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GA Prosecutor Nathan Wade Questioned About Relationship With Fani Willis. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired February 15, 2024 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANN GREEN CROSS, ATTORNEY FOR FULTON COUNTY D.A.'S OFFICE: Mr. Wade or for compensating other travel.
NATHAN WADE, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR IN TRUMP'S GA ELECTION CASE: All right. I understand, Ms. Cross. I think that's something you can -- it's now on the record, but also something you can take on cross.
CROSS: Thank you.
ASHLEIGH MERCHANT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR MIKE ROMAN: And just so everybody's clear. All I asked you is your affidavit. You submitted proof of one flight that she paid for it. That's all I'm asking. Correct?
WADE: With the explanation, yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. All I need it. You said in the affidavit that you roughly shared travel, though, correct?
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. So, this roughly sharing travel, you're saying she reimbursed you?
WADE: She did.
MERCHANT: And where did you deposit the money she reimbursed you?
WADE: That was cash. She didn't -- she didn't give me any checks.
MERCHANT: So, she paid you cash for her share of all these vacations?
SCOTT MCAFEE, FULTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE: Mr. Shafer, (PH) you'll step out if you do that again.
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. And so, all of the vacations that she took, she paid you cash for?
WADE: Yes, ma'am. MERCHANT: And you purchase all of these vacations on your business credit card, correct?
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. And you included those in deductions on your taxes, correct?
WADE: No, ma'am.
MERCHANT: No, you did not?
WADE: No, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. We'll get to that in just a minute, then. Let's see. So, the only thing that you have actual documentary proof, not cash, is this one receipt that you attach to the affidavit, is that correct?
CROSS: Yes, I object to that question. That is a mischaracterization of the assertion that is in the affidavit.
MERCHANT: I'm asking --
MCAFEE: So, then he can deny it. I think he can fend for himself. Miss Merchant.
MERCHANT: Is this the only written proof that you have of a trip she paid for?
WADE: That I have?
MERCHANT: Yes.
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. So, you submitted the one piece of written evidence that you have that she paid for something? Everything else is in cash, is that accurate?
WADE: No.
MERCHANT: That's not accurate? OK. Please tell me what other receipts do you have then that show that she paid for things?
WADE: I don't have them.
MERCHANT: OK. So, this is the only receipt that you have to show that she paid for travel?
WADE: I have. Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: Thank you. In your divorce case, you filed a domestic relations financial affidavit, correct?
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. The first one you filed was in January 2022, right?
WADE: They're about. Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: And those are under oath?
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: OK. And you also filed corporate taxes in 2022, correct?
WADE: I did.
MERCHANT: And tell me about your business. Are you -- do you have a partnership or are you a solo practitioner?
WADE: As it stands today?
MERCHANT: Yes.
WADE: So, today, I have a separate P.C. My law partner has his own separate P.C.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: So -- but we're under the same umbrella -- under the same roof. So, we share expenses, we share income, and we split it.
MERCHANT: So, are you a partnership?
WADE: We are a partnership in the sense of we share expenses, we share income --
MERCHANT: Are you registered with the state of Georgia as a partnership?
WADE: So, the WBC Firm that included myself, Terrence Bradley, and Christopher Campbell, we were registered with the Secretary of State as a partnership --
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: For a short period of time. When --
MERCHANT: That was dissolved, is that right in 2023?
CROSS: I'm going to object. The witness answers his question.
MCAFEE: Mr. Wade, do you have something else to add there?
WADE: I did. When things happen, and we excused Mr. Bradley from that partnership, it left Christopher Campbell and myself. So, now you have two separate P.C.s under the same umbrella sharing expenses and income.
MERCHANT: OK. So, let me just narrow down my questions then. Are you registered? And have you been registered at any time in the state of Georgia as Wade and Campbell? WADE: Wade? No, ma'am.
MERCHANT: You've never been registered as a partnership.
WADE: As Wade and Campbell, no, ma'am.
MERCHANT: Wade and Campbell. Yes. Thank you.
WADE: But as Wade-Bradley-Campbell, yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: Wade-Bradley-Campbell was registered on April 1, 2021, and administratively dissolved on September 8, 2023, correct?
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. Other than that partnership, you have always been registered as law office of Nathan Wade?
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: Not with Chris Campbell.
WADE: Correct.
MERCHANT: Thank you.
So, the affidavit that you filed in your divorce case, the first one in 2022 -- I think I'm up to number seven. I'm going to just show you -- give you a group of exhibits, so we don't have to go back and forth.
[11:35:12]
I'm marking the 2022 as seven. I'm marking the 2024 as eight. I'm marking the credit card statements as nine, and your taxes as 10. OK.
CROSS: I'm going to --
MERCHANT: OK.
CROSS: Objection. The taxes -- the relevance of them at this point -- the relevance of this entire business structure doesn't seem clear to me as other impeaching or relevant to the issues that the courts -- under the court's consideration. But insofar as we're talking about tax returns and other things like that, certainly that's -- should be redacted. And I would object to the relevance of it.
MERCHANT: I agree they should be redacted. I don't agree to the relevance. But I haven't tried to attend to them yet, Judge. I'm just marking them right now so that everyone can follow.
MCAFEE: All right. And what is the eventual relevance that you were getting at here?
MERCHANT: Well, I'm going to ask him because one of the things that we have to show in this case is a personal and financial interest. So -- and he's talked about how he was reimbursed for these things. And so, I have a -- I have a right to go into the veracity of those things.
MCAFEE: All right.
MERCHANT: So, let's see. Seven, eight -- sorry, nine, and then 10. All right. So, right now, I'm just going to show you what I've marked as these exhibits.
CROSS: Ms. Merchant. Can I see what you're showing --
MERCHANT: Oh, yes. of course. All from the USB drive or KVM.
(INAUDIBLE)
MERCHANT: Can I approach, Judge?
MCAFEE: You may.
MERCHANT: I'm going to show you what I marked as seven, eight, nine, and 10 to see how these relevant as I ask you some questions.
WADE: All right.
MERCHANT: So, these are sworn -- the -- I'm first going to ask you about the domestic relations financial affidavit. These are sworn. They're filed under oath, correct?
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: And the most recent one that you filed was filed on January 26, 2024?
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: So, a few weeks ago?
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: And in that one, you said that you made $9,500 each month, correct?
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: You said that in 2022 -- well, in 2022, in this case alone, isn't it true you're paid $303,000 -- over $303,000?
WADE: I was paid?
MERCHANT: Yes. In this case. Fulton County -- by Fulton County.
WADE: I see where you going. So --
MERCHANT: And, Judge, I just want him to answer the question. If he wants to explain it, I have no problem with that.
MCAFEE: Mr. Wade, just listen to the question asked and just ask -- answer the question asked. MERCHANT: In 2022, isn't it true, you are paid over $300,000?
WADE: No, ma'am. That is not true.
MERCHANT: You are not paid over $300,000 by Fulton County?
WADE: No, ma'am. I was not.
MERCHANT: OK. How much were you paid in 2022 then?
WADE: So, what I was beginning to explain was Fulton County wrote a check to my firm.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: What happens at that point is the checks are then deposited, as you have the bank statements. You see that. And then they are dispersed between the three of us.
So, there was Mr. Bradley, there was Mr. Wade, and there was Christopher Campbell, a third, a third, a third. So, when you asked me if I was paid $300,000, the answer was no. I got a third of that, that went to my personal firm.
Now, once the money was distributed to my personal firm, obviously the expenses come out of that. And I get, at the end of the day, whatever the profit is. So, I did not get $300,000. No, ma'am.
MERCHANT: And let me just clarify. My question was not did you put in your pocket the $300,000? My question was, was the law firm of Nathan Wade paid over $300,000 in the year 2022?
[11:40:01]
WADE: Again, a third of that came to the law firm of Nathan Wade.
MERCHANT: So, you're saying that the law firm of Nathan Wade did not receive checks from Fulton County government over $300,000 in the year of 2022?
WADE: That's a different question. A third of the 300,000 came to Nathan Wade.
MERCHANT: OK. Again, I'm not asking what went in your pocket? I'm asking where -- was the law firm of Nathan Wade paid over $300,000 in 2022?
CROSS: (INAUDIBLE)
MERCHANT: OK.
MCAFEE: I know. I -- but I think we're dancing around the point there. So, I'm on time, Ms. Merchant.
MERCHANT: That's fine. I can move on, Judge. Thank you. So, you said that they were dispersed amongst all of you -- or put into an account with all of you. So, it's your testimony that for 2022, every check you received from Fulton County government went into an operating account with you, Bradley, and Campbell.
WADE: No, no, no, no. That's not what I testified to. So, the way Bradley and Campbell firm has established an account when we decided to purchase a building in 2022. At that point, every piece of income that came in to the entity went into that account.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: And then after expenses were paid, it was split a third, a third, a third. Right? Once that was dissolved, then the funds would go into a different account, my Account -- one of my accounts. And then I would disperse the funds between now Attorney Campbell and myself, one half and one half.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: Make sense?
MERCHANT: It does. Let me maybe more direct then. So, the Synovus operating account that you had for Wade, Bradley, and Campbell.
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: The checks from Fulton County from January of 2022 until June 17, 2022, those checks were deposited in that operating account.
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: Starting on July 15, 2022, the checks you received from Fulton County up until May 26, 2022, all went into an escrow account that you had at Fifth Third Bank, correct?
WADE: No, not all of them. Some of them --
MERCHANT: Not all of them?
WADE: Some of them. Yes.
MERCHANT: So, it's your testimony that some of your checks from July 15, 2022, up until May 26, 2023, some of them went into an account outside of Fifth Third Bank.
CROSS: No, no. I object to the relevance of the financial transactions.
MERCHANT: How much money you made is highly relevant in this case, it's the personal financial business, and where the money was. And -- I mean, it's just a follow up on other things that he's testified to.
MCAFEE: And why is how much money he made irrelevant?
MERCHANT: Because he represented in a -- in a -- it's very relevant. He filed an affidavit with the court saying with another court -- he told another judge that he made $9,500 a month. That's what he swore to. And --
MCAFEE: All right. So, this entire inquiry is just to try and establish that prior inconsistent statement?
MERCHANT: Yes.
MCAFEE: All right. I'll give you a minute or two more to try that. But we're going to have to move on.
MERCHANT: OK, great. Thank you. So, I know you're saying that you only got a third of the $300,000. But you were paid over --- the firm was paid over $300,000 in 2022, correct?
WADE: But -- all right. Ms. Merchant, it's not what I'm saying. It -- the numbers that are there, it's the -- it's the truth. The funds were paid. They were divvied between the three of us going into an operating account. Expenses paid out of it.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: At the end of that, the 9000 figures which you have.
MERCHANT: So, that's where you got the 9000-figure from?
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. And let's see. Let's -- prior to when you filed for divorce, in November 2021, you would use Mr. Bradley's credit card to pay for things with Ms. Willis, correct?
WADE: I've never --
MERCHANT: And then pay him back in cash?
WADE: I've never used Mr. Bradley's credit card in my --
MERCHANT: You've never used his credit card?
WADE: Never.
MERCHANT: For transactions to anything with Ms. Willis, as out to dinner or anything like that?
WADE: I've never --
MERCHANT: Hotels?
WADE: I've never used Mr. Bradley's credit card. I've never used anyone else's credit card. Not even my father's. And we have the same name.
MERCHANT: And you'd pay back -- if you ever did use someone's credit card you pay back in cash, is that correct?
[11:45:01]
WADE: Ma'am, I've never used someone else's credit card.
MERCHANT: Can you take a look at the bank records that I gave you? That's the largest tab you have.
MCAFEE: For the record, which exhibit is this?
MERCHANT: It is exhibit -- hold on, Judge. Exhibit Nine. It should be the largest section you thought.
CROSS: (INAUDIBLE) before they start --
MERCHANT: Yes.
CROSS: We find things from that -- these exhibits hadn't been tendered, and I maintain my relevance objections.
MCAFEE: All right. Let's see what the next question is. And maybe then that objection is going to be highly relevant.
WADE: OK.
MERCHANT: Is that an accurate copy of your Capital One statements that you provided in discovery to -- is that an accurate reflection of your Capital One records?
WADE: That I provided in discovery to whom?
MERCHANT: To your divorce lawyers. Or some -- or that you provided in the divorce proceedings?
CROSS: Is the -- is the question, does he recognize if I say?
MERCHANT: I'm asking if it's a statement. Thanks.
MCAFEE: I think that is the question.
CROSS: OK.
WADE: Well, I mean, this is a thick document, but I believe you if you say that this is -- this is what my wife divorce lawyer gave you. I believe it.
MERCHANT: Your name is on every page of that document, correct?
WADE: On every page?
MERCHANT: Pretty much every page, if not every page.
WADE: No, it's not on every page. No, ma'am.
MERCHANT: They're all Capital One Bank records?
WADE: They are.
MERCHANT: OK. Please, take your time. Look through it. Tell me if there's anything that you think is not yours.
WADE: No, no, no. They're appear to be.
MERCHANT: OK. And those bank records show that you paid for travel with Miss Willis.
WADE: Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK.
CROSS: I'm going to -- I'm going to object the relevance of these documents in the --
MCAFEE: I think -- are you attending Exhibit Nine?
MERCHANT: I'm going to, Judge. And they're highly relevant to the -- there -- the whole --
MCAFEE: Well, just asked him a question about the contents of them. They haven't been admitted yet. So, why don't we start there?
MERCHANT: Thanks. Those show travel that you and Miss Willis took.
CROSS: Well, I --
MCAFEE: Well -- so, you're asking about the contents of something that hasn't been admitted yet? Right?
MERCHANT: I'm asking him if that's what it shows because I know that they're going to object on relevance.
MCAFEE: Well, first, we got to see if it's -- you've authenticated it, perhaps. And before we get into other details of what's in it, I think that should be admitted.
MERCHANT: I can tender them that's fine. I move to admit them.
MCAFEE: All right.
CROSS: Objection. On relevance.
MCAFEE: On relevance. All right. And on that, overruled. Ms. Merchant.
MERCHANT: Thank you. Those records demonstrate that you paid for travel with yourself and Ms. Willis, correct?
WADE: They should.
MERCHANT: OK. And let's just talk about that travel.
WADE: OK.
MERCHANT: The first trip is Belize in March 2023. Is that a trip that you took with Miss Willis?
WADE: Or you asked -- MERCHANT: Did you take a trip with Miss Willis in 2023 to Belize?
WADE: To Belize. I did.
MERCHANT: Did you take a trip to California with Ms. Willis in 2023?
WADE: I did.
MERCHANT: Did you pay for those trips on that credit card?
WADE: I use the credit card to book the travel. But understand --
MERCHANT: She paid you back in cash?
WADE: Well, let me say this. Let's take the Belize trip for example, since you started there.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: That was a birthday gift to me. So, I paid nothing for that trip. Zero.
MERCHANT: OK. So, the charges that are on your card, she gave you cash for?
WADE: She did.
MERCHANT: OK. So, all of the charges --
CROSS: Excuse me. You're going to let the witness to finished answering the question.
MERCHANT: Oh, did you have more?
WADE: I did.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: I wanted to get into the charges on the car because -- so, traveling with her is a -- is a task. You can probably imagine the tension that happens. So, for safety reasons, she would limit her transactions.
I mean, imagine trying to walk through an airport or sit at a restaurant or do anything. So, there was no -- there's no attempt to conceal -- it's a credit card. Everything is here. So --
MERCHANT: And -- that's not what I asked.
WADE: OK.
MERCHANT: What I asked was the charges for Belize in March 2023 on that credit card, those are things you purchased to go with Miss Willis -- with Miss Willis to Belize.
WADE: Those are -- those are things that we booked with my card that she paid.
MERCHANT: Yes.
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: Yes. So, those show up on your credit card?
WADE: They do.
MERCHANT: And you're saying that she paid you cash to reimburse you for all of that?
WADE: She did.
MERCHANT: And she paid you cash for both of your portions or just hers?
WADE: Both.
MERCHANT: OK. So, that trip -- Belize. Just Belize. She paid you for everything on Belize.
[11:50:02]
WADE: The entire trip.
MERCHANT: OK. So, the food, tattoo parlor, all that stuff, she paid for?
CROSS: I'm going to -- (INAUDIBLE) the question.
WADE: There was no -- there was no tattoo parlor in Belize.
MERCHANT: The charges -- there's a -- there's a tattoo parlor on the charges. I'm not getting into what it was for. I'm just asking if everything that's on that card related to Belize, she paid you back for?
WADE: She paid for. Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. Let's talk about California. In May 2023, you all went to California together.
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: And you booked plane tickets?
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: And her name was on those plane tickets.
WADE: They were.
MERCHANT: And so, I know you said that you were worried about security and things like that, but that wasn't her name. When she traveled, she had the username. WADE: Oh, so the plane tickets? Yes, ma'am.
MERCHANT: OK. And you paid for those plane tickets, and you paid for a hotel?
WADE: So, again, the card? Yes.
MERCHANT: You used your credit card? And I'm not asking about after what happened. I'm asking did you use your credit card to book your flight and hotel to California?
WADE: I did.
MERCHANT: And there have a lot of Ubers on there as well, for California. Did you pay for those Ubers as well?
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: OK. Didn't --
WADE: We were in Napa.
MERCHANT: And you're saying that Miss Willis -- are you saying that this was paid you back for that?
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: Did she pay for the entire trip, or did she pay for her half of the trip?
WADE: The Napa trip? She paid for the excursions. So, the expenses sort of balanced out. I mean there was never -- let me be clear. There was never a time when I would say, hey, I bought dinner. Dinner costs $25. You need to give me $25.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: If you've ever spent any time with Miss Willis, you understand that she's a very independent proud woman.
MERCHANT: I object. We're not --
WADE: So, she's going to the --
MCAFEE: Overruled. Mr. Wade.
WADE: So, she's going to insist that she carries her own weight. And it actually was a point of contention between the two of us. She is going to pay her own way.
MERCHANT: So -- I mean, we ask the question to make sure that you answer it. In California trip that you paid for, you're saying that she did not pay you back for cash instead, she paid for excursions, and you believe that was roughly half?
WADE: No. She gave me some cash, yes. MERCHANT: She gave you some cash?
WADE: But what I'm saying is that the -- everything that we did when we got into Napa, she paid for them.
MERCHANT: The trip that she booked on her credit card in Miami, did you pay her cash back for your half of that?
WADE: No.
MERCHANT: So, you never pay her back for --
WADE: No.
MERCHANT: The tickets she bought for you?
WADE: No, no. I would say I did pay her back because there were times when I would pay for dinner.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: She would pay for dinner. It would balance out. But in a relationship, ma'am, you don't -- particularly men, we don't go asking back for anything. So, you're not keeping a ledger of things that you pay for versus the thing that she's paying for which is why I said that it was a point of contention because she was very emphatic and adamant about this independent, strong woman thing. So, she mandate that she paid her own way.
MERCHANT: But she's the district attorney of Fulton County, and she has to file financial disclosures disclosing any gifts with anybody that she does business with, in Fulton County, correct?
WADE: I don't know.
MERCHANT: OK. Let's talk about Tennessee. Booked a cabin in August 2023 and paid for a cabin in Tennessee. That's when you paid for it. I don't know when the trip was. Can you tell us about that?
WADE: August of 2023?
MERCHANT: You booked a trip for $1,481.54.
WADE: Are you -- are you asking me did I take that trip with Miss Willis or are you asking me --
MERCHANT: First, I was just asking you to acknowledge that that is correct from the records that you paid for a cabin in Tennessee? Do you recall -- and hopefully you can do it from your memory. Do you recall paying for a cabin six months ago, $1,400.81 in Tennessee?
WADE: Where are we now? What pages?
MERCHANT: I'm just asking from your memory. Do you remember paying for a cabin in August?
CROSS: Not if the -- somebody asked about a particular transaction --
MCAFEE: I think he can answer whether he remembers or not.
WADE: I don't remember --
MERCHANT: Mr. Wade, I'm not asking you to go through thousand pages of records. I'm asking if you remember paying for a cabin six months ago in Tennessee.
WADE: No.
MERCHANT: Do you remember booking a cabin?
WADE: I book lots of cabins.
[11:55:00]
MERCHANT: Did you go to a cabin with Miss Willis ever?
WADE: Ever?
MERCHANT: Ever.
WADE: No.
MERCHANT: You never gone to cabin with Ms. Willis?
WADE: No.
MERCHANT: Do you ever gone to Tennessee with Miss Willis?
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: OK. When was that?
WADE: That was around 2022 -- early 2022.
MERCHANT: Early 2022? OK.
WADE: It was a -- it was a day trip. We would --
MERCHANT: OK. So, you didn't spend a night?
WADE: So, it was a day trip.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: We would drive there. Have lunch. Drop back. The reason we would do that is because the attention -- she couldn't get any peace of mind going locally. So, we'd get in my car and drive to someplace off the path and have lunch and drive back.
MERCHANT: Is that when you went to Fainting Goat with her, hence in Jasper, Georgia?
WADE: No. That's in Georgia. I don't -- I don't -- I don't recall going to Fainting Goat with her.
MERCHANT: So, the Tennessee day trip -- day trips were not -- were only Tennessee?
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: OK. Did you ever do these day trips in Georgia?
WADE: Do we drive anywhere in Georgia?
MERCHANT: Yes. You were --
WADE: Of course.
MERCHANT: You were talking about day trips going out --
WADE: Yes, we drove --
MERCHANT: And I'm talking about outside of the metro area. The day trips that you were just talking about -- these trips you were talking about. The ones that you were -- I'm only asking about the ones you were just talking about. Are all of those in Tennessee?
WADE: No. We drove to Alabama before.
MERCHANT: OK. You drove Alabama? Did you go anywhere in Georgia -- North Georgia?
CROSS: Now, I'm going to object. If it was to direct attention in some way to a timeframe or location, then I think it might be easier for the witness to accurately answer.
MCAFEE: Ms. Merchant, I think if you don't have the specific details yourself, we need to start getting into specifics were more of maybe broadly phrased questions. we could just be exploring around indefinitely.
MERCHANT: Is it -- is it fair to say that you've taken so many trips with her you don't even really remember all the places you've gone?
WADE: So many trips?
MERCHANT: You're having trouble remembering going -- if you went to North Georgia or not.
WADE: Well, you're asking me about specific places, and I want to be candid in my responses. So, I have to jog my memory because these are places that I have frequent, but not with her. So, I want to make certain that if there was ever a time that she accompanied me, that it was candid in the responses.
MERCHANT: OK. Aruba, October of 2022. And in fact, business records are going to get pretty stretched might be a little faster. But did you -- did you take a trip with her to Aruba in 2022?
WADE: Yes, ma'am. So, that Aruba trip was -- sorry. It was a package deal there. We -- my mother had recently retired, and I decided to take my mother on a cruise.
MERCHANT: OK.
WADE: And the second leg after the cruise, concluded, D.A. Willis and I went to Aruba. So, that was our one trip, if you will.
MERCHANT: OK. So, my question was, did you go with D.A. Willis to Aruba in 2022?
WADE: I did.
MERCHANT: Thank you. And you paid for that trip using your business credit card, correct?
WADE: I did.
MERCHANT: OK. And you paid for a cruise as well, correct.
WADE: That's the cruise I was referencing with D.A. Willis, my mother, and myself.
MERCHANT: OK. And that -- let's -- because there's two cruises, so let's just talk about the first one.
WADE: OK.
MERCHANT: So, the first one was, you took -- (INAUDIBLE) with your mother.
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: And so, you introduced D.A. Willis to your mother. That trip, you all took a cruise together. The three of you?
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: After the cruise was done, you and D.A. Willis flew to Aruba together and your mom flew home?
WADE: Yes.
MERCHANT: And you paid for all of this with your credit card -- on your business credit card?
WADE: I did.
MERCHANT: And are you saying that Miss Willis paid you cash back for that?
WADE: She did.
