Scout & Cellar/Getty Joycelyn Wade (l) and Fani Willis with Nathan Wade.
Joycelyn Wade is the estranged wife of Nathan Wade, the attorney who was appointed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as the special prosecutor in the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump and his associates.
Update- On February 15, Robin Bryant Yeartie, a former friend of Willis, testified that Willis and Wade began a romantic relationship in 2019, which was earlier than Wade and Willis asserted in a court filing. You can read more about that here.
On January 19, Joycelyn Wade filed a new motion in the divorce case that accuses Fani Willis of having a romantic relationship with her estranged husband. The motion attached receipts that show Nathan Wade purchasing airline tickets for himself and Willis, according to that motion. On the same day, Willis filed a motion seeking to quash Joycelyn Wade’s subpoena against her and accusing Joycelyn Wade of harassing her.
You can read more details about the January 19 filings here, as well as see the receipts.
Ashleigh Merchant, the attorney for one of those associates, Michael Roman, is now accusing Willis and Wade of engaging in a romantic relationship while Wade was married. That filing can be read in full here.
The court filing accuses Willis of orchestrating the hiring of Wade as special prosecutor. The filing accuses Wade of taking Willis on trips using some of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he received from the county for the Trump prosecution. The claim is that this is unethical and possibly a crime.
The Washington Post reported on January 9 that Willis was subpoenaed that day by Wade’s estranged wife, Joycelyn Mayfield Wade, in the divorce case. Those records are sealed.
Willis has not responded to the accusations, other than to say through a spokeswoman that she will respond “through appropriate court filings,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wade has not spoken publicly about the accusations.
According to the Hill, Trump said on January 9, “You had a very big event yesterday as you saw in Georgia where the district attorney is totally compromised. The case has to be dropped.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Joycelyn Wade Wants Fani Willis to Testify in Her Divorce Case, Which Has Grown ‘Contentious,’ Reports Say
Facebook (Joycelyn Mayfield Wade)Joycelyn Wade
According to the Washington Post, Willis “was issued a subpoena” on January 9 in the divorce case “to testify in the proceedings.”
The Post reported that the proceedings have “turned contentious.”
The Post reviewed the affidavit of service, reporting that it was “left with Willis’s executive assistant hours before Roman’s filing appeared on the docket. It is unknown what Willis will be asked or why she was deemed a potential witness.”
The Wall Street Journal also reported on the process server giving Willis a subpoena, reporting that the divorce case is in Cobb County.
2. Nathan Wade Filed for Divorce From Joycelyn Mayfield Wade in 2021
Campbell & Wade/GettyNathan Wade.
According to the Post, Wade “filed for divorce from his wife, Joycelyn Mayfield Wade, in November 2021,” and the documents were sealed in February 2022.
However, Ashleigh Merchant, the attorney for Roman, told the Post that she had copied some records in the divorce case “that she claimed include evidence that Wade and Willis had an ongoing personal relationship that predated his hiring.”
“I had everything before it was sealed,” Merchant told the Post.
“So there’s some question about whether or not I can publish that stuff because now it’s under seal. So out of an abundance of caution I referenced it,” she told the Post, adding that she also has filed a motion to unseal the records.
An article in the Marietta Daily Journal says that Wade’s estranged wife’s name is Joycelyn Wade, and they have two children together.
Wade ran unsuccessfully for judge in Georgia. His campaign website, which was accessed through the Wayback machine, contains this biographical information:
A former prosecutor and a seasoned trial attorney, Nathan J. Wade is prepared to serve as your Cobb County Superior Court Judge. Nathan is a former Special Assistant Attorney General and Pro Hac State Court Judge. He currently serves as an Associate Municipal Court Judge for the City of Marietta, in addition to maintaining his responsibilities as a partner of The Wade & Bradley Firm in Cobb County.
Born the son of a Vietnam War Veteran, Nathan is a strict proponent of the Rule of Law. He strongly believes that the role of a Superior Court Judge is one of fairness and impartiality without any regard for politics, race, gender or financial status. Nathan asserts that the American system of justice is the best in the world when each individual branch of government is functioning properly and performing its designed duty. Nathan upholds the tenet that judges are not authorized to legislate from the bench but rather enforce the current state of all applicable laws without prejudice or bias.
It continues, “A long-time resident of Cobb County, Nathan has been married to his wife Joycelyn for 19 years and they have two children,” who were then 14 and 12. “Nathan spends his spare time as a head basketball coach at the Cobb County Athletic Club and being the number one fan of his children as (his daughter) competes as a high-level gymnast and (his son) competes as a travel academy soccer player.”
3. Joycelyn Wade Works as a Wine Consultant
Instagram (Joycelyn Mayfield Wade)Joycelyn Mayfield Wade
According to online postings, Joycelyn Wade has worked as a consultant for a wine club. “This wine is amazing! I can’t say enough about its charm. If you are looking for a low-calorie, gluten-free, low sulfite, and no added sugar wine then please check out my Instagram page at @purevinesfreshwines and click on the link in my bio,” the page reads.
On Facebook, Joycelyn Wade posted pictures of her two kids. However, she did not have any photos of Nathan Wade on the page. She has now deleted the Facebook page.
Public records give her address as a home in Marietta, Georgia, that is assessed at $765,000, according to online real estate listings. Heavy is not linking to those listings to preserve her privacy.
Joycelyn Wade also lists the wine venture on her Instagram page, which is private.
4. The Court Filing Accuses Nathan Wade of Taking DA Fani Willis on Caribbean Cruises
GettyNathan Wade.
The accusation is that Willis chose Wade as a special prosecutor without following proper procedure and then financially benefited because he paid for trips with her after receiving county funds.
The court documents, which included Wade’s invoices, also say he met with the Biden White House twice while special prosecutor.
“The district attorney chose to appoint her romantic partner, who at all times relevant to this prosecution has been a married man,” the filing alleges. The filing asks the judge to “disqualify Willis, Wade and their respective offices and firms from any further involvement in the prosecution of this matter.”
Concrete proof of a romantic relationship is not presented in the filing. The filing accuses Wade, a private lawyer, of being unqualified to spearhead the prosecution.
The filing alleges that “since being appointed as special prosecutor, the special prosecutor has been paid an estimated almost $1,000,000.00 in legal fees.” However, The New York Post reported that Wade received nearly $654,000 in legal fees.
The filing, which contains spelling errors, accuses Willis and Wade of having “traveled personally together to such places as Napa Valley, Florida and the Caribbean and the special prosecutor has purchased tickets for both of them to travel on both the Norweigan and Royal Carribean cruise lines. Traveling together to such places as Washington, D.C. or New York City might make sense for work purposes in light of other pending litigation, but what work purpose could only be served by travel to this traditional vacation destinations?”
According to the filing, the special prosecutor “is seeking a divorce in Cobb County and sought successfully to seal those records, hiding them from public view.” The filing states that “it is not entirely clear when the relationship began, but it began while Wade was married. On November 2, 2021, a day after his first contract with Willis commenced, Wade filed for divorce in Cobb County Superior Court.”
The filing alleges that “the district attorney and the special prosecutor have been seen in private together in and about the Atlanta area and believed to have co-habited in some form or fashion at a location owned by neither of them.”
5. Joycelyn Wade Has Roots in Texas
Court filingNathan Wade agreement.
According to an obituary for her mother Billie Mayfield, Joycelyn Wade has family roots in Texas.
“Billie enjoyed a distinguished career as educator for 42 years. She served in many capacities including school teacher, Administrative Assistant, Counselor, Special Education Supervisor, and Secondary Director of Human Resources,” the obit says of Joycelyn’s mom.
“Her professional career began in Munday, Texas; but she later transitioned to Ector County where she spent the majority of her career. She was an active member of Texas Alliance of Black School Educators (TABSE) and the American Counseling Association (ACA). She was well respected and depended on by the Administrative, faculty, and staff of Permian High School where she attended and supported all activities her children participated in,” it says.
“The true love of her life was John Reese Mayfield II; a handsome basketball coach she met while coaching basketball.”
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