ATLANTA — A tense exchange unfolded Friday at the Georgia State Capitol as Nathan Wade, the former special prosecutor in the Fulton County election interference case against President Donald Trump, testified before a state Senate subcommittee.
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The committee is investigating the prosecution of Trump and the other defendants.
Wade defended his role in the case, even as Republican senators suggested there may have been coordination between the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, the Biden administration, and the congressional committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
At one point, Wade’s attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, clashed with Athens Republican State Senator Bill Cowsert, who is leading the Senate investigation.
The exchange quickly became tense.
“So you’re defending what happened on January sixth?” Barnes asked.
Cowsert pushed back.
“I just want to know — are you defending that?”
Barnes replied, “I am not under examination from you, Governor.”
Friday marked the first time Wade testified publicly before the committee.
The case against Trump and the other defendants later fell apart after evidence surfaced that Wade had a romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who had hired him as special prosecutor.
A judge later disqualified Willis from the case. A state prosecutor eventually dropped all charges.
During the hearing, senators pressed Wade about whether there was coordination between the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and officials in Washington.
Wade strongly denied that claim.
“No one at the White House, the White House Counsel’s Office, the Department of Justice, or the January Sixth Committee directed, asked, coerced, or pressured me to do anything in the case,” Wade said.
However, Wade said he could not recall specific meetings with administration officials or members of the January 6 committee during trips he made to Washington.
Republican State Senator Greg Dolezal of Cumming said those interactions raise questions.
“You’ve got an eight-hour conference call between Mr. Wade and the White House? It does raise questions about how much coordination there was in the attempt to — quote — get Trump,” Dolezal said.
Wade’s attorney, Andrew Evans, dismissed the idea that the case was part of a larger conspiracy.
“That notion that it was part of some big conspiracy is absolute fiction,” Evans said.
“This whole thing today was just designed to make headlines.”
Barnes also argued it was appropriate for investigators to communicate with the U.S. Department of Justice or the January 6 committee while gathering evidence.
The Senate subcommittee cannot reopen the criminal case.
Instead, lawmakers say information gathered during the investigation could be used to write future legislation.
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