Fulton County hearing: Trump case hangs in balance as judge mulls DA disqualification

The state is forcefully working to block testimony from Nathan Wade's law partner Terrence Bradley regarding text exchanges he had with defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant in September 2023.

The judge is so far allowing the defense to continue with its questioning of the texts.

At one point, Merchant handed her phone to the state to look at the texts after the state claimed they weren't sure if the texts were being presented in full.

"These exchanges are just two lawyers gossiping about information," the state said, while holding Merchant's phone. "And I'm concerned about it coming into the record in this way.”

The state told the court that they object to the defense even asking questions about the texts because if they were read it would be "inflammatory."

The defense called prosecutor Nathan Wade’s law partner Terrence Bradley to the stand as the hearing resumed Friday afternoon after a recess.

Bradley was called earlier but did not appear in court. Judge McAfee threatened to hold the witness in violation of a subpoena for his failure to appear. His attorney said he was at a doctor’s appointment.

The state is working to invoke privilege over his testimony.

DA Fani Willis' father testified more about the fallout the Willis family has faced in light of the ongoing threats she has faced over her work -- including how it has forced Willis to limit her contact with her father.

Willis' father, John Floyd, said "I've only seen my daughter -- and this is very hard for me to say – but during the period my daughter left, I've only seen my daughter 13 times because I can't."

Floyd testified that even when he's seen his daughter, they've kept their time together short.

"And we've never seen each other for more than maybe three hours because of, you know, the nightmare threats," he said.

Court recessed for a one-hour break after Floyd stepped down from the stand.

DA Fani Willis on Thursday repeatedly testified that when prosecutor Nathan Wade booked their travel or paid for meals, she would repay him with large amounts of cash -- an arrangement that appeared to draw skepticism from defense counsel.

On the stand today, Willis’ father, John Floyd, explained his daughter’s use of cash as “a Black thing.”

“I was trained -- and most black folks -- they hide cash, or they keep cash,” Floyd said. “I’ve told my daughter: 'You keep six months’ worth of cash -- always.”

“And as a matter of fact, I gave my daughter her first cash box and told her always keep some cash,” he testified.