'The View' co-host scolds Fani Willis and Nathan Wade for workplace romance: 'Stupid thing to do'
"The View" co-host Sunny Hostin unleashed on Fulton County DA Fani Willis and her ex-boyfriend Nathan Wade for jeopardizing the prosecution of former President Trump in Georgia on Thursday, arguing that workplace romances are "professional suicide."
"I think this was one of the biggest unforced errors almost in our nation’s history. You do not have an office affair when our very democracy is on the line, and you can do something to prevent it from going over the edge," Hostin said. "It was a stupid, stupid thing to do."
Willis and Wade were accused of having an "improper" affair by the co-defendants in the Trump election interference case in Georgia. Wade eventually resigned so Willis could continue to prosecute the significant case.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin agreed with Hostin and said she never dated in her immediate workplace, out of a fear that it might end badly.
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Co-host Sara Haines said she had experienced a workplace romance herself and wondered how some people avoid falling in love with their co-workers, because they're with each other all the time.
Whoopi Goldberg said both love and lust were unpredictable, before Hostin interjected, "Can you fall in love after you save democracy though?"
The revelations about Willis and Wade's romance threw a wrench into the Georgia case against Trump and his allies this year.
In a 23-page order in March, Judge Scott McAfee said the defense "failed to meet their burden of proving" a true conflict of interest in the case, but nevertheless the record showed an appearance of impropriety that couldn't be rectified unless Wade or Willis was removed. Wade then resigned from the prosecution team.
The pair have claimed their relationship evolved naturally while they worked together and they were not romantically involved before Wade was hired. However, Ashleigh Merchant – who led the allegations in court against Willis – testified that Wade's cellphone data indicated he had made midnight trips to Willis' condo before he was hired.
Wade, during an interview on Wednesday with MSNBC's Joy Reid, said that his earlier assertion of workplace relationships being "American as apple pie" was not a way for him to make light of the situation, but rather note that it could happen to anyone.
JUDGE RULES FANI WILLIS MUST STEP ASIDE FROM TRUMP CASE OR FIRE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR NATHAN WADE
"Our relationship was professional. Our relationship grew organically over time. It was something that was not deliberate or intentional. I made the statement earlier that workplace romances are as American as apple pie, right? That was not to make light of the situation. That was just to say that it could happen to anyone," Wade said.
Wade also weighed in on the status of the Georgia election interference case and responded to Trump's criticisms of his relationship with Willis.
"There’s something special about individuals who say things just for attention or just to get a reaction," Wade said, before warning Trump's "day of reckoning is coming."
Wade, who described getting death threats, told MSNBC that he and Willis still communicate frequently and remain close friends.
He told Reid that Willis is "the only other person on the planet who knows what I’m going through, and I know what she is going through."
Fox News' Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.