Things became awkward during a CNN interview with special prosecutor Nathan Wade after Kaitlan Collins asked about the headlining romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The interview went viral on social media shortly after it was posted on June 12. Collins started by asking Wade to clarify the current dynamics of his relationship with Willis. He said the two are “great friends” who “speak regularly;” however, things have changed some. “The conversation has changed, though, whereas before our conversations were about this case. I’m sure you can imagine and appreciate the amount of time that it takes that you have to pour into a case of this magnitude to prosecute those defendants,” he said.
“But our conversation has shifted… ’How are you? How are you handling the threats that are coming your way? Are you being safe?’ and the case will live on.”
The conversation between Wade and Collins shifted after the anchor asked him when his romantic relationship with Willis started. Wade began to answer the question but was flagged by his team to pause. Producers then released Wade from his microphone, and he walked to the corner of the room with a member of his team to discuss it.
Luckily, CNN cameras continued to roll to catch the odd incident.
Almost two minutes into the interview, Wade returns. Collins asks him if “everything is OK,” and he simply responds, “Yeah.”
While it is unknown what Wade and the unidentified man were discussing, as seen in
the corner, that didn’t stop Collins from picking up where she left off. After she re-asked her question about the timeline of the relationship with Willis, Wade obliged and answered with a seemingly different tone — taking the angle that the issue is a distraction from the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump. “I believe that the public has, through the testimony and other interviews, a clear snapshot that this is clearly just a distraction,” he said.“It is not a relevant issue in this case, and I think that we should be focusing more on the facts and the indictment in the case.”
After Collins reminded the prosecut
or that the Georgia Court of Appeals could ask similar questions, Wade stood his ground and refused to clarify the timeline of his relationship with Willis. “Again, there’s a question before the court, and that is the crux of the question. I don’t choose to say or do anything that would jeopardize the case or the court’s ruling,” he responded. “I prefer to allow them to make their decision based upon what they have and accept it.”Social media users chimed in to give their take on the matter. Some agreed with Wade, like @KenReece, who said,” Their affair has nothing to do with the orange turds case.” Another user said the interview looks poorly against the case. “I honestly don’t understand why it matters if they were in a relationship and when it happened, but just tell the truth or don’t give interviews,” @ChrisMoore15919 said.
“This isn’t helping her case.”
While Trump was recently found guilty on 34 counts in a hush-money case, his legal woes aren’t fully behind him. A Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others in August 2023, according to Fox 5 Atlanta, accusing them of initiating a scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Four defendants have already entered guilty pleas, but Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.