because i was too close to the jews, quote, unquote, and i told d.a. willis i didn't -- i lived with bodyguards for four years, and i didn't like it, and i wasn't going to live with bodyguards for the rest of my life. >> ultimately you turned down -- >> yes. yeah, i told her, i said, i'm not interested. >> nothing further from the state. >> miss merchant? good morning, governor barnes, how are you? >> just fine. good to see you. >> good to see you. you said it was sometime in 2021. >> i think it was. i don't remember the dates. i could look it up on my calendar at the office, but i don't have that. >> well, i want to ask you about some statements that miss willis made march 28th, 2021.

she was talking about assembling a team for this case. are you familiar with her work assembling a team for this case? >> well, i assume that's what she was talking to me about. but besides that i don't know. >> i know you said you had a meeting with some folks and mr. wade was at that meeting? >> correct. >> he was with the district attorney interviewing you about taking this case? >> well, he -- of course, i know nathan very well, as you do. >> yes. >> and i exchanged pleasantries with him, but the conversation was with miss willis. >> okay. with miss willis. were you aware at the time that her team consisted of brian watkins, megan vargas, sonia alan, shannon trotty, fal chan and john floyd. she reported that was her team on this case? >> i knew john floyd was involved and she probably told me the others, but, listen, i barely remember what case i

tried last year, much less every word that was said in the conversation. >> i understand, fair enough. but she said she was looking to hire more lawyers and investigators to work on this case? >> she told me it was, to me, and she said would you be interested in being special prosecutor in this case? and i gave the reply that i already -- no. about hiring other lawyers or whatever, i don't know. all i can testify to is what she told me. >> did she tell you at all why she wanted to hire special counsel and not use someone who is an ada, not have an actual employee? >> no. she did not. we did not discuss that. and but i would assume it was because the case as big as this you would have to have -- i know john floyd has been in some cases over the years out in cobb

county, for example. >> would you agree that an employee of her office, someone who was paid a state salary or county salary as an ada could handle a case like this? >> i couldn't tell you that unless i knew the person, knew their experience and really had been with them in a courtroom. >> all right. thank you. >> yes, ma'am. >> hello, mr. sadow. >> it has been a while. >> it has been a while. >> i hope you're doing well? >> just getting older. >> that applies to all of us, i believe. i think you indicated that if you had your calendar you would be able to pinpoint a day for us? >> i would. >> is there a way for you, for example, to break before you actually leave to contact your folks to see if you can get a date? >> i guess i could. i -- i don't know how far back we archive those, but i assume i could.

>> would you be willing to give that a shot for us? if i ask the court and the court says go ahead and do it, that would be all right? >> i'll do whatever the court instructs and you should too. >> i try to live by those words. i'm not always successful, but i try. if i pinpoint a date, for example, i think the record is clear that mr. wade was hired for the position on november 1 of 2021. does that help you all? >> no, it does not. >> then let's go to the meeting. it sounds like it was just one meeting? >> yes. >> and could you tell us where that meeting took place, if you remember? >> in the conference room adjacent to the district attorney's office. >> was it in this -- the adjoining building? >> it was in lewis -- >> and district attorney willis was there obviously, right? >> yes. >> and mr. wade was there? >> best i recall. i could be mistaken about that,

like anything that far away, but that's my recollection. >> do you have a recollection of anyone else being present? >> yeah, there were -- there was some other folks, but i don't remember. >> do you remember -- were you introduced to mr. wade by anything other than you already knew him? at least as you're there, if i heard you correctly, miss willis did all the talking, mr. wade did not? >> i mean, we exchanged pleasantries, but as far as the basis of the conversation and the reason i was there, miss willis did the talking. >> and would you be able to give us an estimate of how long this meeting lasted? >> probably an hour. >> and during the meeting, you made it clear that it was the thanks for the offer, but no thank you. >> oh, yes. i did. as i said, you know, i started off as a prosecutor, and for

about 10 or 15 years i did nothing but criminal. and then -- but i tried to move away from it. and do primarily civil math. mr. gillen and i have done some white collar cases over in federal court. i got one over there right now. but it is generally business related, you know, where i have a client that has got a kid or him and the case i have over there now is an alleged fraud case. >> fair to say that based on your career and the work that you've done, you've handled high profile cases, correct? >> i have. i've -- i've handled pretty good cases. i sued syria one time for beheading a client of mine, recovered $80 million. i guess that's the best high

profile -- but that was in d.c. i tried that in d.c. >> what would be considered complex cases, you handled those as well, correct? >> yes. we regularly do mass torts, class actions, business torts, breach of contract, and most of those are complex, requiring many experts. i also -- we also do malpractice. i was -- i did malpractice defense for about 25 years, but since i returned from the governor's office, i try not to represent an insurance company anymore. and i just tied a malpractice case in november. and those are complex cases because of the type of, you know, medical knowledge that you have to have and also because of the many experts that you have.

>> thank you. did miss willis, and this is the last question, did miss willis tell you why she had sought you, why you had been her choice? >> no. i get consulted fairly often on major cases. >> would you believe, based on circumstances in which you were given the offer that it had to do with the fact that you had handled complex and high profile cases in the past? >> it could have been. i know her very well. the -- i tried a case against her. she worked for the jqc and i represented judge robert carl for matt crawford and she prosecuted him and i defended him. she beat me at the trial. i turned it around in the supreme court. >> so you had some experience.

>> i had plenty of experience with her. she's a very qualified young -- well, everybody's young to me, but she's a very qualified attorney. >> after that one occasion, did you have any other contact with her in reference to the position itself or who she might be considering? >> you know, i had some conversations with her or jeff desantos or some of those, but not really an in depth, you know, about who she should hire or anything like that. >> did the name nathan wade come up in those conversations? >> no. >> no. >> no. nathan was there, i thought. i could be mistaken, but i thought nathan was there when i -- i think nathan was -- i'm positive nathan was there when i -- when i met with him. >> and my question was probably poorly worded.

but what i was asking is after the conference and whatever consulting you might have done -- >> yes. >> -- did miss willis or mr. desantos bring up the name nathan wade as a special prosecutor? >> i don't think so. i don't recall one. nathan is a good organizer, you know. nathan can organize stuff -- i've watched him over the years, so i wasn't surprised that he was acting as a special prosecutor. >> and mr. desantos, for the record who is that, jeff desantos? >> jeff desantos. >> do you know who he is? >> oh, yes. >> could you tell us who he is for the record? >> jeff works in the d.a.'s office. i knew him when he worked for thurgood baker. >> do you know his role? >> i have no idea. >> is he in media? >> he's done media in the past. jeff has generally been -- i like jeff. i'm very close to him. but he's generally been on the other side of my campaigns.

>> so we're talking the best of your recollection, conference, we don't have the date. i'm asking if you could possibly get it. but the conference you have mr. wade could have been there. >> yes, i'm almost sure he was there. >> and miss willis obviously. and mr. desantos was there? >> i think mr. desantos was too. >> as far as whether there was anyone else there, you don't have any recollection? >> no. next time i'll take a picture so i'll have an exact -- >> next time hopefully you won't have to be here. >> hopefully not. >> mr. stockton? >> no questions. >> thank you. >> mr. durham? >> no questions, your honer. >> mr. mcdougal. >> no questions for the governor. >> mr. rice? >> no questions. >> mr. gillen? >> i've been waiting for this for years. >> i couldn't give up the chance getting up here, governor. good to see you again. >> good to see you. >> we have done some work in the

past together, haven't we? >> i will say to you, i can understand why they came to see you, because you're the finest lawyer i've ever worked with. >> thank you. i next to put you in the next -- >> there you go. one or two more questions. you and i working together, when it is appropriate, we had no qualms about filing motions to disqualify the d.a., have we? >> no. >> matter of fact, you and i successfully disqualified the d.a. out in cobb county in the brown case, didn't we? >> we did. >> so whatever needs to be done, should be done. >> represent your client. >> you got that. thank you so much. >> mr. cotrero, are you with us by zoom? >> i am. >> all right. any questions? >> no, sir. >> and mr. cromwell? >> no questions, your honor. >> any redirect? can the witness be excused?

the question is you want the exact date of the meeting occurred? >> yes. >> and i'm wondering if we can -- if it is really material, the exact date rather than just its proximity to the november 1st hiring, is that fair? if he knows whether it was earlier in the year versus maybe closer, would that obviate the need for the exact date? >> if he can't get the exact date, we'll take the best we can. >> let's start there. you may take care of it for us if we hold in place. >> i'm not sure -- >> let me try this first, governor barnes, before you do a deep dive in the email there. do you recall what time of year it was when this meeting occurred? >> i'm afraid not. you know how this is, the cases and the days move together.

i had a fellow a few years ago who said i represented him in 1978, i told him i would take his word for it. >> i got to ask, if you wouldn't do that -- >> no, i would not. i'll tell you, i believe lawyers should be well paid. >> so -- >> i'll have to look. it didn't come up right here. >> all right. we'll ask this witness to step down and send it to recall. and now something the state can present with stipulation as well. all right. thank you, sir. do we have an update on mr. bradley? >> his lawyer should be here. the last estimation i heard was about 11:30. >> okay.

if that's still the case, miss cross, do you have another witness available? >> john floyd. >> is he heading this way? >> yes. >> all right. >> 14 past the hour. you've been watching a critical hearing in georgia that could very well determine whether fulton county d.a. fani willis is removed from the sprawling rico case of former president donald trump. >> we just heard from roy barnes, first witness called by the state in this case in defense of fani willis and her team. i want to go to the courthouse and msnbc's katie phang is joining us live outside that courthouse as we await the next

witness who is being called here, sounds like they're planning to go back to a defense witness, terrence bradley. as we wait for him to take the stand, katie, talk to us about the significance of that testimony we just heard. >> yes, so, as you noted, that is former governor roy barnes and, wow what a detour from in terms of the energy and the pleasantries that were in a courtroom than what we saw yesterday. yesterday being very volatile and very conflict-ridden. that was -- as somebody who has a lot of respect, not only from the state attorney's office, the d.a.'s office and the criminal defense bar as you heard that exchange, but the importance of that testimony was the following, he, as in barnes, was somebody that d.a. fani willis saw to come on board as special prosecutor. you heard the exchange with the court at the end about the timing of that meeting, did it necessarily mean that d.a. fani willis went to barnes before she enlisted special prosecutor nathan wade and that is the reason why the court asked roy barnes, can you check your

calendar to see when that meeting occurred with willis, vis-a-vis the hiring date or the appointment date of wade on november of 2021. it is important because if it is true that d.a. fani willis sought someone else before nathan wade, of course that flies in the face of the defense's theory that wade was only hired to be able to further that personal benefit of fani willis. last note i would share with you guys is the following, there were a couple of key nuggets from barnes' testimony. one, you heard barnes turned it down, not only because it is not financially lucrative, which, again, supports the idea that you're not going to make a lot of money off this case if you're a special prosecutor at $250 an hour, but number two, you heard him say he had security and safety reasons in taking this job. maybe doesn't speak directly to the issues of this disqualification hearing, but it supports the idea that fani willis constantly under threat for trying to prosecute a case for people like donald trump is

something that gives cause for paus. this is the nicest exchange you'll hear between any of the lawyers. >> i'm thinking what we saw there was such a moment of pleasantries between prosecutor's office and private certain attorneys, it seems like they respect each other and in many cases worked with each other on both sides. what are some things that the former governor said that you think stuck out to you? >> sure, three things. the first and most important is the idea that wade was not the first choice. in other words if theory is you're giving this job to somebody you're having a relationship with, why are you going to somebody else first? that is consistent, totally consistent with what fani willis said under oath yesterday. so that's the main reason to do this. >> it is also consistent with what she has said in the past,

dating back to 2022, she said she tried others first, he wasn't her first choice, but he has a thick skin and could take on this role. >> right. and this is a witness who the one thing that is going to be clear, no one is going to argue to the judge that this witness lied. so this is a key fact. >> let's go back into the courtroom. >> -- issues involved as well as -- >> i'm just trying to get more -- we initially had been told maybe 9:30, 10:00, do we have a better idea to get a realistic expectation of when we think we can have him here? >> if it is your honor's wish -- [ inaudible ] >> is he, you know, without getting too much into the particulars, has he been seen by

the doctor and waiting for results or waiting to be seen by a doctor, just, you know? >> he's been -- he's spoken to the doctor and -- [ inaudible ] >> after he gets the results, he was to have another meeting? >> a conversation between the judge and an attorney for terrence bradley in a doctor's office -- a doctor's meeting, not able to get him back to the courtroom. >> we're hearing the judge say that terrence bradley may be in violation of the subpoena, he had not been aware of this doctor appointment and then they, you know, were waiting for him, they had assumed had been told he would be there around 10:30ish and again another 50 minutes has gone past -- >> he was told very clearly, you are still under subpoena. let's keep an eye on this, and we'll -- >> talking about the possibility of bringing in another witness. a separate witness. a different witness.

>> right, okay, understood. miss cross? >> okay. as we await for this next witness to come forward, we'll keep an eye on what is happening right now. >> here's our next witness. >> may i approach the witness quickly? >> this is john floyd, fani willis' father, who has been called again by the state as their witness. >> i do. >> please state and spell your full name for the court. >> my name is john floyd iii. >> good morning, sir. >> good morning. >> can you tell the court are you currently retired? >> yes, i am. >> and prior to being retired, can you tell the court a little bit about -- did you work in the -- >> i was an attorney, i practice law, i probably tried a thousand cases, about 50% of my practice

was criminal law, 25% of it was family law and the rest was whatever walked through the front door and could pay for it. >> okay. and -- >> wait, one second. the governor has come back. >> my calendar shows it was october 26th, 2021. >> all right, and would defense counsel accept that as a stipulation or is there any follow-up questioning needed on that, mr. barnes is still considered under oath on this point? all right. look for a show of hands or someone to speak now on zoom, hearing none, thank you, sir. you're excused. >> and, sir, can you tell the court are you from atlanta? >> no. i grew up in south central los angeles. i spent most of my legal career, i would say, in washington, d.c. was kind of the circle, but i tried cases all over the country and i tried the longest -- first

lawyer to try international criminal court, with the international criminal tribunal for rwanda, in trial there for four and a half years and tanzania and hague in the netherlands. >> when you weren't there, sounds like your center of gravity was washington, d.c.? >> correct. but i tried cases in west virginia, virginia, maryland, florida, i mean, california. >> all over? >> yes. >> and do you -- sir, can you tell the court, do you have any children? >> i have one daughter, fani willis. >> okay. and i want to direct your attention back to 2019, okay? >> yes. >> back in 2019, can you tell the court, did you move here to atlanta? >> i was living in johannesburg, south africa. and unfortunately for some

reasons i could not get an extended visa. when i retired from the practice of law in 2018, i moved to south africa. and i had to leave south africa and i did then come to atlanta. >> okay. and do you, sir, remember about the time period in 2019 when you moved in with your daughter here in atlanta? >> it would have been the spring or summer of 2019. >> and after you moved here, did you get a driver's license to kind of confirm your residency in atlanta? >> well, my driver's license for the district of columbia was going to expire on my birthday, which is in october. and, yes, i did get a license here in the state of georgia. >> may i approach the witness?

if you can look at what has been marked as state's -- >> your honor, if you don't mind, my eyes are very bad, which is one of the reasons i retired, so i need a magnifying glass, so i'll be -- >> go ahead. >> thank you. yes, i see it was issued on 9/28/2019. >> before we get there, do you recognize state's exhibit 2? >> yes, it is my driver's license. >> it is a fair and accurate copy of your physical driver's license? >> absolutely. >> the state would tender what is marked as state's number 2 in evidence. >> seeing no objection it admitted into evidence. >> we have a redacted copy of the license, the current copy is

not redacted. with the address -- >> do we need to mark that differently in any way? >> i'll mark it as state's exhibit 2a. >> perfect. >> you talked about when your driver's license was issued. can you tell the court when was that driver's license issued? >> it was on -- on 9/28/2019. >> okay. now, when you moved in to district attorney willis' home, who lived there? >> well, my daughter lived there. i lived there. and from time to time my grandchildren would -- my grandchildren would come. >> okay. and did your grandchildren, were they at school coming and going -- >> exactly. i think they were in school in various jurisdictions. >> and during the time -- how long did you live at or with miss willis and at her home here

in fulton county? >> she was forced to move after she was elected. i don't know if you want me to go through the whole thing, but, your honor will indulge me, after she was sworn in, she was sworn in on january 1 of 2021, and on or about the 3rd of february, probably 5:00, 5:30 a.m. in the morning, there were people outside her house cursing and yelling and calling her the b word and the n word and just, i mean, it was bizarre, okay. >> i would say it is -- >> that's -- he's saying he was

personally present to hear these things? >> yes. >> okay. overruled. >> okay. and fortunately the neighbors called the police and disbanded, you know, disbanded the group and it was just -- it was just -- i hadn't seen anything exactly like it before. >> okay. and after that happened, can you tell the court, did miss willis have to move from her home? >> yes, she was forced to leave. >> and can you tell the court after she was forced to leave, shortly after she was sworn in, did you remain at her home in fulton county? >> yes, i stayed there, really until 2022, i guess. >> and from what you described, did you fear for her safety? >> absolutely. i mean, not only did i do that, the south fulton police, they

had -- they brought somebody, a man with a dog, because there had been so many death threats. 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. it just -- it became -- i was concerned for her safety. >> and after those concerns came to your attention and after what you heard and saw that day, you remained at the house? >> yes. >> and can you tell the court with what you just described, why did you remain living at miss -- the district attorney's home here in fulton county? [ inaudible ] >> i believe it is relevant based on a lot of the questions that were asked yesterday of miss willis as to about the security threat and the fact that it was applied, but those threats were not necessarily real in a sense that mr. floyd remained in the home, many

questions about the fact that he remained and her children could still come and go to the house, it is relevant based on the testimony that was elicited from defense counsel yesterday. >> overruled. >> well, the south fulton police, first they put a car in front of the house that was there permanently. and police car that was thing one. thing two, they brought a person with a dog, sometimes more than once a day, twice a day, and they would circle the house to look for bombs. i knew that that was a house that my daughter had worked for, it was a brand-new house, she is the only one who would ever live there, a four bedroom, brand-new house, and i wanted to -- somebody needed to protect the house, and i stayed there to basically take care of the house, to take care of the yard, to take care that. also somebody sprayed, again, b word and n word on the house and

i don't think my daughter even knew that. i cleaned it off and called the police and stuff, fulton police, they have -- i'm sure they have the records of all the things that happened. and all the neighbors, i notified all the neighbors to look out and to watch out. and it was just -- it was so crazy, just so crazy. we would have people show up in parked cars, a guy parked for probably eight hours out in front of the house, you know, just -- and we would call the police. >> now, at the time that you lived there with miss willis and, i guess, even when you remained, so during the time period of 2019 to the end of 2020, are you aware if miss willis was dating someone? >> yes, she did. she had a boyfriend when i first got there. >> and did you meet her boyfriend?

>> yeah. i met him often. >> okay. and did you know him by any specific nickname? >> yeah, deuce. >> can you tell the court why you were living there, how often would you see him? >> sometimes every day, sometimes, you know, every other day. he was a disc jockey or something and he had all this paraphernalia that i would have to move out, it was a thing with the key -- the things that play music and so forth. >> when you moved in, in 2019, and throughout the years, and year 2020, 2021, had you ever met someone named nathan wade? >> i did not meet nathan wade until 2023, about a year ago, when a reporter by the name of isikoff interviewed me.

that's the first time i met him. >> you said that was 2023? >> 2023, right. >> and i know you said you hadn't met him until 2023, but when you were living at miss willis' house in fulton county, did you ever meet mr. wade in the year 2019? >> absolutely not. >> how about the year 2020? >> absolutely not. >> have you ever seen mr. wade at miss willis' fulton county house in the year 2021? >> never. >> is it your testimony that the only time, the first time that you met mr. wade was in 2023? >> let me say something. mr. wade said that he remembers seeing me and i do remember some banter, i'm a member of kappa alpha si fraternity.

and he's a member of -- i do remember there was some kind of banter when my daughter was sworn in to be district attorney between me and a couple of guys, and he said he remembers me. i don't remember him. >> and prior to that experience that you're talking about, as well as your official meeting in 2023, had you ever even heard his name? >> no, never. >> i don't think very any further questions, your honor. >> miss merchant? >> yes, thank you, judge. >> fine, how you, counsel? >> good. thank you. a couple questions. on monday we heard you were in california. do you have a place in california? >> people always ask me about where do i live. i guess i live right here, sitting in this seat right now. but, yes, the answer is i have a place in los angeles. >> okay. you do. all right. do you share time -- split time

between los angeles and georgia? >> actually, i'm working on a documentary film and i'm supposed to be being filmed, not for this trial, but i'm supposed to be being filmed right now, it was planned and we had to stop it because they asked me to come here. but the answer is i'm working on a documentary and i'll be in california until i finish the documentary if we don't have another actor strike and we don't have another writers strike. >> so, do you own property in california? >> no, i don't -- i live with a friend of mine. >> you live with a friend of yours. okay. when did you first move -- let me qualify with the dates. did you spend any time in 2019 in california? >> no. and the reason i didn't is that when i first came here, the answer is no, i did not. what happened was covid, once covid hit, i mean, i was just

paralyzed. i couldn't go anyplace. i couldn't go anything -- i'm a theater buff. i used to go to theater at least once a week. but when covid hit, i just couldn't, i couldn't go to the dentist, which i need to do or, you know, it was just things, so i was just stuck. i was just stuck there. >> i may be wrong but i believe covid hit in 2020. in 2019, did you spend any time in california? >> before covid was here in the united states, remember, i lived in south africa and i traveled the world. i knew covid was coming before. i knew covid was around before. they may have announced it in '20, but in fact i knew about it and i knew what was happening in '19. >> okay, so let's walk through 2019 then. you said you moved here in september. >> no i didn't say that. i moved here probably prior to

september. in september is when i got the driver's license. i probably moved in the springtime. >> i'm sorry, you did. you said spring/summer, i see that in my notes. spring/summer 2019 is when you moved here. up until spring/summer of 2019, where did you live? >> i lived in johannesburg -- well, i lived in washington, d.c. 2018. i had planned to retire for rest of my life in south africa. i had worked for nelson mandela and the free mandela and someone i had gone to law school, he had located there after mandela was freed from prison and became president. i was going to live there for rest of my life, but unfortunately because of political reasons i could not stay in south africa and i was forced in a sense to come back to the united states. >> okay. so let's just focus in on the period from let's see -- let's start with october 2019, okay? we'll call that the relevant

period. october 2019, until the end of 2019, were you in georgia every single day of that year? >> absolutely. >> so now let's move to 2020, and every single day in 2019, you slept at your daughter's house, correct? >> that's correct. >> okay. let's start in 2020. so, 2020, the entire year, did you travel anywhere? >> no. >> you didn't travel at all that year? >> no. and i didn't go to the movies, which upset me also. >> so that entire year, 2020, you remained here in georgia? >> right. >> in 2021, did you do any traveling? >> no. >> okay. so, when did you move back -- when did you start this documentary film in los angeles? >> what i had been doing to occupy my time, i was writing my own memoir. as i delved into my family background, i discovered something and that's what got me

to working on the documentary. so i want you to understand what was going on in my life. i pitched my -- i have a movie script called "bad blood," i have a movie script, trying this out, so i tried to sell that, i just happened to mention something that happened during the civil rights movement, called the snick five, the legendary peter fitzsimmons was interested, and so with peter fitzsimmons and julia smith we're doing the documentary. >> i don't want to interrupt you, but what i was asking was when you moved to los angeles, not what you moved there for? >> you keep saying moved. i haven't moved to los angeles. i spent more time in california, in oakland, if you really just want to be because peter is basically san francisco-based. we're working on a documentary.

>> okay -- >> i was in los angeles because i was going to the pan african film festival and that's why we were there and the way hollywood works is, you know, you make connections and film festivals are a place to try to sell ideas and meet people and organize things. >> you still own property in washington, d.c., correct? >> no, i don't. >> you don't own property at 1467 roxana road, northwest. >> that's where i used to live? >> did you own that property? >> yes. >> you owned that property when you moved here in 2019? >> yes. >> and you owned it in 2020, correct? >> well, that -- now you talk about very complicated issue. i left the property, there was a dispute between me and -- i had gotten a reverse mortgage company. and there was a dispute between me and that and i just -- i walked away from it.

>> okay. you walked away from it with almost $300,000. >> what is the relevance of that? >> where he lived and registered to vote, that's what they brought in -- >> how is the money from the sale relevant at all? >> it is the only proof i have that he owned that address. i can move on. when did you sell that property? >> i didn't. the reverse mortgage company took it. >> oh, okay. so, in 2019, when you -- when you got your driver's license here? >> yes. >> the next day you registered to vote, correct? >> i think it may have been the same day, but maybe it was the next day, i don't remember. >> but you didn't own property here in georgia that day? >> no, i was living with my daughter. >> okay. you said you met mr. wade -- that you remember you met in 2023, right? that was the first time -- >> correct. >> and i wasn't really clear, you said something about meeting him -- was it with mr. isiskoff

or he did tell you? >> i was being interviewed by mr. isikoff and he walked in and i met him, that was the first time. he walked into the office and -- >> where were you being interviewed? >> at the district attorney's office. >> and mr. wade walked into that interview? >> yes. >> and so miss willis had not told you about mr. wade prior to that? >> absolutely not. >> she didn't tell you anything about their relationship before you met him that day? >> no. >> but mr. wade remembers meeting you in 2020? >> he said that at my daughter's swearing in, i do remember that we were having some banter about fraternities, but other than that -- >> your daughter's swearing in, okay. >> right. >> that's all i have. one moment, judge.

>> good morning, sir. >> good morning, how you, counsel? >> i'm fine. i'm trying to ask you some specific questions if we could, okay? >> i'll give specific answers if i can. >> perfect. >> okay. >> the driver's license address, i'm not going to publish that is state's exhibit number 2, is the address on that driver's license the home that you are referring to as your daughter's in south fulton? >> absolutely. >> okay. it was unclear to me, maybe no one else, it is unclear to me, when did you stop living at what i would call your daughter's home in south fulton? >> things got so bad and threats got so many, even against me, that the house became basically uninhabitable. you know, i got tired of

sleeping in one room one day and -- i would say december of 2022, something like that. >> december of 2022? >> right, that's about right, yeah. >> for another date, you indicated, i didn't hear it, when was your daughter, miss willis, when was she sworn in as district attorney? >> on january 1, 2021. >> okay. and did you indicate there was an incident -- you described it, was that incident on february 3rd, 2021? >> that's my best recollection. >> okay. so my question then is after february 3rd of 2021, how much longer did miss willis stay at the house before she moved somewhere else? >> very short period of time, and i cannot be precise, but i would bet all the money i ever made it wasn't more than a month and a half if that long. >> okay. so we're talking about best of

your recollection end of february, into the beginning of march, give or take of 2021 when miss willis would have moved to a different location? >> exactly. >> okay. and did miss willis return to the house, that is the house you were in, at any point in time that you can remember? >> from time to time she and her security might show up for her to pick something up or take something, but she always would come with her security. >> my question was poorly worded, i apologize. did she come back permanently to her house? >> oh, absolutely not. absolutely not. >> so as far as you're aware that once miss willis left the house, her house, that fulton house, so the record is clear, in either late february or into march of 2021, best of your recollection she has not returned to that home to live? >> no, it became uninhabitable. it just, you kno --

>> that's okay. >> i would have to walk around that house looking out of every window, i made a habit of having to walk around the whole house. i got lights so that if somebody would come at night in the back, so that those kinds of reflecting lights, i had those put up. >> i was interested in whether she had ever returned? >> no, the answer is no. >> okay. now, when miss willis, when your daughter left the home, time period, end of february, beginning of march, give or take, 2021, do you know where she moved to? >> no, and i didn't want to know. i intentionally didn't want to know because i was not, you know, if somebody stuck a gun to my head and i could tell them, i wasn't going to tell them anyway, i would have made up something, but i didn't want to know. >> so, would it be fair to say if you didn't want to know, you never visited her at the place

that she moved to? >> i never did. >> never did. >> never did. >> do you know how long she stayed at the first place that she went to after she left her house before she moved to a second place? >> what i know, and this is hearsay, counsel, is that my daughter has had to move something like four times. >> do you know any -- >> no, i don't know any place. i was taken one time for a christmas day, i've only seen my daughter -- 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 -- and we have never seen each other more than maybe three hours because of, you know, the nightmare threats against her and me. >> and i understand that. and from the perspective of being a father myself, i understand what that means. i'll move away from that. i was trying to get an idea

date-wise, okay. let me try to get one more date. in 2023, when you were being interviewed by one of the gentleman that wrote the book, at the d.a.'s office, and mr. wade came in, can you give us other than 2023 what the date would be? >> i'm sorry, i can't, counsel. >> how about spring/summer, any idea? >> i would guess spring or summer, but i can't -- i don't -- i'm sorry. >> and you've already indicated, at least to your recollection that was the first time you met mr. wade? >> absolutely. >> okay. not arguing with you about that. i want to go to miss willis' boyfriend that you referenced. okay. you met miss willis' boyfriend as you characterized it when you came here in 2019? >> correct. >> and you met him on one occasion, several occasions? >> no, i saw him often. >> so you mean there was no secret she was dating this man? >> not from me. >> not from you?

>> he was, again, he was a disc jockey of some kind. i think he had a -- different job during the day, i don't know what it was, but apparently he would do weddings and so on and so forth, he was a disc jockey, he would play music, so all his music was always in the way and i was always having to try to push aside and anyway -- >> miss willis -- your daughter didn't keep him from you, correct? >> no. no. >> there was no doubt -- >> we lived in -- my daughter and i lived in the same house. he came and went, you know? >> right. now, when did you learn that your daughter had a romantic personal relationship with mr. wade? >> about seven weeks ago when it -- as a matter of fact, i -- i just found out when the other folks found out. >> your daughter, as i understand it, never told you

one time in the year of 2022 that she was dating mr. wade, correct? >> that's correct. >> and until recently you didn't know from anyone, including your daughter, that she dated mr. wade, correct? >> that's correct. >> that is whatever the relationship is between father and daughter, she kept that a secret from you, correct? >> correct. >> that's all i need to know. >> mr. stockton? good morning. >> good morning. >> when your daughter moved or left the house that she owned, did she say anything to you about having a large savings of cash? >> no. no. see, maybe -- excuse me. your honor, i'm not trying to be

racist. but it's a black thing. okay? i was trained and most black folks, they hide cash or they keep cash. no, you always keep some cash because i've been places -- just because of the color of my skin, for example, i took a fellowship at harvard when my daughter was just -- if i might, your honor. when i was just -- she was just maybe 3 years old. i remember going to a restaurant in cambridge, massachusetts. i had an american express credit card and maybe a visa or whatever. i had a lot of what they call travelers checks. i don't know if they still have travelers checks. there was a sign said -- for whatever reason the man would not take my american express

credit card. i pulled out my visa card. he wouldn't take my visa card. then i pulled out my travelers checks. we don't take checks. this was money. i had a $10 bill. i will never forget this as long as i live. he said, the bill for my wife at the time -- fanni's mother, fanni, my mother and myself was $9.95. i had a $10. i remember that. before that, i have kept cash. i told my daughter, you keep six months' of cash always. for example, i had three safesa in my house. i put some of my clients' stuff there, too, things i didn't want other lawyers to be -- you are always in a firm. i knew there was special conditions. some of my clients' things i would put in the safe. i have always kept safes.

>> is that a yes? >> yeah, absolutely. >> that's all i got, judge. >> mr. durham? >> no questions. >> mr. mcdougal? >> no questions. >> mr. rice? >> no questions, your honor. >> mr. yellen. >> good morning, sir. >> good morning. how are you? >> just fine. a few questions following up. when you were talking about when you learned about mr. wade and your daughter, correct? >> correct. >> did your daughter tell you around october of 2022 that she had gone on a caribbean cruise with mr. wade to the bahamas? >> the answer is, i knew that my daughter had gone, but i did not

know who she went with or what the circumstances were. i knew that she had gone out of town, but i didn't know with whom. >> i see. did she tell you in november of 2022 that she had gone to aruba and stayed at the hyatt regency resort there in aruba for three days with mr. wade? >> the answer was, again, i knew she went out of town. i didn't know where she was going. she might have said she was going out of the country or something, she would be gone. other than that, that was all. >> did she tell you in march of 2023 that she was going to belize for several days with mr. wade? >> same answer. i knew she -- she would tell me she was going out of town. she may or may not have told me where she was going. she would be gone for a couple of days. >> in 2023, you were -- you

would be out in california, correct? >> some days i would be in california, correct. >> did she tell you in may of 2023 that she was traveling to napa valley with mr. wade so maybe y'all could see each other when she visited california with mr. wade? >> the answer is no. >> the first time that you ever met mr. wade or learned about mr. wade to your recollection was in 2023? >> that's correct. >> that's all i have, your honor. thank you. >> just a couple quick questions. good morning, sir. i know i can't see you. >> i can't see you either. good morning. >> let's just pause. see if we can change the screens. >> your honor, i'm on a phone. it's difficult. >> can you turn your screen on?

>> i'm trying to. does that work? there we go. > you can proceed. >> you seem to know about the issue of cash in this transaction. you said it was a black thing. how did you know that the cash was going to be an issue in this testimony? >> because i was asked for it and i was prepped by the lawyers. they asked me about it. >> did you speak with mr. wade about your testimony? >> no. >> did you speak with your daughter about your testimony?

>> she may have been present when the lawyers were. i really don't remember. >> if mr. wade and your daughter were dating, you wouldn't have known that unless your daughter told you? >> maybe i'm not understanding your question, counsel. maybe you want to restate. what is it that you are asking me? >> if it wasn't clear, i can re-ask. if mr. wade and your daughter were dating, you wouldn't have known that unless your daughter told you? >> i did not know that they were dating. i didn't know that -- i don't know what you are asking me. what i told my child from the time she was a child is always have some money. always have some money. if you go on a date so people don't try to stick you and you want to leave whoever. always keep some cash. okay?

>> you answered the question that the attorney prepped you. that's all i wanted to know. that's it, your honor. >> it wasn't common for your daughter to confide in you about her romantic life at all? >> no. i didn't -- i haven't confided in her about mine when i had one. >> you wouldn't have known about her boyfriend, the disc jockey? >> that was off view. >> you wouldn't have known about the disc jockey had you not been living with her? >> that's correct. >> i have nothing further. >> by a show of hands, any

redirect? >> i wanted to know when you were prepped by the lawyers, when this prep session was. >> i just got off the plane what was it tuesday night? i think i was drooling at the mouth i was so tired. it must have been -- i got in wednesday. it must have been wednesday. >> did you talk about any of the testimony from yesterday or watch any news reports or anything like -- >> you can't put the tv on without seeing this. the first thing. i listen to conservative radio a lot. last night for five hours, all they talked about was this case. >> you were aware of what the testimony your daughter gave yesterday was? >> yeah. how could you -- unless you don't cut the radio on, don't put the television on, don't read the ajc or any other -- "the new york times" or whatever, which i do every day, of course. >> is it fair to say nobody

instructed you you were under the rule of sequestration? >> right. i'm not under subpoena either. >> thank you. >> anything else? seeing and hearing none, thank you, mr. floyd. >> thank you very much, your honor. it's a pleasure to appear in front of your honor. >> miss cross, let me check in. was the state planning to call additional witnesses? >> not at this time. we are trying to accommodate if there's a -- >> even if mr. bradley testifies to some extent, it's the potential that the state has no further witnesses? >> i anticipate at least one more will be available this afternoon. that would be it. >> there are potentially more state's witnesses? >> before we move on, i move to strike the last witness' testimony. >> i think the rule is invoked and the instruction was