The defense wants to disqualify DA Fani Willis in Trump's Georgia election case.
Following three days of testimony plus closing arguments, Scott McAfee, the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case, is weighing motions to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, primarily over accusations from Trump co-defendant Michael Roman that she benefited financially from a "personal, romantic relationship" with prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she hired for the case.
Willis and Wade, in a court filing, admitted to the relationship but said it "does not amount to a disqualifying conflict of interest" and that the relationship "has never involved direct or indirect financial benefit to District Attorney Willis."
DA Fani Willis' father, John Floyd, testified that he did not meet prosecutor Nathan Wade until 2023.
"Did you ever meet Mr. Wade in the year 2019?" Michael Roman's attorney Ashleigh Merchant asked Floyd.
"Absolutely not," Floyd replied.
"You ever seen Mr. Wade at Miss Willis [at the] Fulton County house in the year 2021?" Merchant asked.
"Never," Floyd said.
Fani Willis' father, John Floyd, described in detail the extent of the threats and abuse his daughter faced as her investigation into the former president ramped up, which eventually prompted her to leave her home.
"There have been so many death threats," he said. "And they said they were going to blow up the house, they were going to kill her, they were going to kill me, they were going to kill my grandchildren -- I mean, on and on and on."
Floyd said he lived with his daughter around the time, and that at one point the police sent an officer with a dog to sniff for bombs multiple times each day.
"Did you fear for her safety?" a state attorney asked.
"Absolutely," Floyd replied.
Floyd said that after Willis left the home, he lived there himself until December of 2022 -- when he said the "nightmare threats made against her and me" made the home "uninhabitable."
"I would have to walk around that house looking out of every window" to ensure no intruders were approaching the home, Floyd said.
Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes testified that early in DA Fani Willis' election interference probe, he was asked by Willis about taking the special prosecutor role in the investigation, but that he turned it down.
The former governor initially said he didn't remember the day when that meeting occurred.
But after stepping off the stand, about 10 minutes later Barnes walked back into the courtroom with his phone in his hand and calendar app pulled up, to tell the court the date he had found.
He said that the meeting where he turned down the special prosecutor position was on Oct 26, 2021 -- which would have been a few days before Nathan Wade was contracted for the position on Nov. 1, 2021.
A visibly irritated Judge McAfee threatened to hold a potential witness in violation of a subpoena for his failure to appear at the hearing today.
Terrence Bradley, a former associate of and lawyer for Nathan Wade, took the stand on Thursday and largely declined to answer questions, citing attorney-client privilege. The state intended to call Bradley back to the stand on Friday, but his attorney said he was at a doctor’s appointment.
Bradley’s failure to appear caused a roughly 90-minute delay before proceedings resumed.
“The notice in this hearing indicated it would last at least two days,” McAfee said. “So right now, I think he's in violation of a subpoena.”
An attorney for Bradley said he would encourage his client to return to court as quickly as possible to resume testimony this afternoon.
DA Fani Willis' father is now on the stand.
