Former President Trump Georgia prosecutor Nathan Wade, who is allegedly in a relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, was slammed by his wife’s lawyers in new divorce documents for giving “inadequate” answers about his alcohol, drug and medication use.
Wade has been involved in a contentious split from Joycelyn Wade, his wife of 26 years, since filing for divorce in 2021. He had filed papers for divorce the day after Willis appointed him special prosecutor in the Trump election interference investigation. Willis has recently come under fire for her alleged secret relationship with Wade.
But despite seeking an end to his marriage, Mr. Wade has repeatedly failed to answer basic questions and provide documentation asked for by his wife, whose lawyers claimed in court papers that Mr. Wade gave information that was “so woefully inadequate so as to be useless.”
The court papers from February 2023 were unsealed by a judge on Monday.
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Mrs. Wade asked her estranged husband to provide information about his alcohol usage, the brands of alcohol he drank and if he ever drove within an hour of drinking. He replied, “Red wine once a week at home with dinner,” according to the court filing.
When asked whether he used any legal or illegal drugs, Mr. Wade said, “no illegal drug use ever,” an answer Mrs. Wade’s lawyers say failed “to address any legal or prescription drug use at all.”
Her lawyers said Mr. Wade revealed he had taken pain medications and antibiotics after a surgery in April 2020 but did not disclose “which medications, the duration of the prescription, the dosage, the prescribing authority, nor whether he took the drug as prescribed.”
Mr. Wade is not accused in the court filings of abusing drugs or alcohol.
The prosecutor’s wife had first requested answers to questions about his drug and alcohol use and his finances in November 2021, so she could negotiate a fair divorce settlement. But her lawyers say in court papers that Mr. Wade has since repeatedly failed to cooperate by refusing to disclose basic information.
In August, Mr. Wade faced a civil contempt order for not complying with a judge’s order to hand over discovery to his wife’s lawyers, court papers show.
The lawyers filed another motion in September arguing he was avoiding turning over financial records. He had claimed to have received more than half a million dollars working on the Trump investigation without having produced “one single document evidencing this income.”
Mr. Wade “has knowingly obfuscated this civil litigation to his own ends,” his wife’s lawyers said. “Furthermore, while earning such substantial sums, [Mr. Wade] has provided nearly nothing to [Mrs. Wade] for her support and survival as her own bank account is often in overdraft.”
His wife’s lawyers served Willis with a subpoena for her to be deposed in the divorce case amid allegations of him having a relationship with the district attorney. But a judge on Monday put that deposition on hold at least until he can hear from Wade, who has also not been deposed.
Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson also unsealed the divorce case on Monday over the recent rise in interest because of the misconduct allegations against Mr. Wade and Willis.
Additionally, Thompson ruled Monday that Mrs. Wade has the right to uncover any alleged affair by her husband.
Willis’ lawyer argued she should not be deposed in the divorce case because it is about dividing marital assets that she “has nothing to do with” and that any alleged affair is irrelevant in the case.
Mrs. Wade’s lawyer, however, told the judge Monday, “I want to know how [Mr. Wade] has been spending his money. I have reason to believe he is spending it on another woman and that’s my client’s money.”
