John Floyd III, father of Fulton County DA Fani Willis, testifies about cash, daily death threats to his daughter, and the N-Word

During her time on the stand Thursday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis repeatedly mentioned “daddy” and said the court would have a chance to learn more from him, and they did. John Floyd III, father of Willis, testified during the second day of the hearing on the Georgia election interference case to determine whether Willis should be removed from the case because of a relationship with Nathan Wade. Wade is one of the special prosecutors she hired in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants.

Floyd, a retired criminal defense lawyer, reinforced his daughter’s testimony on a number of fronts. On the importance of keeping cash at home, Floyd said he has a distrust of credit cards and other means of paying, which came from personal experience. Floyd shared a personal story of facing discrimination in payment methods based on the color of his skin, stating, “It’s a Black thing. Most Black folks, they hide cash or they keep cash.” Floyd confirmed to the court that he advised his daughter to keep large amounts of cash on hand, like he did himself.

Telling Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that he did not intend to make this a racial issue, Floyd shared his story of facing discrimination in payment methods based on his race. He recalled being in a restaurant in Cambridge, Mass. with Willis when she was a young child. Although the restaurant had a sign that said they accepted credit cards, the restaurant refused to accept his. They refused to allow him to use his American Express or Visa credit cards. They also said no to his traveler’s checks. Floyd said he had a single $10 dollar bill on him at the time, which they gladly accepted for his $9 meal. He felt their refusal was because of the color of his skin, so following that experience, he ensured that he had cash with him for any situation that may come up. He went on to say he told Willis to keep six months of cash on hand and added, “As a matter of fact, I gave my daughter her first cash box.” Willis had testified a day earlier that it was her father who taught her the importance of having cash on hand, rather than relying on a credit card or other means of payment.

Floyd went on to say that he worried about Willis’s safety when the two lived together in her South Fulton home. As lawyers for Trump and his co-defendants attempted to silence him, Floyd recounted constant protests, bomb threats, and racial slurs targeting Willis as a result of Trump and the election charges. Floyd told the court that bomb sniffing Police dogs were brought over daily to check the home for explosives and that his daughter was receiving constant death threats. He also described how someone had written the B-word and N-Word on the side of the house and how he removed it before she got home, electing not to tell her it had happened. After her life was repeatedly threatened, Floyd said he urged his daughter to move elsewhere.
 
Additionally, Floyd supported the timeline regarding Willis’s relationship with Wade saying he met Wade in 2023 and never saw him at Willis’ residence. He also mentioned getting to know a boyfriend of Willis in 2019, which was not Wade.

Former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes also testified, which provided a boost to Willis’ testimony the day before. Barnes aimed to dispel the notion that Willis hired Wade due to a personal relationship and confirmed that Willis originally requested him to lead the Trump investigation in October 2021. Barnes said he turned down the job because he wanted to “make money” and expressed concerns about possible threats that could come with leading such a high-profile case. Said Barnes, “I’d lived with bodyguards for four years and I didn’t like it,” he said, referring to his time as governor. “I wasn’t going to live with bodyguards for the rest of my life.”

The afternoon proceedings included arguments over attorney-client privilege involving Wade’s former law partner, Terrence Bradley. He also faced questions about a sexual assault allegation. Despite Bradley’s denial of any wrongdoing, Judge McAfee expressed concerns about his credibility and interpretations of the law. McAfee announced a private review of confidential material to determine the admissibility of additional evidence. There was also an attempt to call a witness who alleged assault by Bradley, but Judge McAfee ruled it inadmissible, deeming the issue collateral to the main case.

Attorneys spent much of the afternoon arguing about what Wade’s former law partner Bradley could be questioned about under attorney-client privilege given his previous role as Wade’s attorney. Defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant had referred repeatedly to a witness whose testimony would prove the district attorney’s office wasn’t truthful, which turned out to be Bradly, who Judge McAfee referred to as Merchant’s “star witness.” However, when Bradley took the stand, he provided no help to Merchant’s claims against Willis and Wade. When questioned by Merchant and other attorneys, Bradley asked a series of clarifying questions and often replied that he did not recall. Bradley also responded repeatedly that he could not expand on the matter because his response was informed by communications he had with Wade when he was a client, which he could not share due to attorney-client privilege. 

At one point, the topic of a sexual assault came up from Prosecutors, but Bradley insisted he did not assault anyone. This development prompted Judge McAfee to state that he had questions about Bradley’s credibility and interpretations of the law.

Prosecutors also attempted to call as a witness a one-time client of Bradley’s law firm that said he assaulted them. They also briefly questioned a former coworker who was about to describe a night out with Bradley in which he witnessed him assault a co-worker, but McAfee shut down questioning for each, saying they were inadmissible because the issue was collateral. McAfee said, “Now I’m left wondering if Mr. Bradley has been properly interpreting privilege this entire time.”

The judge said he would hold a private review of confidential material and then make a determination about whether any additional evidence could be considered.

In their desperate attempt to disqualify Willis and Wade from the Georgia election interference case, many attorneys following the trial say the testimony presented during Thursday and Friday’s proceedings did not establish that the prosecutors misled the court about their relationship or pursued the case for personal enrichment.

Judge McAfee has not reached a decision on whether to remove Willis and the entire Fulton District Attorney’s office from the case. Instead, he opted to review certain evidence submitted under seal and announced plans for another hearing, possibly scheduled for the upcoming Friday, which leaves the entire case in limbo.