She has insisted their workplace romance is a thing of the past after it threw her groundbreaking prosecution of former President Donald Trump on election interference charges into disarray.
And yet Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and ex-lover Nathan Wade looked remarkably like a couple as they are seen on recent police bodycam footage obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.
The pair were filmed together at the scene of her pregnant daughter Kinaya’s August 24 arrest for allegedly driving with a suspended license.
Our footage shows them arriving in a black Ford SUV before approaching a group of cops at the roadside in Tyrone, Georgia, with casually-dressed Willis, 52, introducing herself to them as ‘Fani.’
The officers mistake the pair for Kinaya’s mom and dad but Willis corrects them, describing 51-year-old Wade – who stepped down as her special prosecutor when their affair came under public scrutiny – as ‘just a friend.’
Watch:
Police bodycam footage shows Fani Willis and Nathan Wade arriving together at the scene of Fani Willis’ daughter’s arrest for driving with a suspended license.
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) September 4, 2024
Kinaya’s older sister Nia, 26 – passenger in her sibling’s silver Nissan Altima – had called their mom in the aftermath of the 7:03pm arrest.
By the time Willis and Wade pulled up, her daughter was already en route to the Fayette County Jail, 30 minutes south of Atlanta, on a misdemeanor charge of driving with a revoked or suspended license.
Willis – a celebrated Democrat DA who shot to prominence after charging Trump with 41 criminal counts one year ago – does not criticize their decision in the ensuing discussion, nor does she try to pull rank.
‘News to me, ok,’ she says calmly, as they explain about the suspended license.
She’s wearing a black Scorpion Girl t-shirt and has a flashy, heart-shaped locket around her neck.
Wade, wearing a baseball cap and an Atlanta Hawks t-shirt, listens quietly before asking for more details about the initial stop.
In a nod to her high-profile status, Willis tells the officers ‘obviously don’t put my address down … y’all can have my address, the rest of the world, no.’
‘For obvious reasons,’ an officer replies in a jovial tone, indicating he’s well aware who the VIP parent is.
Willis drives her daughter’s car away from the scene while Wade hops back into the vehicle they arrived in.
DailyMail.com exclusively revealed on Tuesday how Kinaya was pulled over after cops spotted her using a cellphone behind the wheel.
She ‘stated that the reason for her using her cell phone while operating the vehicle was due to her mother calling her related to her pregnancy,’ according to a police report.
The Texas Southern University student told Officer Jacob Hale she was ‘unaware’ her license was revoked on May 13, blaming a mix up over unpaid Florida tickets.
In bodycam clips of her arrest Kinaya is seen cooperating throughout. She doesn’t make any attempt to use her mom’s status as a DA to get off the charge.
‘Are you arresting me? Can I tell me my sister,’ she replies politely as Hale puts her in cuffs.
Kinaya was subsequently released from jail and ordered to attend the Town of Tyrone Municipal Court for an October 24 arraignment, according to public records.
Her arrest comes as a fresh blow to Willis, whose bid to see Trump go on trial ahead of the November general election stalled because of her relationship with Wade.
Willis secured a grand jury indictment against Trump and 18 others in August of last year, alleging that they broke Georgia’s anti-racketeering law by trying to overturn the Peach State’s general election results.
His subsequent arrest memorably led to the first ever mugshot of a former US President being released to the public.
But a January court filing alleged that Willis had been having an ‘improper, clandestine relationship’ with Wade when she appointed him special prosecutor, throwing the case into chaos.
Lawyers for former White House aide Mike Roman argued that Willis, elected DA for Fulton County in January 2021, had benefited financially because her one-time lover used a portion of his $650,000 earnings to take her on vacations.
Willis admitted having had a workplace romance with Wade but said it had no bearing on the case.
She told a February misconduct hearing that it only began after he was hired – and ended in 2023.
A former friend testified, however, that they were an item as far back as 2019 after they met at a conference, prior to Wade divorcing his wife Joycelyn.
Willis further insisted she and Wade had split the costs of trips to San Francisco and California’s Napa Valley and she would pay what she owed him in cash but didn’t keep receipts.
Pressed further about her spending habits, she warned Roman’s attorney Ashleigh Merchant ‘don’t be cute with me’.
She told the court Merchant was ‘dishonest’ and at another point barked ‘it’s a lie, it’s a lie.’
Judge Scott McAfee blasted the ‘tremendous lapse in judgment’ but declined to remove Willis from the case after Wade agreed to resign ‘in the interest of democracy.’
Trump and others have appealed, however, and the Georgia Court of Appeals won’t hear arguments until December, leaving the case in limbo until voters have elected either Trump or Kamala Harris to the Oval Office.
In a May interview with ABC News Wade said workplace affairs were as ‘American as apple pie’.
He added: ‘You don’t plan to have some relationship in the workplace. You don’t set out to do that. Those things develop organically. They develop over time.
‘The minute we had that sobering moment, we discontinued it.’
A month later he terminated a CNN interview at the behest of an aide when quizzed further about the timeline.
Willis meanwhile has accused Trump’s MAGA allies of bullying and intentionally miss-pronouncing her name.
‘I live the experience of a Black woman who is attacked and oversexualized,’ she told an Atlanta church congregation in June.
‘I’m so tired of hearing these idiots call my name as ‘Fanny’ in a way to attempt to humiliate me because, like silly schoolboys, the name reminds them of a woman’s rear, of her behind.’
Pay attention Fani, that will be you someday soon I hope.
Well, your fanny is rather large!
well they Arrested the wrong one FANNY should have been arrested
‘I live the experience of a Black woman who is attacked and oversexualized,’ she told an Atlanta church congregation in June (LET’S “NOT” FORGET SHE IS AN MISTRESS” & YOU KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE & CHURCH SAYS ABOUT “ADULTERY”)
‘I’m so tired of hearing these idiots call my name as ‘Fanny’ in a way to attempt to humiliate me because, like silly schoolboys, the name reminds them of a woman’s rear, of her behind.’
SO, IS WADE THE DADDY & THE REASON “WHY” HE WAS THEIR & THE B.S. LINE~ “I DIDN’T KNOW” MY LICENSE WAS SUSPENDED SINCE MAY DUE TO “UNPAID” TICKETS…
needs to be brought up on perjury charges, obviously lied. Wonder why we keep seeing this, is because there is no repercussion or price for doing so.