House GOP Says It Can't Find Nathan Wade Amid Fani Willis Probe

Updated Sep 26, 2024 at 10:59 AM EDT

The House Judiciary Committee has been unable to locate former Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade since issuing a subpoena on Friday, committee spokesperson Russell Dye told Newsweek on Wednesday evening.

The committee is trying to subpoena Wade to testify, which will likely include questions about his previous personal relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Willis charged former President Donald Trump with allegedly seeking to interfere with the 2020 election results in Georgia, a swing state that narrowly backed President Joe Biden.

The lead prosecutor in the case, which is investigating Trump's call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to tip the election in his favor and an alleged plot to submit a false slate of electors to the Electoral College, was Wade, who has since left the role. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claims it is a political witch hunt.

"The committee issued the subpoena on Friday, attempted to serve the subpoena to Nathan Wade's lawyer, who declined, and subsequently the committee tried to serve the subpoena via email through Nathan Wade himself, never heard back. As a result the committee had to use the assistance of the U.S. Marshals, who have also not been able to find Nathan Wade," Dye told Newsweek via phone Wednesday evening.

The committee spokesperson also told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Republican-led committee has "served over 100 subpoenas this Congress. We have done so, for the most part, without controversy or the need to use the U.S. Marshals."He added that "Nathan Wade's evasion of service is extremely unusual and will require the Committee to spend U.S. tax dollars to locate him."

Newsweek reached out to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office for comment via email on Wednesday afternoon.

Andrew Evans, Wade's attorney, and Dye have differing views on what transpired over the past few months as the committee has tried to get Wade to testify. Evans told Newsweek in a phone interview on Wednesday that his client previously "voluntarily agreed to go up to Washington, D.C., and the Republicans canceled it."

Evans said the agreed upon date was July 11, the same day Trump was originally set to be sentenced in New York on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He suggested the date was moved for political reasons to be closer to the election. Dye told Newsweek on Wednesday evening that the committee "offered July 11, and the Wade camp did not accept that date," adding that anything suggesting that the committee "canceled anything in July is false." Dye said their communications were facilitated via email.

House Judiciary Chair Representative Jim Jordan's letter accompanying the subpoena said that Evans postponed and then canceled Wade's voluntary transcribed interview scheduled for September 18. Evans confirmed to Newsweekit was because of concerns expressed by former Governor Roy Barnes, who is representing Willis. Evans also told Newsweek that the committee previously sent Wade "a written request, not a compelled request, to produce six categories of documents."

"We produced everything that we have," Evans said, such as invoices, which fell into two categories, and "objected to the other ones." He noted that the committee "did not say anything about the objected ones [categories], which shows how hollow this whole thing is."

When asked if the committee didn't object to the missing categories and why, Dye said, "This is exactly why we need Nathan Wade to testify under oath before the committee.It's one thing to say that, but another thing to say that under oath and under penalty of perjury. We would love to have him come in and tell us that." The attorney reiterated that "Wade is not part of the District Attorney's office, he doesn't have access to the office and information anymore." He questioned what the committee could be trying to get out of Wade, saying, "It's unclear what else [Wade] could add."

On Thursday, the committee is likely unable to conduct a hearing without Wade, with Evans saying, "There's zero precedent for having an empty-chair hearing for someone that has no notice of the deposition at all," adding that "this is political theater that is improv—playing with the rules."

The House Judiciary GOP posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday afternoon: "Where's Nathan Wade?" and Jordan posted the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article on X with the same caption. Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has called for Willis to be arrested following her failure to adhere to a subpoena in Georgia's State Senate.

https://www.newsweek.com/fani-willis-nathan-wade-missing-1959447