is a friend of his, to handle the Russia probe. I'd love to know how this is different.
You sayin' Bill's got a crush on Bob? Details at 11.....
Is hiring your alleged lover allowed by Atlanta/Georgia?
Yes
I would think it is probably forbidden if the person you hired was not a temporary, independent contractor but your subordinate.
Rick is exactly right. None of this Willis kerfuffle is relevant to Trump's guilt or innocence. All this is is yet another delay tactic.
The problem is the pay of $650,000 to Mr Wade. He has billed the state of Georgia 24hrs in a single day at a high rate. Good work if you can get it, better work if you can bill $250.00 an hour for sleeping with your boss.
It is also notable that the foremost expert in Georgia, also working on the case billed $150/hr.
"Meanwhile John Floyd — regarded the state’s foremost expert on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) cases — was only billing $150 an hour in those same months, according to a contract obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation."
Listen, I am as liberal and progressive as anyone...but Ms Willis should step down in this case...to protect the case and not have her entire office disqualified.
She is insane to be holding on like this...doing a disservice to Georgia, to the Rule of Law, to the reputation of Lawyers in general, and damage to the the future of the United States.
She is bordering on Evil to me....(new facts may arise, but I haven't seen them yet).
I am as angry as I can be at her. Best Wishes, Traveller
$250/hr isn't a large amount in the legal world. That different lawyers are receiving different rates depends on how these rates were negotiated and whether GA law outlines discretionary rates or has a delineated rate schedule.
It's like when two people are employed and later on find out that they had negotiated different salaries/wage rates even though they were hired at roughly the same time for the same position.
It may not be unethical, is what I'm saying. What is your basis of criticism -- ethics?
Whatever Willis did or didn't do, it doesn't change the facts of the case and it certainly doesn't change the law. Whatever you may think, $650/hr is considered "normal" for a hot shot lawyer. Trump's lawyers have been billing at least that much (whether they actually get paid is another story). I don't know why John Floyd was willing to work at a step discount, but maybe he has some commitment to the rule of law that goes beyond enriching himself. If hiring somebody that you have a personal relationship is an ethical breach that requires resigning I dare say there would be nobody left in government.
[Edit: For what it is worth, Chris Kise, just one of Trump's lawyers, was paid $3m up front. That works out to a bout 2.2 years of 40 hour weeks, 52 weeks per year]
Disqualified for what exactly? As has been pointed out repeatedly, none of this affects the case against Trump.
I recall a story quite a few years ago about a hot shot New York lawyer who billed 27 hours in one day. Upon examination, it turned out to be legitimate. He was working on one of those high pressure merger/acquisition deals involving billions of dollars, the terms of his retainer allowed him to bill travel time, and during the course of the day he travelled from New York to Los Angeles and did work in both cities. Apparently, the lawyer got no sleep that day, except maybe a nap on the airplane, and ate while in meetings, and the three hour time difference meant that his day lasted 27 hours.
What? This is what the mainstream media has slavered over. It's entirely irrelevant to the election fraud case, but even liberal commentators say it "looks bad" and it's a "distraction."
It's a "distraction," says the media -- who are responsible for it being a "distraction" by focusing on it because maybe SEX! which is more clickable than Racketeering, which goes right over most peoples' heads.
It's irrelevant! OK? Irrelevant! It may be foolish, and maybe Willis broke some ethics rule (or probably not) but it has NOTHING to do with the case, especially since it was raised by Mike Roman, a trump ratfucking specialist.
It's far more salacious than sex. Black people are having sex!
The liberal media has always acted like appearances count almost as much as reality, at least when Democrats are involved. That is their whole rationale for being “concerned” about Hunter Biden. This is the same media that could not have cared less about the myriad appearance conflicts of interest the Bush boys’ business dealings presented. Even the fact that Jeb got special favors for his criminal business associates from his daddy’s government didn’t faze most of our intrepid investigative mainstream “liberal” media.
“ Fugitive Fingers Jeb Bush”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/1995/07/fugitive-fingers-jeb-bush/
Secretary of HHS Margaret Heckler later confirmed that Jeb had indeed lobbied her to allow his criminal pal to get more than the allowed amount of Medicare business.
“The Bush dynasty and the Cuban criminals”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/dec/02/usa.books
There was no outcry about optics when that and other shady business dealings by the Bush boys’ were revealed. Nor was their months and months of media obsessing over the very real conflicts that Jared and Ivanka created.
In contrast I can never forget how often the media pulled the optics excuse after allegation after allegation against Clinton that had been created by the rightwing Scaife-funded Arkansas Project propaganda machine proved to be bogus. Whitewater, Filegate, Travelgate, Chinagate/Wen Ho Lee etc. were all b.s. accusations which the mainstream “liberal” media bought into. Most of them were published first in the NY Times by Jeff Gerth. Then, because the Times had given its imprimatur, the rest of the media followed its lead like a herd of lemmings. After investigation after investigation found no “there there” journalists always fell back on the “appearances of impropriety”/“optics” excuse.
Most people forget that before there was the Independent Counsel Ken Starr who found nothing except Clinton’s affair, there was the investigation by widely admired Republican Special Counsel Robert Fiske. Fiske found nothing of substance in the allegations but the media mostly ignored his final report then demanded an Independent Prosecutor be appointed. Gerth is also the guy who wrote the more recent Russia-Trump whitewash for the Columbia Journalism Review.
If you think I am exaggerating, read the meticulously documented “Fools for Scandal” by Gene Lyons or “The Hunting of the President” by Lyons and Joe Conason. The extent of mainstream media gullibility and malpractice described in those books is mind boggling.
"The problem is the pay of $650,000 to Mr Wade."
LOL! That doesn't all go into his pocket. He has to pay staff out of that.
Smarter trolls, please.
I'm actually shocked that there are top-flite lawyers in GA willing to work for only $250/hr, much less $150. That's practically pro-bono after paying taxes, expenses, etc.
That was my thought as well. When I was a junior associate, the firm I was at billed me out at over $400 an hour, and that was _fifteen years ago_.
And, while Atlanta is not quite as high tier a legal market as DC, it's notable that the Department of Justice's Fitzpatrick Matrix for fee recovery puts the 2023 hourly rate for *paralegals* at $220; the rate for a lawyer with zero years out of law school is $467.
$250 an hour for somebody undertaking an enormously complex and high-stakes criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president seems extremely thrifty.
"He has billed the state of Georgia 24hrs in a single day"
I don't know (and don't particularly care) about either the context or the veracity of the assertion you're making here, Traveler, but I'll note that it's not unheard of for an attorney to bill 24 hours in a day. I've done it. It sucks, but litigation is stressful, and sometimes, yeah, you do end up working 24 hours straight.
And that's setting aside the basic accounting of it. I've billed clients for travel time despite even though I dozed off during part of a flight; I know partners who felt perfectly fine billing one client for the 5 hours of travel they had to spend on an airplane flying to a hearing, and 2 hours to a different client for the time they spent _on that flight_ working on a brief for that second client. Neither client cared.
But ... but, dammit, this was a Black woman in a (purported) sex scandal, and now you're telling me it's over?!? Before we've even got into the (heh heh) juicy details?
It's not FAIR!! It's so not-fair that ima go riot at my state capitol building, or maybe even the real Capitol! Waaah!! Also MAGA!!
Well said.
Let me try again...it is correct that $250/hr is not an exorbitant billing rate...billing 24hours in a single day is....criminal, both fraud and theft.
How bad are these billing records that Ms Willis approved? What was her duty to protect the State of Georgia from an ongoing fraudulent billing scheme?
How clouded was her duty to independently review these billing records?
Was Ms Willis part and parcel of this fraudulent scheme? In fact was she not a responsible Co-Conspirator and actually necessary to the fraud?
Yes, Ms. Willis is a black woman, but if she is also a black female thief, she does an equal disservice to the entire black community. Best Wishes, Traveller
Do you have a link to primary or secondary sources for the fraudulent billing claims?
He seems to be making a link between the latent racism/misogyny in his psyche, does that count?
Pretty thin ...
Also one day of over-billing is probably a mistake and you would have a hard time proving otherwise in court - it would require a pattern over a period of time to establish the intent to defraud. Also I doubt the DA checks every line of the billing and almost certainly relies on a contract manager or other subordinate to review and probably sign off on billing and that person is as likely to miss a small amount of incorrect data. Nothing on the face of a small billing error even comes close to suggesting fraud let alone being enough to secure a conviction. In other words turn the hosteronocs down a bit.
I've heard it said, but don't know personally, that Wade's rates should include work done by others in his firm. So a 24-hour billing might conceivably include full days from him and two associates, or possibly 0 hours from him personally but 3 associates working a full day, and so on.
Again I don't have any details, just saying that legal podcasters seem to think it would be usual for his rates to be for the firm rather than just him, which leads me to wonder whether associates' time might be included in hours billed on a given day. If any lawyers here would know either way, that would be helpful.
It's possible that Wade personally worked 24 hours in one day. Sometimes things get that intense.
This. I personally have done it, when the firm I was at was prepping for a trial, and I literally worked for 30-something hours straight without sleep.
You sooo want this to be true. And it's killing you that it isn't. Do you have any sense of decency whatsoever?
“Yes, Ms. Willis is a black woman, but if she is also a black female thief, she does an equal disservice to the entire black community.”
The Black community thanks you for your concern. Your tell though was when you wrote “black female thief.” You could’ve just written “thief” here and your sentence would’ve still made your point, but you just had to emphasize that she’s a “black female thief,” I guess the worst of all possible race-gender combinations of thieves?
Fuck off with your implicit racism and misogyny, thinly disguised as concern for the well being of the Black community’s reputation.
"billing 24hours in a single day is....criminal, both fraud and theft."
I mean, if you say it that way it just has to be true. No evidence required.
I understand that UGa's head football coach made $10.7 million this past year. That works out to $1221.46 per hour for 24 hrs/day for 365 days. Of course there are coaches who make more.
I confess that I do not know any of this with perfect certainty...the $650K number is a big number....it isn't that I want my accusations to be true...I just want to save this case and not have her disqualified and so her entire office. (if she steps down before any court finding, I believe she can appoint her replacement and her office is still good....I don't know this for certain, but I believe it to be true).
Finding and installing a new Special Prosecutor outside of her office after a finding of disqualification, could well push this matter beyond November 2024, and worse, a new prosecutor with independent review, may honestly decide to not bring the RICO case at all.
I hope she is clean in all of this...I maybe am being a little paranoid, but we will know soon enough with the upcoming court hearing on this. Best Wishes, Traveller
Doesn't improve the optics:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/prosecutor-trumps-georgia-case-reaches-temporary-divorce-agreement-avo-rcna136473
Going to court doesnt 'improve the optics' either.
There is nothing here other than the desire by people arguing in bad faith for there to be a scandal. There is no way to improve the optics when the entire point of the issue is to pretend its all bad optics no matter what the details are.
As to sources, I do not Primary from the court itself...(I could I suppose, I just don't have the time).
Be that as it may, here is a gift link to the NYT that lays this out pretty well:
https://www.nytimes.com/article/fani-willis-georgia-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.R00.Vpwj.P7PAVSqeNVby&bgrp=g&smid=url-share
Best Wishes, Traveller
So if Mr. Wade was hired because he is romantically involved with Ms. Willis and is not competent to be lead attorney in such a case, why is this a detriment to Mr. Roman or Trump? Wouldn’t they prefer an incompetent attorney try them? Are they arguing they need a better qualified prosecutor who will be able to cut through their bullshit and really make sure they are convicted on all counts? Seems strange.
Also, the $650k he has been paid is for over two years of work. Not cheap, for sure, but considering the danger involved it doesn’t seem as exorbitant to me as it seems to you.
+1 for the ‘competence’ snark.
Well, it isn't the NY Post so there's that . . .
I think she's supposed to submit her reply in the next week or two so why don't we keep our cool until then?
In 2022, 18 outside lawyers working for Georgia in the same role were paid the identical $250/hr rate that is causing this pretend scandal.
This year, the other 2 special counsels working on the case are also making $250/hr.
The compensation is perfectly reasonable and customary.
Without bad faith arguments, there is not much to the story.
Yeah, but they're not doing it while black.
The two people asked before this guy, including former governor Roy Barnes, run some of the biggest legal firms in Georgia. Fear of a bunch of MAGA heads down in Suwanee had nothing to do with it. Damaging business did.