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Former GA Gov. Roy Barnes Testifies At Fani Willis Hearing; Fani Willis' Father Testifies At Disqualification Hearing. Aired 11- 11:30a ET
Aired February 16, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
ROY BARNES (D), FORMER GEORGIA GOVERNOR: -- 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ultimately, you turned down.
BARNES: Yes. Yes, I told her, I said, I'm not interested. Nothing further from the state, your honor.
JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE, FULTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT: Ms. Merchant?
ASHLEIGH MERCHANT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR MIKE ROMAN: Thanks, your honor. Good morning, Governor Barnes. How are you?
BARNES: Ms. Merchant, good morning. Just fine. How are you?
MERCHANT: Good. Good to see you.
BARNES: Good to see you.
MERCHANT: You said it was sometime in 2021, do you remember if it was early?
BARNES: I think it was. I don't remember the date. They all go. I could look it up on my calendar at the office, but I don't have that.
MERCHANT: Well, I want to ask you about some statements that Ms. 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?
BARNES: Well, I assume that's what she was talking to me about, but besides that, I don't know.
MERCHANT: And I know you said you had a meeting with some folks, and Mr. Wade was at that meeting?
BARNES: Correct.
MERCHANT: OK. So he was with the district attorney interviewing you about taking this case.
BARNES: Well, he, of course. I know Nathan very well, as you do.
MERCHANT: Yes.
BARNES: And I exchanged pleasantries with him. But the conversation was with Ms. Willis.
MERCHANT: OK, with Ms. Willis. Were you aware at the time that her team consisted of Brian Watkins, Megan Vargas, Sonya Allen, Shannon Trotty, Sau Chan, and John Floyd? She had reported that was her team on this case.
BARNES: I know 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.
MERCHANT: I understand. Fair enough. But she said she was looking to hire more lawyers and investigators to work on this case?
BARNES: She told me, it was to me. She said, would you be interested in being special prosecutor in this case? And I gave the reply that I've already known. I mean, about hiring other lawyers or whatever, I don't know. All I can testify to is what she told me.
MERCHANT: Did she tell you at all why she wanted to hire special counsel and not use someone who was an ADA, not have an actual employee?
BARNES: No, she did not. I mean, we did not discuss that. But I would assume it was cause in a case as big as this that you'd have to have a decision. I know John Floyd has been in some cases over the years, out in Cobb County, for example, and others.
MERCHANT: Would you agree that an employee of her office, someone who was paid a state salary or a county salary as an ADA, could handle a case like this?
BARNES: I couldn't tell you that unless I knew the person, knew their experience, and really had been with them in a courtroom base an opinion on that.
MERCHANT: Thank you.
BARNES: Yes, ma'am.
MCAFEE: Sadow?
BARNES: Hello, Mr. Sadow.
STEVE SADOW, DONALD TRUMP'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It has been a while.
BARNES: It has been a while.
SADOW: I hope you're well.
BARNES: I'm doing fine. Just getting older with that beats off.
SADOW: That's true. But that applies to all of us, I believe.
BARNES: Yes, yes.
SADOW: I think you indicated that if you had your calendar, you'd be able to pinpoint a date for us?
BARNES: I would.
SADOW: Is there a way for you, for example, at a break before you actually leave to contact your folks to see if you can get a date?
BARNES: I guess I could. I don't know how far back we archive those, but I assume I could.
SADOW: Would you be willing to give that a shot for us.
BARNES: I mean, I'll do whatever the court instructs.
SADOW: So if I ask the court and the court says, go ahead, and you could do it, that's all right?
BARNES: I'll do whatever the court instructs.
SADOW: I hear you.
BARNES: And you should, too.
SADOW: 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, 2021. Does that help you at all?
BARNES: No. It does not.
SADOW: OK. Then let's go to the meeting. It sounds like it was just one meeting?
BARNES: Yes.
SADOW: And could you tell us where that meeting took place, if you remember?
BARNES: It was in the conference room adjacent to the district attorney's office.
SADOW: So was it in this adjoining building?
BARNES: It was in Lewis Slaton Building.
SADOW: And District Attorney Willis was there, obviously, right?
BARNES: Yes, yes.
SADOW: And Mr. Wade was there, the best I recall. BARNES: Now, I could be mistaken about that. It's like anything that far away, but that's my recollection.
SADOW: Do you have a recollection of anyone else being present?
BARNES: Yes, there were. There were some other folks, but I don't remember.
[11:05:02]
SADOW: Do you remember. Were you introduced to Mr. Wade by anything other than you already knew him? Was he given a title or anything?
BARNES: No. I would have known.
SADOW: So, at least as you're there, if I heard you correctly, Ms. Willis did all the talking and Mr. Wade did not?
BARNES: I mean, we exchanged pleasantries, but as far as the basis of the conversation, the reason I was there, Ms. Willis did the talk.
SADOW: And would you be able to give us an estimate how long this meeting lasted? Just rough.
BARNES: Probably an hour.
SADOW: OK. And during the meeting, you made it clear, but it was the thanks for the offer, but no, thank you?
BARNES: Oh, yes, I did. As I said, you know, I started off as a prosecutor. And for about ten or 15 years, I did nothing but criminal. And then but I've tried to move away from it and do primarily civil now. Mr. Gillen and I have done some white collar cases over in federal court. I've got one over there right now, but it's generally business related, you know, where I have a client that's got a kid or him getting indicted. And the case I have over there now is an alleged fraud case.
SADOW: Fair to say that based on your career and the work that you've done, you've handled high profile cases, correct?
BARNES: I have. I've handled some 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 up in D.C.
SADOW: And what would be considered complex cases, you've handled those as well, correct?
BARNES: Yes. I mean we regularly do mass torts, class actions, business torts, breach of contract, and most of those are high complex, our complex requiring many experts. I also -- we also do malpractice. I did malpractice defense for about 25 years. But since I've returned from the governor's office, I try not to represent an insurance company anymore. And I just tried a malpractice case before Judge Edlin in November. And those are complex cases because of the type know medical knowledge that you have to have, and also because of the many experts that you have.
SADOW: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did Ms. Willis, and this is the last question, did Ms. Willis tell you why she had sought you, why you had been her choice?
BARNES: No, I hadn't. But I get consulted fairly often on major cases.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you believe based on circumstances in which you were given the offer, that it had to do with fact, that you had handled complex and high profile cases in the past?
BARNES: 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 Crawford, Mack Crawford. And she prosecuted him, and I defended him. She beat me at the trial. I turned it around at the Supreme Court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you had some experience with her?
BARNES: Oh, I had plenty of experience with her. She's a very qualified young, well, everybody is young to me, but she's a very qualified young woman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After that one occasion, did you have any other contact with her in reference to the position itself or who she might be considering?
BARNES: You know, I had some conversations with her or Jeff DeSantis or some of those, but not really an in depth, you know, about who she should hire or anything like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the name Nathan Wade come up in those conversations with her?
BARNES: No, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Right?
BARNES: No. Nathan was there I thought and I could be mistaken, but I thought Nathan was there when I was -- I thought Nathan was -- I'm positive Nathan was there when I met with them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. And my question was probably poorly worded, but what I was asking is, after the conference and whatever consulting you might have done, did Ms. Willis or Mr. DeSantis bring up the name Nathan Wade as a special prosecutor?
[11:10:00]
BARNES: I don't think so. I don't recall one. I mean, 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Mr. DeSantis, for the record, who was Jeff DeSantis?
BARNES: Jeff, Jeff DeSantis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know who he is?
BARNES: Oh, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you tell us who he is for the record?
BARNES: Jeff works in the DA's office. I knew him when he worked for Thurbert Baker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know what his role in the DA's office is?
BARNES: I have no earthly idea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he in media, does that sound familiar?
BARNES: He has done media in the past. Jeff has generally been, I like Jeff and I'm very close to him. But he's generally been on the other side of my campaign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, 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?
BARNES: Yes, I'm almost sure he was there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Ms. Willis, obviously. And Mr. DeSantis was there?
BARNES: I think Mr. DeSantis was too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And as far as whether there was anyone else there, you don't have a present recollection?
BARNES: No. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, thank you.
BARNES: Next time I'll take a picture. So I'll have an exact.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next time hopefully you won't have to be here.
BARNES: Well, hopefully not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.
MCAFEE: All right, Mr. Stockton (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No questions, your honor.
BARNES: Thank you.
MCAFEE: Mr. Durham? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No questions, your honor.
MCAFEE: Mr. McDougall?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No questions for the governor.
MCAFEE: Mr. Rice?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No questions, your honor.
MCAFEE: Mr. Gillen?
BARNES: I've been waiting for this.
CRAIG GILLEN, DAVID SHAFER'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I couldn't give up the chance getting up here, Governor. Good to see you again.
BARNES: Good to see you, Craig.
GILLEN: We've done some work in the past together, haven't we?
BARNES: I consider you to be one of my best friends and a Cracker Jack lawyer.
GILLEN: Well, I will say to you on the record that I can understand why they came to see you, because you're the finest lawyer that I've ever worked with.
BARNES: Thank you. I need to put you in the next day.
GILLEN: Yes, there you go. We'll get that. But that, one or two more questions.
BARNES: OK.
GILLEN: You and I working together when it's appropriate. There's, you know, we've had no qualms about filing motions to disqualify the DA, have we?
BARNES: No.
GILLEN: Matter of fact, you and I successfully disqualified the DA out in Cobb County in the Brown case, didn't we?
BARNES: We did.
GILLEN: So whatever needs to be done, should be done.
BARNES: Represent your client.
GILLEN: You got that, thank you so much.
MCAFEE: Mr. Katoro (ph), are you still with us by Zoom?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am, your honor.
MCAFEE: All right, any questions?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.
MCAFEE: All right, and Mr. Cromwell for Ms. Latham?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No questions, your honor.
MCAFEE: All right, any redirect, Mr. Abbate? Can this witness be excused?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, your honor.
SADOW: Your honor, is there a way that we could potentially ask through you for that date?
MCAFEE: The question is, you want the exact date that the meeting occurred?
SADOW: Yes. If you can give that to us.
MCAFEE: And I'm wondering if we can -- if it's really material, the exact date, rather than just its proximity to the November 1st hiring. Is that fair? If he knows whether it was far earlier in the year versus maybe closer, would that obviate the need for the exact date?
SADOW: If you can't get the exact date, unfortunately, take the best we can.
MCAFEE: OK, let's start there.
BARNES: All right, let me -- well --
MCAFEE: You may take care of it for us just what we hold in place here.
BARNES: I'm not sure for this.
MCAFEE: Let me try this first, Governor Barnes, before you do a deep dive in the e-mail there. Do you recall what time of year it was when this meeting occurred?
BARNES: I'm afraid not.
MCAFEE: OK.
BARNES: I mean, you know how this is. The cases and the days moved together. I had a fellow a few years ago that said I represent him in 1978, and I told him I'd take his word for it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got to ask, you wouldn't do that if it was a question of him saying he just paid you?
BARNES: No, I would not. I will tell you, I believe lawyers should be well paid, Mr. Settler (ph).
MCAFEE: All right, so, sir, is that something you -- BARNES: I'll have to look. It didn't come up right here.
MCAFEE: OK. All right, we'll ask this witness to step down, subject to recall. And that might be something the state can present with stipulation as well. All right, thank you, sir. Do we have an update on Mr. Bradley?
MERCHANT: His lawyer should be here. He's probably outside.
MCAFEE: OK.
MERCHANT: The last estimation I heard was about 11:30.
MCAFEE: OK. If that's still the case, then Ms. Cross, did you have another witness available?
ANNA GREEN CROSS, ATTORNEY FOR FULTON COUNTY DA'S OFFICE: Having brought over, it's Mr. John Floyd, not the special prosecutor, John Floyd, District Attorney Willis's father.
MCAFEE: OK. And is heading this way?
[11:15:01]
CROSS: Yes.
MCAFEE: All right.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, I believe they have just called to the stand John Floyd, who was the father of Fani Willis. So that will be interesting testimony to hear any moment now. While we're waiting for him to take the stand, what we just did witness was, I think, the very small world of the Georgia legal profession right there. The former governor of Georgia, Roy Barnes, testified that he was offered at one point the job of being special prosecutor in the election fraud case against Donald Trump and others, and also testified a little bit to the qualifications of Nathan Wade, who ultimately did lead up that investigation. Michael Moore, you are part of this small world there. What did you hear what was most important?
MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it was good to see Governor Barnes. He's a great guy and a friend and a great lawyer. But to me, the contrast then is very stark between the kind of lawyer that she talked about having as a special counsel and somebody who's never prosecuted a felony case and ends up being lead counsel in this case. And so I think the contrast that she's drawn may come back to bite her. And I don't think there's anybody in the courtroom that thinks that would have been an equal pairing. And she's just moving down the line.
BERMAN: That came after, though, and he was called as a witness for DA Fani Willis. Why would they want to make clear that someone was offered this job before Nathan Wade ultimately got it?
KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think because they're really concerned about the fact that they're being accused of this disqualification, this conflict of interest, that the only reason Nathan Wade was hired, so that she could somehow financially benefit from monies that he was making by prosecuting this case. And if she can show that others were offered the job, they turned her down. You heard the former governor say that Wade is a good organizer. I'm not surprised that they brought him on for this case.
It's showing kind of why he was hired. It wasn't that he was her boyfriend and she somehow wanted to financially benefit, it was more he's a good lawyer, and the other really good lawyers apparently turned her down.
BERMAN: So, Elie, to that point, Michael Moore there just suggested what the defense lawyers tried to do is paint a contrast between the former governor and Nathan Wade, who was ultimately hired. But Governor Barnes testified that Wade does things well.
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. So there was something for both sides in what we just saw. So it is a key issue in this hearing here whether Nathan Wade was properly qualified to have this job. What Fani Willis did is she passed over her entire office of experienced prosecutors, people have been practicing in Fulton County, in Atlanta. I'll wait for the judge here.
MCAFEE: Updates on Mr. Bradley?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. So he is still in this appointment (inaudible). However, he's going to make himself available via Zoom if that's possible? (Inaudible) to provide his testimony.
MCAFEE: All right, Ms. Merchant?
BERMAN: All right. I think what they're saying is that Mr. Bradley, Terrence Bradley, who is the witness they all really want to see, they're still waiting on him, but they still have called John Floyd, the father of Fani Willis, to the stand. We will wait for him to come in. Finish what you're saying Elie.
HONIG: Yes. So theory of the defendants is that Fani Willis hired Nathan Wade for this job because he was her boyfriend, essentially. And what the DA's office was trying to establish right there is that actually she offered the job to somebody else first, this former governor. The problem, though, for the DA's office is the first thing out of the governor's mouth is when I went to this first meeting with Fani Willis, Nathan Wade was already there. So that doesn't really make the point they were hoping that they made that somehow Nathan Wade was not the first choice. He's already in the mix.
But on the other hand, I think there was, depending how you look at it, a contrast between the credentials of Nathan Wade, who's been a lawyer for a long time but never prosecuted a felony, versus this governor who's done all sorts of big cases, so.
BERMAN: Let's listen back to Judge Scott McAfee down there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- all day. This appointment started at 9:00, and it's out of his control with regards to, again, the issues involved with it, as well as (inaudible).
MCAFEE: I'm just trying to get more. I mean, we initially been told maybe it was going to be 9:30 and 10:00. Do we have any better idea to get a realistic expectation of when we think we can have him here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it's, your honor, which he tells me come on in (inaudible).
MCAFEE: Is he, you know, without getting too much into the particulars, has he already been seen by the doctor and he's waiting for results, or is he still waiting to be seen by a doctor? I'm just, you know --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he's been consulting with the doctor (inaudible).
MCAFEE: And after he gets those results, he was supposed to have another meeting with them today as well, but potentially that meeting could occur later?
[11:20:07]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After the, you know, able to figure out (inaudible).
MCAFEE: OK. If you can get any kind of an update on how much time they think that those results they're going to take. If it's more than an hour or two, I think we would want to start bringing him here, and he can have that follow up consultation later. All right, thank you, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) motion.
MCAFEE: At this point, I think we've got something else that can occupy our time, and I think we need to move forward with that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Understood.
MCAFEE: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
MCAFEE: Of course, yes, absolutely.
MERCHANT: I didn't learn about the equipment.
MCAFEE: Right. OK, understood. Ms. Cross?
CROSS: Yes, your honor. Mr. Abbate, will --
ADAM ABBATE, ATTORNEY FOR FULTON COUNTY DA'S OFFICE: The states call Mr. John Floyd.
MCAFEE: Mr. Floyd, if you could have a seat, sir.
CROSS: May I approach the witness quickly just --
JOHN FLOYD, FANI WILLIS' FATHER: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
FLOYD: I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please be seated.
BERMAN: This is John Floyd, the father of Fani Willis, testifying. Let's listen.
ABBATE: Good morning, sir.
FLOYD: Good morning.
ABBATE: Can you tell the court, are you currently retired?
FLOYD: Yes, I am.
ABBATE: And prior to being retired, can you tell the court a little bit about, did you work in the legal career?
FLOYD: I'm -- I was attorney. I practiced law. I've probably tried 1,000 cases. About 50 percent of my practice was criminal law, 25 percent of it was family law, and the rest was whatever walked through the front door could pay for it.
ABBATE: OK. And --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could we wait one second, please. Governor has come back. He might have to --
BARNES: I do. My calendar shows it was October 26th, 2021.
MCAFEE: All right, and would defense counsel accept it 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, I'll just look for a show of hands or someone to speak now on Zoom and hearing none. Thank you, sir. You're excused.
ABBATE: And, sir, can you tell the court, are you from Atlanta?
FLOYD: 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've tried cases all over the country, and I tried the longest. I was the first lawyer to try an international criminal court. I was with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. I was in trial there for four and a half years in Russia, Tanzania, and Hague and the Netherlands.
ABBATE: OK. And when you weren't there, it sounds like your kind of center of gravity Washington, D.C.
FLOYD: Correct. But I've tried cases in West Virginia and Virginia, Maryland, Florida, I mean, California.
ABBATE: All over. FLOYD: Yes, yes.
ABBATE: And do you, sir, can you tell the court, do you have any children?
FLOYD: I have one daughter, Fani Willis.
ABBATE: OK. And I want to direct your attention back to 2019, OK?
FLOYD: Yes.
ABBATE: Back in 2019, can you tell the court, did you move here to Atlanta?
FLOYD: 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.
ABBATE: OK. And do you, sir, remember about the time period in 2019 when you moved in with your daughter here in Atlanta?
FLOYD: It would have been the spring or summer of 2019.
ABBATE: And after you moved here, did you get a driver's license to kind of confirm your residency with Atlanta?
FLOYD: Yes. 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.
ABBATE: Your honor, may I approach the witness?
MCAFEE: OK.
ABBATE: You can just take a look at what's been marked --
FLOYD: OK. Your honor, if you don't mind, my eyes are very bad, which is one of the reasons I retired. And so I need a magnifying glass. So I'll be constantly --
[11:25:01]
MCAFEE: Whatever you need.
FLOYD: Thank you. Yes, I see it was issued on 9/28/2019.
ABBATE: OK. So before we get there, do you recognize states exhibit two?
FLOYD: Yes, it's my driver's license.
ABBATE: And is states exhibit two, a fair and accurate copy of your physical driver's license?
FLOYD: Absolutely. ABBATE: This time, your honor, the state would tender what's been marked as states exhibit two into evidence.
MERCHANT: No objection.
MCAFEE: Seeing no other objections, states exhibit two is admitted for the record.
ABBATE: Now, and for the record, your honor, the state is going to supplement states exhibit two with a redacted copy of the license. The current copy is not redacted with the address and things of that nature.
MCAFEE: All right. And do we need to mark that differently in any way?
ABBATE: I will mark it as states exhibit 2A.
MCAFEE: Perfect.
ABBATE: Now, you talked about when your driver's license was issued. Can you tell the court when was that driver's license here, your Georgia driver's license issued?
FLOYD: It was on 9/28/2019.
ABBATE: OK, so September 28, 2019. Now, when you moved into District Attorney Willis's home, who lived there?
FLOYD: Well, my daughter lived there. I lived there. And from time to time, my grandchildren would come.
ABBATE: OK. And did your grandchildren, were they at school coming and going?
FLOYD: Exactly. I think they were in school in various jurisdictions.
ABBATE: And during the time, how long did you live at or with Ms. Willis at her home here in Fulton County?
FLOYD: She was forced to move after she was elected about. I mean, 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 February, at probably 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. OK, I mean just --
MCAFEE: Sorry. Pause there. Mr. Abbate, here's the objection to you.
ABBATE: I would say it's effect on listener. He was present while all of these things were occurring, but I can.
MCAFEE: No, no, he's saying he was personally present to hear these things.
ABBATE: Yes. MCAFEE: OK. Overruled.
FLOYD: OK. And fortunately, the neighbors called the police and disbanded, you know, disbanded the group, and, you know, it was just -- I mean it was just -- I hadn't seen anything exactly like it before.
ABBATE: OK. And after that happened, can you tell the court, did Ms. Willis have to move from her home?
FLOYD: Yes, she was forced to leave.
ABBATE: OK. 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?
FLOYD: Yes, I stayed there really until 2022, I guess.
ABBATE: And from what you described, did you fear for her safety?
FLOYD: Absolutely. I mean not only did I do that I mean the South Fulton Police, they had -- they brought somebody, a man with a dog, because there have 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, and I was concerned for her safety.
ABBATE: And after those concerns came to your attention and after what you heard and saw that day, you remained at the house?
FLOYD: Yes.
ABBATE: And can you tell the court with what you just described, why did you remain living at the district attorney's home here in Fulton County?
MERCHANT: And I'm sorry. It just -- I see it's irrelevant.
MCAFEE: Mr. Abbate?
ABBATE: I believe it's relevant based on a lot of the questions that were asked yesterday of Ms. Willis as to -- about the security threat and the fact that it was implied that those threats were not necessarily real in the sense that Mr. Floyd remained in the home. There were many questions about the fact that he remained and her children could still come and go to the house. I think it's relevant based to the testimony that was elicited from defense counsel yesterday.
MCAFEE: Overruled.
[11:29:59]
FLOYD: Well, these South Fulton Police, first, they put a car in front of the house that was there permanently, a police car that --
