including children as young as 6 years old injured some critically we hear from the man who helped tackle a suspected gunman what he saw in that moment the developing story from Washington concerns about a potential nuclear threat from Russia in space that's what sources say is behind a rare statement from a top Congressman how the White House is responding the new legal fight against social media companies from Tik Tok to Instagram how a new lawsuit seeks to hold them accountable for the Mental
Health crisis among teens critical erosion new video of the backyards washing away after storms on the East Coast a designer dress resale scam what authorities are saying about the alleged Mastermind and how much money she made overnight a new Mission To The Moon why this launch could be one giant leap towards sending man farther into space and from this very bizarre Valentine's Day police raid to a very lucky Valentine 's lottery winner it's Thursday February 15th from ABC news in New York thi
s is America this morning good Thursday morning everyone I'm Andrew denber good morning to you I'm ran and Ali we want to begin with that deadly mass shooting during what was supposed to be a huge celebration in Kansas City honoring the chief's victory in the Super Bowl instead there was gunfire and Chaos it's the 48th mass shooting in America this year and is is only the 46th day of the year we're learning more about the victims including young children we're also hearing from the man seen on v
ideo helping tackle a man with a gun this morning sorrow and shock across Kansas City where the chief's Super Bowl victory parade ended in a deadly mass shooting it was a good celebration for the Kansas City Chiefs and it just had to end the way it did because of a couple of bad apples the gunfire erupting near Union Station a Transit and tourist Hub near the main stage of of the event all of a sudden it sounded like fireworks and we're like oh okay and then my daughter yelled get down get down
killed in the shooting local radio DJ and mother of two Lisa Lopez Galvin her station describing her as a beautiful person police say 22 people were wounded including several children the youngest just 6 years old the children are expected to recover but more than a dozen adults have order described as life-threatening injuries there are a lot more people who are going to be forever impacted by by what happened here today three people were taken into custody police did not immediately release in
formation about the suspects I didn't think about it it just a reaction I didn't hesitate it was just just do it multiple people including Paul contarus were seen here tackling and punching one man believed to be a suspect one guy was Hing and saying you know stop him CH or catch him you know tackle him whatever and he's just just bailing running and as I'm tackling him I see his weapon either fall out of his hand or out of his sleeve so so when I seen that hit the ground I'm like oh you know we
got to take this guy Down Casey filter is then seen picking up the man's gun I just saw it and just thought this I needed to get it out of the way somewhere the shooting began at the end of the celebration as the Chiefs players were leaving the stage quarterback Patrick Mahomes saying he's praying for Kansas City and Travis Kelce saying he's heartbroken over the tragedy that took place it's the second time in less than a year that gun violence has rocked a pro sports team celebration I didn't k
now where she was at I didn't know she was safe and that's all I can think about in June a shooting in Denver left 10 people wounded as fans celebrated the Nuggets first NBA championship police said it was likely sparked by a drug deal reacting to the shooting in Kansas City President Biden reiterated his call for more action on gun control saying the events should move us shock us shame us into acting we became part of a statistic of too many Americans those who have experienced or been part of
or connected to a a mass shooting that is something that I hope we all recognize is highly problematic for all of us police are working to determine a motive the shooting broke out even though more than 800 police officers were in the area police near Los Angeles say a fellow student helped foil a teenager school shooting plot authorities say the 18-year-old suspect was planning the attack at Ontario Christian High School and is charged with attempted murder they say they found weapons and ammu
nition inside his home now to Washington and growing concern about a potential nuclear threat from Russia in space sources say that concern is behind a rare statement from a top lawmaker on Capitol Hill ABC's M wi is here now with more M good morning Andrew good morning that top lawmaker is Congressman Mike Turner his colleagues described being stunned that Turner exposed a possible national security threat new details about the cryptic warning from the chairman of the house intelligence committ
ee about a possible new space threat from Russia Congressman what do you make of The Firestorm that you've set off today can you explain why you made this decision Congressman Mike Turner had no comment after he demanded the White House declassify information about what he called a serious national security threat two sources say that threat involves Russia wanting to put a nuclear weapon in space a goal it has not accomplished yet I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly t
oday White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan appeared baffled by Turner's decision to reveal the unsp ified threat as Turner and other Congressional leaders were scheduled to be briefed today on the issue meanwhile Congressman Seth Molton says he and Turner were briefed about Russia's plans two years ago he decided to take highly sensitive compartmented intelligence that means that even if you have a very you know like a top secret clearance or something um you only have access to th
e intelligence if you have a need to know and he shared it with every member of Congress and indeed it only took a few hours for the details of this weapon system to come out Russia's supposed intention was not to drop the weapon onto Earth but possibly use it against satellites an assessment last year by us intelligence found Russia was in pursuit of an array of non-destructive and destructive counterspace weapons including jamming and cyberspace capabilities to try to Target us and Allied sate
llites Russian President Putin has taken issue with one specific group of satellites spacex's system which has been used by Ukraine to carry out attacks on Russian troops and just yesterday SpaceX launched a classified mission for the US space force sending National Security related satellites into orbit and Congressman Mike Turner has been urging lawmakers to pass more funding for Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia but that funding remains held up in Congress Randon all right M thank y
ou for that Israel has launched what appears to be the biggest wave of air strikes on Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza fueling fears of a wider conflict 11 civilians were reportedly killed Israel says the strikes were in response to a Hezbollah rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier former president Trump is expected to appear in a New York courtroom today for a hearing in his hush money trial set to begin next month he's accused of falsifying business records in connection with
payments to Stormy Daniels he's pleaded not guilty a hearing is also scheduled today for the da leading the Georgia elction ction interference case against Trump fonnie Willis has acknowledged a personal relationship with a special prosecutor Trump says that's a conflict of interest he wants her disqualify there is a new legal battle over the effect the social media is having on our kids this time it's the biggest city in the country suing the biggest tech companies we must take action to protec
t our children from harm online this morning New York City is suing social media companies claiming they're fueling a mental health crisis the lawsuit targets Tik Tok Instagram Facebook Snapchat and YouTube alleging the companies designed their apps to get young people addicted no it is talking about taking snatching away devices or snatching away platforms we're talking about a fundamental set of rules and regulation the city is demanding the companies change their behavior and help cover the c
ost of mental health treatments those platforms now firing back the parent company of Facebook and Instagram saying we want teens to have safe age appropriate experiences online we have over 30 tools and features to support them and their parents Tech Executives just last month testified before Congress where they were accused of failing to protect kids from bullying and exploitation isn't the internet a dangerous place for children I think it can be yeah there's both great things that people ca
n do and there are harms that we need to work to yeah it's a dangerous place for children a string of lawsuits similar to New York's have been filed around the country they rarely succeed due in part to a federal law dating back decades called section 230 which Shields tech companies from liability for Content people post on their platforms we must have enforcable and agreed upon standards not a patchwork of voluntary fixes that ultimately shifts the burden right back to parents teachers and you
ng people New York is seeking monetary damages but no words yet on how much new images of erosion on Florida's East Coast this is the Jupiter Inlet Colony ravaged by recent storms officials say they're working to rebuild the dunes about 70% of the beach in that area is considered critically eroded time now for your Thursday [Music] weather Skies will be clearing up today in the Upper Midwest after its biggest snowfall of the season so far the Twin Cities getting up to 5 in that storm is moving a
cross the Great Lakes today and into New England tomorrow a separate storm brings snow and rain through the Plains and Midwest tomorrow before delivering more snow to the Northeast Saturday morning checking today's high temperatures below freezing in the Northern Plains warm across the southeast 40s in the Northwest but at warm 77 in Miami coming up breaking news overnight the NBA player Ed for assault before a game also ahead the family of a missing mother last seen at a gas station is speaking
out as police reveal new details about the search and later the lucky man looking for love who won the lottery for Valentine's Day whenever news breaks we are here in Israel a nation at war after that brutal surprise attack by Hamas on the ground in Ukraine reporting from Leon Maine the scene of a horrific mass shooting ABC News live is right there there everywhere from the scene of that deadly missile strike in Dena Ukraine reporting from the earthquake in Turkey en rolling for this tornado to
re through this little town from the most devastating disaster in Hawaii from Charleston South Carolina on the 2024 campaign Trail in Iceland let's go traveling with the president in Mexico City wherever the story from the front lines from Southern Israel outside the Gaza Strip in beir from the FBI reporting from the nurses on the picket line here at 10 Downing Street in London streaming live to you wherever the story is wherever the story is wherever the story is we're going to take you there y
ou're streaming ABC News live ABC News live you're streaming ABC News live ABC news live streaming free everywhere America's number one streaming news it's lunchtime in America so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good your health your money breaking news pop culture with the biggest Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us afternoon for everything you need to
know I love [Music] that Housewives the Beverly Hills star Erica Jan celebrity attorney Tom Gerard this story was a nuclear explosion today several victims will get a chance to finally meet Erica I'm at sort of a loss for what to say did you see the documentary the housewife and the Hustler I did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Erica why did it take you so long the housewife and the Hustler too only on Hulu from America's number one news comes the all new ABC News app if you love b
eing in the know you're going to love this experience the allnew ABC News app download it now breaking overnight in arrest in the NBA as Detroit's Isaiah Stewart is charged with assault for allegedly punching Suns player Drew Eubanks before last night's game Eubanks claims he was sucker punched the NBA is now reviewing the incident US government officials say they're looking into the practices of powerful middlemen in relation to a critical shortage of generic drugs the FTC is focusing on drug D
istributors and other companies in the supply chain that buy medicines for hospitals those middlemen are accused of drive driving prices fire it has been 1 month since a missing mother from North Carolina was seen calling 911 from a gas station and now investigators are releasing new details here's ABC's Andrea fui this morning the family of Marissa carmichel says they're desperate to find the 25-year-old mother of five and her kids are really having a hard time and all I can tell them is that I
'm trying and I'm I'm doing everything to get their mom home car Michael was last seen January 14th after going to a party and getting dropped off at a Greensboro gas station she called 911 saying the man who drove her there left her stranded and took her phone took off on me and I don't know where I'm at I'm in the middle of Greensboro he took my phone I don't have my phone when police got to the gas station they say Carmichael was gone they say surveillance video shows her getting into another
car and they've since interviewed that driver who is considered a witness Carmichael's mother says after missing some phone calls that night she texted back the number and knew something was wrong he told me Marissa's asleep and then I said let me speak to her and then he said well she walk to the store and then he just kept you know any reason to not get her on the phone she says she believes her daughter is being held against her will we're going to drive ourselves crazy looking for you but w
e are going to find you and whoever has her you are just evil police have not said if they believe Foul Play was involved they're hoping more people will come forward with information ranan Andrew all right Andrea thank you for that coming up the new Mission To The Moon overnight also ahead the designer dress resale scheme busted what we've learned about the alleged Mastermind Housewives at Beverly Hills star America Jan celebrity attorney Tom Gerard this story was a nuclear explosion today seve
ral victims will get a chance to finally meet Eric majority and that's sort of a loss for what to say did you see the documentary the housewife and the Hustler I did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Erica why did it take you so long the housewife and the Hustler too only on Hulu Whenever Wherever new news breaks it's so important to always remember that lives are changed here in London in Buffalo yaldi Texas edinb Scotland reporting from Rolling Fork Mississippi Ukrainian refugees he
re in waron we're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City getting you behind the stories as they happen ABC News live Prime we'll take you there stream ABC News live week nights wherever you stream your news only on ABC News live it's lunchtime iner America so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good your health your money breaking news pop culture with the biggest Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need
to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us afternoon for everything you need to know I love that so the question is okay here we go oh my God are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and Camal Bell along for the ride all right let's break it is John fonas here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC why do so many people star
t start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R murl Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here a 12 12-hour violent standoff in
the nation's capital is finally over police say the suspect shot three police officers trying to arrest him for animal cruelty he surrendered last night police recovered 31 dogs from the house violent crime in DC has been on the rise the police Union blames a shortage of officers a Michigan woman is under arrest for an alleged scheme to resell designer dresses now prosecutors say brandine horn rented $800,000 in clothes and accessories from rental companies but instead of returning them she all
egedly sold them even using the company's own pictures her arrests caught her neighbors by surprise and if convicted horn could face decades in prison we turn now to space and a new mission to the moon this morning overnight at Kennedy Space Center liftoff this rocket is carrying what could be the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 it's uh quite exciting time time and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else the private company intuitive machines built the moonlande
r known as Odysseus if all goes well odys will touch down near the moon's South Pole later this month and help carry out a host of NASA experiments why the South Pole NASA wants to know if that's a good spot for future M missions to the moon the company that built dsus hopes to provide deliveries for those man missions as well Food Supplies instrumentation power nodes for the Artemis crew so that they're time is spent doing important crew science and crew activities but this is Risky Business an
d liftoff of the first United launch Alliance Vulcan rocket already this year two other attempts to land on the moon went arai should this Mission succeed it would mark an important first step in exploring not just the moon but points far beyond the moon has 1 six the gravity of Earth and no atmosphere so it's a much easier place to launch deeper into the solar system it really is the launching pad into into human exploration out into deep space five other lunar Landers could blast off this year
a Japanese Lander recently analyzed rocks that could provide clues about how the moon was formed coming up Tooth Fairy inflation The Staggering amounts being left under some kids pillows plus a teddy bear with a balloon and gifts for a very unusual police raid with so much at stake so much on the line more Americans turn here than any other newscast ABC News World News Tonight with David mure America's number one most watched newscast across all of [Music] [Applause] [Music] Television Housewiv
es the Beverly hill star Erica Jane celebrity attorney Tom Gerard this story was a nuclear explosion today several victims will get a chance to finally meet Erica majority I'm at sort of a loss for what to say did you see the documentary the housewife and the Hustler I did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Erica why did it take you so long the housewi and the Hustler too only on Hulu from America's number one news source comes the allnew ABC News app breaking news Incredible video fas
ter smarter and it can customize to you and your interests if you love being in the know you're going to love this experience what all the buzz is about experience the allnew ABC News app download it now ABC News live Prime winner of the Gracie Award for best news program in all of Television stream ABC News live Prime with lindsy Davis week nights on ABC News live why do so many people start their day here from ABC news this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on the day's
top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R murl Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here I'm M vial in Houston Texas wherever the story is we'll take you there you're streaming with ABC News live time to check the pulse and we begin
with a sucker for love busted on Valentine's Day a suspected drug dealer in Peru thought she was being wooed by her boyfriend but the person in the teddy bear suit with a heart-shaped balloon was actually a police officer who immediately arrested her police say they found more than 1,000 packets of drugs in and around the suspect's apartment here in the US One Lottery player may not be lucky in love but he's lucky in another way he's near Chicago he wants to remain anonymous he bought a monopoly
scratch off ticket and won a million bucks just 3 days earlier he had broken up with his girlfriend but he says now you really hit the jackpot good timing now to the Tooth Fairy pulled by inflation the average payout has reached an alltime high a new survey found the Tooth Fairy now leaves $623 on average of almost $1 from last year reminded us of the scene from Blue he came two fairy can hey nice one blue where'd to go kid she left me five bucks five bucks yeah I know five bucks five bucks tha
t's what she left all Blue's friends well that tooth fa's doing well for herself isn't she I think I'm with Dad Bandit on this one that same survey by the way found 20% of kids now receive money under their pillow and something else wow next what could be a dream Duo we're talking LeBron James teaming up with Steph Curry it almost happened Golden State tried to make it happen ESPN reports the Warriors and Lakers tried to put together a deal at last Thursday's trade deadline the Warriors could tr
y for LeBron again this summer but only if he opts out of his contract in La meanwhile before last night's game against the Clippers here's curry with a shot from the the opposite tunnel making it look like a layup more than 100 ft Away by the way the 76ers were also rumored to try and go after we'll see if the Ops out of his contract LeBron your move it's lunchtime in America so what do we serveing up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good it to your health
your money breaking news pop culture with the biggest Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us after DS for everything you need to know I love that why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R murl Awards and see why t
he new yor York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here wherever news breaks it's so important to always remember that lives are changed getting you behind the stories as they happen ABC News live Prime we'll take you there streaming free on ABC News live with so much at stake so much on the line more Americans turn here than any other
newscast ABC News World News Tonight with David mure America's number one most watched newscast across all of Television Housewives the Beverly hill star Erica Jane celebrity attorney Tom gerardi this story was a nuclear explosion today several victims will get a chance to finally meet Eric majority and at sort of a loss for what to say did you see the document the housewi and the Hustler I did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Erica why did it take you so long the housewife and the H
ustler too only on Hulu checking more top stories a radio DJ and mother of two was the person fatally shot when gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chief's Super Bowl Parade 22 others were wounded many of them children police have not announced a motive three people are in custody Russia has launched another massive missile attack on Ukraine today one key City in eastern Ukraine is now cut off the ukrainians are facing a shortage of ammunition us funding for the war remains stalled in Congress
Senator Mitch McConnell is blaming former president Trump for fueling Republican opposition to that funding the justice department has charged 17 people with using fire extinguishers to smuggle Fentanyl and Other Drugs from Mexico into the US officials say they've recovered MTH heroin and nearly 700,000 Sentinel pills today's weather across country storm brings rain to the West Coast and snow to the northern Rockies snow is also expected from Western New York into parts of New England and finall
y just in time for the day of Love White Castle transforming from fast food to fine dining here's Danny new okay honey we're at our big fancy Valentine's Day reservation can I open my eyes now yes yes you can wow that's why Castle it sure is come [Music] on so you've been doing this for more than three decades now this is a Time honor tradition what do you think people like about coming to White Castle for Valentine's Day I think it's just creating those moments with with each other thank you th
ank you we'll have the lobster Marco and Regan here have been coming 5 years to White Castle how many years have you guys been coming here four years four so when he first proposes to you what was your what were your thoughts Oh I thought he was crazy I said no way this is my new best friend beatus beatus how many years have you worked for White Castle 38 years 38 years uhoh honey thank you beus oh my gosh ready ready wow I think it just makes Valentine's Day fun it takes out the seriousness of
it coming here and just being able to have a good time without the pressure of any of the other restaurants was okay for us Kathy would you describe onion rings as romantic hell yeah Ain't No Mountain High Enough will you be coming here next year yes for sure ain't no River wide enough to keep us from to White Castle there are White Castles all over the country doing that each year but there's only one with my girl beatus thank you beus I thank you to my wife guys a ring on it an onion ring I th
ink it's a lovely idea have a great [Music] day right now on America this morning the deadly mass shooting at the Kansas City Chief's Super Bowl victory parade a radio DJ killed nearly two dozen others including children as young as 6 years old injured some critically we hear from the man who helped tackle a suspected gunman what he saw in that moment the developing story from Washington concerns about a potential nuclear threat from Russia in space that's what sources say is behind a rare state
ment from a top Congressman how the White House is responding the new legal fight against social media companies from Tik Tok to Instagram how a new lawsuit seeks to hold them accountable for the Mental Health crisis among teens critical erosion new video of the backyards washing away after storms on the East Coast a designer dress resale scam what authorities are saying about the alleged Mastermind and how much money she made overnight a new Mission To The Moon why this launch could be one gian
t leap towards sending man farther into space and from this very bizarre Valentine's Day a police raid to a very lucky Valentine's lottery winner it's Thursday February 15th from ABC news in New York this is America this morning good Thursday morning everyone I'm Andrew dber good morning to you I'm Maran and Ally we want to begin with that deadly mass shooting during what was supposed to be a huge celebration in Kansas City honoring the chief's victory in the Super Bowl instead there was gunfire
and Chaos it's the 48 mass shooting in America this year and this is only the 46th day of the year we're learning more about the victims including young children we're also hearing from the man seen on video helping tackle a man with a gun this morning sorrow and shock across Kansas City where the Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade ended in a deadly mass shooting it was a good celebration for the Kansas City Chiefs and it just had to end the way it did because of a couple of bad apples the gunfir
e erupting near Union state station a Transit and tourist Hub near the main stage of the event all of a sudden it sounded like fireworks and we're like oh okay and then my daughter yelled get down get down killed in the shooting local radio DJ and mother of two Lisa Lopez Galvin her station describing her as a beautiful person police say 22 people were wounded including several children the youngest just 6 years old the children are expected to recover but more than a dozen adults have ordered d
escribed as life-threatening injuries there are a lot more people who are going to be forever impacted by by what happened here today three people were taken into custody police did not immediately release information about the suspects I didn't think about it it just a reaction I didn't hesitate it was just just do it multiple people including Paul Contreras were seen here tackling and punching one man believed to be a suspect one guy was Hing saying you know stop him cha or catch him you know
tackle him whatever and he's just just bailing running and as I'm tackling him I see his weapon he either fall out of his hand or out of his sleep so when I seen that hit the ground I'm like oh you know we got to take this guy Down Casey filter is then seen picking up the man's gun I just saw it and just thought this I needed to get it out of the way somewhere the shooting began at the end of the celebration as the Chiefs players were leaving the stage quarterback Patrick Mahomes saying he's pra
ying for Kansas City and Travis Kel saying he's heartbroken over the tragedy that took place it's the second time in less than a year that gun violence has rocked a pro sports team celebration I didn't know where she was at I didn't know she was safe and that's all I can think about in June a shooting in Denver left 10 people wounded as fans celebrated the Nuggets first NBA championship police said it was likely sparked by a drug deal reacting to the shooting in Kansas City President Biden reite
rated his call for more action on gun control saying the events should move us shock us shame us into acting we became part of a statistic of too many Americans those who have exper experienced or been part of or connected to a mass shooting that is something that I hope we all recognize is highly problematic for all of us police are working to determine a motive the shooting broke out even though more than 800 police officers were in the area police near Los Angeles say a fellow student helped
foil a teenager school shooting plot authorities say the 18-year-old suspect was planning the attack at Ontario Christian High School and is charged with attempted murder they say they found weapons and ammunition inside his home now to Washington and growing concern about a potential nuclear threat from Russia in space sources say that concern is behind a rare statement from a top lawmaker on Capitol Hill ABC's M wind is here now with more M good morning Andrew good morning that top lawmaker is
Congressman Mike Turner his colleagues describe being stunned that Turner exposed a possible national security threat new details about the cryptic warning from the chairman of the house intelligence committee about a possible new space threat from Russia Congressman what do you make of The Firestorm that you've set off today can you explain why you made this decision Congressman Mike Turner had no comment after he demanded the White House declassify information about what he called a serious n
ational security threat two sources say that threat involves Russia wanting to put a nuclear weapon in space a goal it has not accomplished yet I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan appeared baffled by Turner's decision to reveal the unspecified threat as Turner and other Congressional leaders were scheduled to be briefed today on the issue meanwhile Congressman Seth Molton says he and Turner were briefed about Ru
ssia's plans two years ago he decided to take highly sensitive compartmented intelligence that means that even if you have a very you know like a top secret clearance or something um you only have access to the intelligence if you have a need to know and he shared it with every member of Congress and indeed it only took a few hours for the details of this weapon system to come out Russia's supposed intention was not to drop the weapon onto Earth but possibly use it against satellites an assessme
nt last year by us intelligence found Russia was in pursuit of an array of non-destructive and destructive counterspace weapons including jamming and cyberspace capabilities to try to Target us and Allied satellites Russian President Putin has taken issue with one specific group of satellites spacex's startling system which has been used by Ukraine to carry out attacks on Russian troops and just yesterday SpaceX launched a classified mission for the US space force sending National Security relat
ed satellites into orbit and Congressman Mike Turner has been urging lawmakers to pass more funding for Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia but that funding remains held up in Congress Ranon all right mem thank you for that is Israel has launched what appears to be the biggest wave of air strikes on Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza fueling fears of a wider conflict 11 civilians were reportedly killed Israel says the strikes were in response to a Hezbollah rocket attack that kil
led an Israeli soldier former president Trump is expected to appear in a New York courtroom today for a hearing in his hush money trial set to begin next month he's accused of falsifying business records in connection with payments to Stormy Daniels he's pleaded not guilty the hearing is also SCH today for the da leading the Georgia election interference case against Trump fonny Willis has acknowledged a personal relationship with a special prosecutor Trump says that's a conflict of interest he
wants her disqualified there is a new legal battle over the effect the social media is having on our kids this time it's the biggest city in the country suing the biggest tech companies we must take action to protect our children from harm online this morning morning New York City is suing social media companies claiming they're fueling a mental health crisis the lawsuit targets Tik Tok Instagram Facebook Snapchat and YouTube alleging the companies designed their apps to get young people addicte
d no it is talking about taking snatching away devices or snatching away platforms we're talking about a fundamental set of rules and regulation the city is demanding the companies change their behavior and help cover the cost of mental health treatment those platforms now firing back the parent company of Facebook and Instagram saying we want teens to have safe age appropriate experiences online we have over 30 tools and features to support them and their parents Tech Executives just last month
testified before Congress where they were accused of failing to protect kids from bullying and exploitation isn't the internet a dangerous place for children I think it can be yeah there's both great things that people can do and there are harms that we need to work dangerous place for children a string of lawsuits similar to New York's have been filed around the country they rarely succeed doe in part to a federal law dating back decades called section 230 which Shields tech companies from lia
bility for Content people post on their platforms we must have enforcable and agreed upon standards not a patchwork of voluntary fixes that ultimately shifts the burden right back to parents teachers and young people New York is seeking monetary damages but no word yet on how much new images of erosion on Florida's East Coast this is the Jupiter Inlet Colony ravaged by recent storms officials say they're working to rebuild the dunes about 70% of the beach in that area is considered critically er
oded time now for your Thursday [Music] weather Skies will be clearing up today in the Upper Midwest after its biggest snow fall of the season so far the Twin Cities getting up to 5 in that storm is moving across the Great Lakes today and into New England tomorrow a separate storm brings snow and rain through the Plains and Midwest tomorrow before delivering more snow to the Northeast Saturday morning checking today's high temperatures below freezing in the Northern Plains warm across the southe
ast 40s in the Northwest but at warm 77 in Miami coming up breaking news overnight the NBA player arrested for assault before a game also ahead the family of a missing mother last seen at a gas station is speaking out as police reveal new details about the search and later the lucky man looking for love who won the lottery for Valentine's Day first thing in the morning there's a lot going on get another Avalanche warning that's up to catch you up with what happened overnight a dangerous ice stor
m is impacting the morning commute what's happening today he escalating tensions in the Middle East what people are talking about the migrant crisis fast straightforward with some fun in between how does billionaire sound sounds good to me the Moose started chasing a dog first thing in the morning America this morning America's number one early morning news on ABC News [Music] live so little bit of sunshine more just a little bit breathing more just a little bit my little more in a minute with I
've been running through the strange pictures of my phone like everything is [Music] so Good Morning America Whenever Wherever news breaks it's so important to always remember that lives are changed here in London in Buffalo yaldi Texas Ed in bruss Scotland reporting from Rolling Fork Mississippi Ukrainian refugees here in warong we're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City getting you behind the stories as they happen ABC News live Prime we'll take you there stream ABC News live we
ek nights wherever you stream your news only on ABC News live why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R Murrow Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't s
ee coming wherever you get your podcasts start here reporting from the nation's capital I'm Gio bonitz wherever the story is we'll take you there you're streaming ABC News live breaking overnight an arrest in the NBA as Detroit's Isaiah Stewart is charged with assault for allegedly punching Suns player Drew Eubanks before last night's game Eubanks claims he was sucker punched the NBA is now reviewing the incident US government officials say they're looking into the practices of powerful middleme
n in relation to a critical shortage of generic drugs the FTC is focusing on drug Distributors and other companies in the supply chain that buy medicines for hospitals those middlemen are accused of drive driving prices higher it has been one month since a missing mother from North Carolina was seen calling 911 from a gas station and now investigators are releasing new details here's ABC's Andrea fujii this morning the family of Marissa carmichel says they're desperate to find the 25-year-old mo
ther of five and her kids are really having a hard time and all I can tell him is that I'm trying and I'm I'm doing everything to get their mom home carmichel was last seen January 14th after going to a party and getting dropped off at a Greensboro gas station she called 911 saying the man who drove her there left her stranded and took her phone took off on me and I don't know where I'm at I'm in the middle of Greensboro he took my phone I don't have my phone when police got to the gas station t
hey say Carmichael was gone they say surveillance video shows her getting into another car and they since interviewed that driver who is considered a witness Carmichael's mother says after missing some phone calls that night she texted back the number and knew something was wrong he had told me M's asleep and then I said let me speak to her and then he said well she walk to the store and then he just kept you know any reason to not get her on the phone she says she believes her daughter is being
held against her will we're going to drive ourselves crazy looking for you but we are going to find you and whoever has her you are just evil police have not said if they believe Foul Play was involved they're hoping more people will come forward with information ranan Andrew all right Andrea thank you for that coming up the new Mission To The Moon overnight also ahead the designer dress resale scheme busted what we've learned about the alleged Mastermind with so much at stake so much on the li
ne more Americans turn here than any other newscast ABC News World News Tonight with David mure America's number one most watched newscast across all of [Music] [Applause] [Music] Television come give it all to me give it to me Housewives to Beverly Hill star Erica Jan celebrity attorney Tom Gerard this story was a nuclear explosion today several victims will get a chance to finally meet Erica J and that's sort of a loss for what to say did you see the documentary the housewife and the Hustler I
did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Erica why did it take you so long the housewife and the Hustler too on Hulu from America's number one news source comes the allnew ABC News app breaking news Incredible video faster smarter and it can customize to you and your interests if you love being in the know you're going to love this experience with all the buzzes about experience the allnew ABC News app download it now ABC News live Prime winner of the Gracie Award for best news program
in all of Television stream ABC News live Prime with lindsy Davis week nights on ABC BC News live I just heard gunshot breaking right now a US military member home for the holidays found dead every officer had their cameras rolling how on Earth did this happen he leaves the door comes down the steps and boom I can see his eyes you knew he was gone yeah now Friday night exclusive interviews my wife almost passed out and a father confronts his son's killer love honor and betray all new 2020 Friday
night on ABC Whenever Wherever news breaks it's so important to always remember that lives are changed here in London in Buffalo yaldi Texas edinb Scotland reporting from Rolling Fork Mississippi Ukrainian refugees here in war song we're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City getting you behind the stories as they happen ABC News live Prime we'll take you there stream ABC News live week nights wherever you stream your news only on ABC News live a 12-hour violent standoff in the nat
ion's capital is finally over police say the suspect shot three police officers trying to arrest him for animal cruelty he surrendered last night police recovered 31 dogs from the house violent crime in DC has been on the rise the police Union blames a shortage of officers a Michigan woman is under arrest for an alleged scheme to resell designer dresses now prosecutors say Brandel and Horn rented $800,000 in clothes and accessories from rental companies but instead of returning them she allegedl
y sold them even using the company's own pictures her arrest caught her neighbors by surprise and if convicted horn could face decades in prison we turn now to space and a new mission to the moon this morning overnight at Kennedy Space Center liftoff this rocket is carrying what could be the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 it's a quite exciting time and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else the private company intuitive machines built the moonlander known as o
dyssia will touch down near the moon's South Pole later this month and help carry out a host of NASA experiments why the South Pole NASA wants to know if that's a good spot for future man missions to the moon the company that built dsus hopes to provide deliveries for those man missions as well Food Supplies instrumentation power noes for the emis crew so that their time is spent doing important crew science and crew activities but this is Risky Business and liftoff of the first United launch Al
liance Vulcan rocket already this year two other attempts to land on the moon went arai should this Mission succeed it would mark an important first step in exploring not just the moon but points far beyond the moon has one six the gravity of Earth and no atmosphere so it's a much easier place to launch deeper into the solar system it really is the launching pad into human exploration out into deep space five other lunar Landers could blast off this year a Japanese Lander recently analyzed rocks
that could provide clues about how the moon was formed coming up Tooth Fairy inflation The Staggering amounts being left under some kids pillows plus a teddy bear with a balloon and gifts for a very unusual police raid it's lunchtime in America so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good give it to your health your money breaking news pop culture with the biggest Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need to know a th
ird hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us after NOS for everything you need to know I love that why do you so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R murl Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's
a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here when Whenever Wherever news breaks it's so important to always remember that lives are changed here in London in Buffalo yaldi Texas edin bruss Scotland reporting from Rolling Fork Mississippi Ukrainian refugees here in warong we're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City getting you behind the stories as they happen ABC News live Prime we'll take you there stream ABC News live week nights where
ver you stream your news only on ABC News live with so much at stake so much on the line more Americans turn here than any other newscast ABC News World News Tonight with David mure America's number one most watched newscast across all of Television pict on myone everything is so little bit of [Music] sunshine Good Morning America reporting from Manhattan I'm Diane meedo wherever the story is we'll take you there you're streaming ABC News live time to check the pulse and we begin with a sucker f
or love busted on Valentine's Day a suspected drug dealer in Peru thought she was being wooed by her boyfriend but the person in the teddy bear suit with a heart-shaped balloon was actually a police officer who immediately arrested her police say they found more than than 1,000 packets of drugs in and around the suspect's apartment here in the US One Lottery player may not be lucky in love but he's lucky in another way he's near Chicago he wants to remain anonymous he bought a monopoly scratch o
ff ticket and won a million bucks just three days earlier he had broken up with his girlfriend but he says now he really hit the jackpot good timing now to the Tooth Fairy pulled by inflation the average payout has reached an all-time high a new survey found the Tooth Fairy now lead $623 on average up almost $1 from last year reminded us of the scene from Blue she came fairy hey nice one blue where'd to go kid she left me five bucks five bucks yeah I know five bucks five bucks that's what she le
ft all Blue's friends well that tooth fa's doing well for herself isn't she I think I'm with Dad Bandit on this one that same survey by the way found 20% of kids now receive money under their pillow and something else wow next what could be a dream Duo we're talking LeBron James teaming up with Steph Curry it almost happen Golden State tried to make it happen ESPN reports the Warriors and Lakers tried to put together a deal at last Thursday's trade deadline the Warriors could try for LeBron agai
n this summer but only if he opts out of his contract in La meanwhile before last night's game against of Clippers here's curry with a shot from the opposite tunnel making it look like a layup more than 100 ft Away by the way the 76ers were also rumored to try and go after we'll see if the Ops side of his contract LeBron your move first thing in the morning there's a lot going on got another Avalanche warning that's up to catch you up with what happened overnight a dangerous ice storm is impacti
ng the morning commute what's happening today escalating tensions in the Middle East what people are talking about the migrant crisis fast straightforward with some fun in between how does billionaire sound sounds good to me the Moose started chasing a dog first thing in the morning America this morning America's number one early morning news on ABC News [Music] [Applause] [Music] live come give it all to me give it to me why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start her
e to be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with for Edward R ml Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here wherever news breaks it's so important to always remember that lives are changed getting
you behind the stories as they happen ABC News live Prime we'll take you there streaming free on ABC News live so the question is okay here we go oh my are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and Camal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John FAS here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on [Music] ABC checking more top storie
s a radio DJ and mother of two was the person fatally shot when gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chief's Super Bowl Parade 22 others were wounded many of of them children police have not announced a motive three people are in custody Russia has launched another massive missile attack on Ukraine today one key City in eastern Ukraine is now cut off the ukrainians are facing a shortage of ammunition us funding for the war remains stalled in Congress Senator Mitch McConnell is blaming former pre
sident Trump for fueling Republican opposition to that funding the justice department has charged 17 people with using fire extinguishers to smuggle fenyl and Other Drugs from Mexico into the US officials say they've recovered meth heroin and nearly 700,000 Sentinel pills today's weather across country storm brings rain to the West Coast and snow to the northern Rockies snow is also expected from Western New York into parts of New England and finally just in time for the day of Love White Castle
transforming from fast food to fine dining here's Danny new okay honey we're at our big fancy Valentine's Day reservation can I open my eyes now yes yes you can wow that's White Castle it sure is come [Music] on so you've been doing this for more than three decades now this is a Time monor tradition what do you think people like about coming to White Castle for Valentine's Day I think it's just creating those moments with the with each other thank you thank you we'll have the lobster Marco and
Regan a coming 5 years to White Castle how many years have you guys been coming here four years four so when he first proposes to you what was your what were your thoughts Oh I thought he was crazy I said no way this is my new best friend beatus beatus how many years have you worked for White Castle 38 years 38 years uh-oh honey thank you beus oh my gosh ready ready wow I think it just makes Valentine's Day fun it takes out the seriousness of it coming here and just being able to have a good tim
e without the pressure of any of the other restaurants was okay for us Kathy would you describe onion rings as romantic hell yeah Ain't No Mountain High Enough will you be coming here next year yes for sure ain't no River wide enough to keep us from to White [Music] Castle there are White Castles all over the country doing that each year but there's only one with my girl beus thank you beatus and thank you to my wife guys a ring on it an onion ring I think it's a lovely idea have a great [Music]
day right now on America this morning the deadly mass shooting at the Kansas City Chief's super bow Victory Parade a radio DJ killed nearly two dozen others including children as young as 6 years old injured some critically we hear from the man who helped tackle a suspected gunman what he saw in that moment the developing story from Washington concerns about a potential nuclear threat from Russia in space that's what sources say is behind a rare statement from a top Congressman how the White Ho
use is responding the new legal fight against social media companies from Tik Tok to Instagram how a new lawsuit seeks to hold them accountable for the Mental Health crisis among teens critical erosion new video of the backyards washing away after storms on the East Coast a designer dress resale scam what authorities are saying about the alleged Mastermind and how much money she made overnight a new Mission To The Moon why this launch could be one giant leap towards sending man farther into spac
e and from this very bizarre Valentine's Day police raid to a very lucky Valentine's lottery winner it's Thursday February 15th from ABC news in New York this is America this morning good Thursday morning everyone I'm Andrew diber good morning to you I'm ran and Ally we want to begin with that deadly mass shooting during what was supposed to be a huge celebration in Kansas City honoring the chief's victory in the Super Bowl said there was gunfire and Chaos it's the 48th mass shooting in America
this year and this is only the 46th day of the year we're learning more about the victims including young children we're also hearing from the man seen on video helping tackle a man with a gun this morning sorrow and shock across Kansas City where the chief's Super Bowl victory parade ended in a deadly mass shooting it was a good celebration for the Kan City Chiefs and it just had to end the way it did because of a couple of bad apples the gunfire erupting near Union Station a Transit and touris
t Hub near the main stage of the event all of a sudden it sounded like fireworks and we're like oh okay and then my daughter yelled get down get down killed in the shooting local radio DJ and mother of two Lisa Lopez Galvin her station describing her as a beautiful person police say 22 people were wounded including several children the youngest just 6 years old the children are expected to recover but more than a dozen adults have order described as life-threatening injuries there are a lot more
people who are going to be forever impacted by by what happened here today three people were taken into custody police did not immediately release information about the suspects I never think about it it just a reaction I didn't hesitate it was just just do it multiple people including Paul Contreras were seen here tackling and punching one man believed to be a suspect one guy was Hing saying you know stop him CH or catch him you know tackle him whatever and he's just just bailing running and t
hat's I'm tackling him I see his weapon either fall out of his hand or out of his sleeve so when I seen that hit the ground I'm like oh you know we got to take this guy Down Casey filter is then seen picking up the man's gun I just saw it and just thought this I needed to get it out of the way somewhere the shooting began at the end of the celebration as the Chiefs players were leaving the stage quarterback Patrick Mahomes saying he's praying for Kansas City and Travis Kelce saying he's heartbro
ken over the tragedy that took place it's the second time in less than a year that gun violence has rocked a pro sports team celebration I didn't know where she was at I didn't know she was safe and that's all I can think about in June a shooting in Denver left 10 people wounded as fans celebrated the Nuggets first NBA championship police said it was likely sparked by a drug deal reacting to the shooting in Kansas City President Biden reiterated his call for more action on gun control saying the
events should move us shock us shame us into acting we became part of a statistic of too many Americans those who have experienced or been part of or connected to a mass shooting that is something that I hope we all recognize is highly problematic for all of us police are working to determine a motive the shooting broke out even though more than 800 police officers were in the area police near Los Angeles say a fellow student helped foil a teenager school shooting plot authorities say the 18-ye
ar-old suspect was planning the attack at Ontario Christian High School and is charged with attempted murder they say they found weapons and ammunition inside his home now to Washington and growing concern about a potential nuclear threat from Russia in space sources say that concern is behind a rare statement from a top lawmaker on Capitol Hill ABC's M wind is here now with more M good morning Andrew good morning that top lawmaker is Congressman Mike Turner his colleagues describe being stunned
that Turner exposed a possible national security threat new details about the cryptic warning from the chair of the house intelligence committee about a possible new space threat from Russia Congressman what do you make of The Firestorm that you've set off today can you explain why he made this decision Congressman Mike Turner had no comment after he demanded the White House declassify information about what he called a serious national security threat two sources say that threat involves Russi
a wanting to put a nuclear weapon in space a goal it has not accomplished yet I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today and White House National security adviser Jake Sullivan appeared baffled by Turner's decision to reveal the unspecified threat as Turner and other Congressional leaders were scheduled to be briefed today on the issue meanwhile Congressman Seth Molton says he and Turner were briefed about Russia's plans two years ago he decided to take highly sensitive
compartmented intelligence that means that even if you have a very you know like a top secret clearance or something um you only have access to the intelligence if you have a need to know and he shared with every member of Congress and indeed it only took a few hours for the details of this weapon system to come out Russia's supposed intention was not to drop the weapon onto Earth but possibly use it against satellites an assessment last year by us intelligence found Russia was in pursuit of an
array of non-destructive and destructive counter space weapons including jamming and cyberspace capabilities to try to Target us and Allied satellites Russian President Putin has taken issue with one specific group of satellites spacex's Starling system which has been used by Ukraine to carry out attacks on Russian troops and RI off just yesterday SpaceX launched a classified mission for the US space forth sending National Security related satellites into orbit and Congressman Mike Turner has b
een urging lawmakers to pass more funding for Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia but that funding remains held up in Congress Randon all right M thank you for that Israel has launched what appears to be the biggest wave of air strikes on Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza fueling fears of a wider conflict 11 civilians were reportedly killed Israel says the strikes were in response to a Hezbollah rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier former president Trump is expected to a
ppear in a New York courtroom today for a hearing in his hush money trial set to begin next month he's accused of falsifying business records in connection with payments to Stormy Daniels he's pleaded not guilty a hearing is also scheduled today for the da leading the Georgia election interference case against Trump fonnie Willis has acknowledged a personal relationship with a special prosecutor Trump says that's a conflict of interest he wants her disqualify there is a new legal battle over the
effect the social media is having on our kids this time it's the biggest city in the country suing the biggest tech companies we must take action to protect our children from harm online this morning New York City is suing social media companies claiming they're fueling a mental health crisis the lawsuit targets Tik Tok Instagram Facebook Snapchat and YouTube alleging the company's designed their apps to get young people addicted no it is talking about taking snatching away devices or snatching
away platforms we're talking about a fundamental set of rules and regulation the city is demanding the companies change their behavior and and help cover the cost of mental health treatments those platforms now firing back the parent company of Facebook and Instagram saying we want teens to have safe age appropriate experiences online we have over 30 tools and features to support them and their parents Tech Executives just last month testified before Congress where they were accused of failing
to protect kids from bullying and exploitation isn't the internet a dangerous place for children I think it can be yeah there's both great things that people can do and there are harms that we need to work yeah it's a dangerous place for children a string of lawsuits similar to New York's have been filed around the country they rarely succeed doing part to a federal law dating back decades called section 230 which Shields tech companies from liability for Content people post on their platforms w
e must have enforcable and agreed upon standards not a patchwork of voluntary fixes that ultimately shifts the burden right back to parents teachers and young people New York is seeking monetary damages but no word yet on how much new images of erosion on Florida's East Coast this is the Jupiter Inlet Colony ravaged by recent storms officials say they're working to rebuild the dunes about 70% of the beach in that area is considered critically eroded time now for your Thursday [Music] weather Ski
es will be clearing up up today in the Upper Midwest after its biggest snowfall of the season so far the Twin Cities getting up to 5 in that storm is moving across the Great Lakes today and into New England tomorrow a separate storm brings snow and rain through the Plains and Midwest tomorrow before delivering more snow to the Northeast Saturday morning checking today's high temperatures below freezing in the Northern Plains warm across the southeast 40s in the Northwest but at warm 77 in Miami
coming up breaking news overnight the NBA player arrested for assault before a game also ahead the family of a missing mother last seen at a gas station is speaking out as police reveal new details about the search and later the lucky man looking for love who won the lottery for Valentine's Day whenever news breaks we are here in Israel a nation at war after that brutal surprise attack by Hamas on the ground found in Ukraine reporting from Leon Maine the scene of a horrific mass shooting ABC New
s live is right there everywhere from the scene of that deadly missile strike in Dena Ukraine reporting from the earthquake in Turkey in Rolling Fort This Tornado tore through this little town from the most devastating disaster in Hawaii from Charleston South Carolina on the 2024 campaign Trail in Iceland let's go traveling with the president in Mexico City wherever the story from the front lines from Southern Israel outside the trip in beir from the FBI reporting from the nurses on the pick lin
e here at 10 Downing Street in London streaming live to you wherever the story is wherever the story is wherever the story is we're going to take you there you're streaming ABC News live ABC News live you're streaming ABC News live ABC news live streaming free everywhere America's number one streaming news it's lunchtime in America so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good good your health your money breaking news pop culture with the b
iggest Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us afternoon for everything you need to know I love [Music] that Housewives to B Hill star Jan celebrity attorney Tom Gerard this story was a nuclear explosion today several victims will get a chance to finally meet Erica Jor I'm at sort of a loss for what to say did you see the documentary the housewife and the Hustler I did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Eric
a why did it take you so long the housewife and the Hustler too only on Hulu from America's number one news comes the all new ABC News app if you love being in the know you're going to love this experience the the allnew ABC News app download it now breaking overnight an arrest in the NBA as Detroit's Isaiah Stewart is charged with assault for allegedly punching Suns player Drew Eubanks before last night's game Eubanks claims he was sucker punched the NBA is now reviewing the incident US governm
ent officials say they're looking into the practices of powerful middlemen in relation to a critical shortage of generic drugs the FTC is focusing on drug Distributors and other companies in the supply chain that buy medicines for hospitals those middlemen are accused of drive driving prices higher it has been one month since a missing mother from North Carolina was seen calling 911 from a gas station and now investigators are releasing new details here's ABC's Andrea fujii this morning the fami
ly of Marissa carmichel says they're desperate to find the 25-year-old mother of five and their kids are really having a hard time and all I can tell them it's that I'm trying and I'm I'm doing everything to get their mom home carmichel was last seen January 14th after going to a party and getting dropped off at a Greensboro gas station she called 911 saying the man who drove her there left her stranded and took her phone took off on me and I don't know where I'm at I'm in the middle of Greensbo
ro he took my phone I don't have my phone when police got to the gas station they say carmichel was gone they say surveillance video shows her getting into another car and they've since interviewed that driver who is considered a witness Carmichael's mother says after missing some phone calls that night she texted back the number and knew something was wrong he told me M's asleep and then I said let me speak to her and then he said well she walk to the store and then he just kept you know any re
ason to not get her on the phone she says she believes her daughter is being held against her will will we're going to drive ourselves crazy looking for you but we are going to find you and whoever has her you are just evil police have not said if they believe Foul Play was involved they're hoping more people will come forward with information ranan Andrew all right Andrea thank you for that coming up the new Mission To The Moon overnight also ahead the designer dress resale scheme busted what w
e've learned about the alleged master mind whenever news breaks we are here in Israel a nation at war after that brutal surprise attack by Hamas on the ground in Ukraine reporting from Leon main the scene of a horrific mass shooting ABC News live is right there everywhere from the scene of that deadly missile strike in Dena Ukraine reporting from the earthquake in Turkey in Rolling Fort This Tornado tore through this little town from the most devastating disaster in Hawaii from Charleston South
Carolina on the 2024 campaign Trail in Iceland let's go traveling with the president in Mexico City wherever the story from the front lines from Southern Israel outside the Gaza Strip in beir from the FBI reporting from the nurses on the picket line here at 10 Downing Street in London streaming live to you wherever the story is wherever the story is wherever the story is we're going to take you there you're streaming ABC News live ABC News live you're streaming ABC News live ABC news live stream
ing free everywhere America's number one streaming news it's lunchtime in America so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good your health your money breaking news Pup Culture with the biggest Stars music Trends and of course good food gma3 what you need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us afternoon for everything you need to know I love that so the question is okay here we go are you kidding me what would you do you ju
st won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah hannes and Cal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John FAS here I was here all the time be all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored
with four Edward R ml Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't coming wherever you get your podcasts start here a 12-hour violent standoff in the nation's capital is finally over police say the suspect shot three police officers trying to arrest him for animal cruelty he surrendered last night police recovered 31 dogs from the house violent crime in DC has b
een on the rise the police Union blames a shortage of officers a Michigan woman is under arrest for an alleged scheme to resell designer dresses now prosecutors say brandine horn rented $800,000 in clothes and accessories from rental companies but instead of returning them she allegedly sold them even using the company's own pictures her arrest caught her neighbors by surprise and if convicted horn could face decades in prison we turn now to space and a new mission to the moon this morning overn
ight at Kennedy Space Center liftoff this rocket is carrying what could be the first American space craft to land on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 it's a quite exciting time and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else the private company intuitive machines built the moonlander known as odyusa will touch down near the moon's South Pole later this month and help carry out a host of NASA experiments why the South Pole NASA wants to know if that's a good spot for future man missions to the moon the c
ompany that built dsus hopes to provide deliveries for those man missions as well supplies instrumentation power nodes for the Artemis crew so that their time is spent doing important crew science and crew activities but this is Risky Business and liftoff of the first United launch Alliance Vulcan rocket already this year two other attempts to land on the moon went arai should this Mission succeed it would mark an important first step in exploring not just the moon but points far beyond the moon
has 1 six the gravity of Earth and no atmosphere so it's a much easier place to launch deeper into the solar system it really is the launching pad into human exploration out into deep space five other lunar Landers could blast off this year a Japanese Lander recently analyzed rocks that could provide clues about how the moon was formed coming up Tooth Fairy inflation The Staggering amounts being left under some kids pillows plus a teddy bear with a balloon and gifts for a very unusual police ra
id so the question is okay here we go are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and Cal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John FAS here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC with so much at stake so much on the line more Americans turn here than any other newscast ABC News World News Tonight with David mure America's num
ber one most watched newscast across all of television from America's number one news comes the allnew ABC News app breaking news Incredible video faster smarter and customizable to your interests if you love being in the know you're going to love this experience the all new ABC News app download it now it's lunchtime in America so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good your health your money breaking news pop culture with the biggest S
tars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us afternoon for everything you need to know I love [Music] that inside that pen is a slice of human brain I've never seen a place like this in my life oh my god look [Music] wow wherever news breaks it's so important to always remember that lives are changed getting you behind the stories as they happen ABC News live Prime we'll take you there streaming on ABC News live reporting f
rom Scranton Pennsylvania covering the winter storm I'm Stephanie Ramos wherever the story is we'll take you there you're screaming ABC News live time to check the pulse and we begin with a sucker for love busted on Valentine's Day a suspected drug dealer in Peru thought she was being wooed by her boyfriend but the person in the teddy bear suit with a heart-shaped balloon was actually a police officer who immediately arrested her police say they found more than 1,000 packets of drugs in and arou
nd the suspect's apartment here in the US One Lottery player may not be lucky in love but he's lucky in another way he's near Chicago he wants to remain anonymous he bought a monopoly scratch off to hit and won a million bucks just 3 days earlier he had broken up with his girlfriend but he says now he really hit the jackpot good timing now to the Tooth Fairy pulled by inflation the average payout has reached an all-time high a new survey found the Tooth Fairy now leaves $623 on average up almost
$1 from last year reminded us of the scene from Blue she came a fairye hey nice one blue where'd to go kid she let me five bucks five bucks yeah I know five bucks five bucks that's what she left all Blue's friends well that tooth fa is doing well for herself isn't she I think I'm with Dad Bandit on this one that same survey by the way found 20% of kids now receive money under their pillow and something else wow next what could be a dream Duo we're talking LeBron James teaming up with Steph Curr
y it almost happened Golden State tried to make it happen ESPN reports the Warriors and Lakers tried to put together a deal at last Thursday's trade deadline the Warriors could try for LeBron again this summer but only if he opts out of his contract in La meanwhile before last night's game against the Clippers here's curry with a shot from the opposite tunnel making it look like a layup more than 100 ft Away by the way the 76ers were also rumored to try and go after any we'll see if the Ops out
of his contract LeBron your move this is ABC News live the crush of families here in Poland at Refugee Cent In Putin's Russia on the ground in Ukraine close to the front line from the capital destructive Cat 4 storm you're along eye Boston is in the bull let go ABC News live America's number one streaming news anytime anywhere streaming 24/7 straight to you for free thank you for making ABC News live America's number one streaming news so the question is okay here we go are you kidding me what w
ould you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and Cal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John Fus here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC Housewives the Beverly hill star Amica Jan celebrity attorney Tom Gerard this story was a nuclear explosion today several victims will get a chance to find elet a majority I'm at sort of a loss for what to say d
id you see the documentary the housewife and the Hustler I did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Erica why did it take you so long the housewi and the Hustler too only on Hulu it's lunchtime in America so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good your health your money or breaking news pop culture with the biggest Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join
us afterno for everything you need to know I love [Music] that checking more top stories of radio DJ and mother of two was the person fatally shot when gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chief's super parade 22 others were wounded many of them children police have not announced a motive three people are in custody Russia has launched another massive missile attack on Ukraine today one key City in eastern Ukraine is now cut off the ukrainians are facing a shortage of ammunition us funding for t
he war remains stalled in Congress Senator Mitch McConnell is blaming former president Trump for fueling Republican opposition to that funding the justice department has charged 17 people with using fire extinguishers to smuggle Fentanyl and Other Drugs from Mexico into the US officials say they've recovered meth heroin and nearly 700,000 Sentinel pills today's weather across country storm brings rain to the West Coast and snow to the northern Rockies snow is also expected from Western New York
into parts of New England and finally just in time for the day of Love White Castle transforming from fast food to fine dining here's Danny new okay honey we're at our big fancy Valentine's Day reservation can I open my eyes now yes yes you can wow that's White Castle it sure is come on [Music] all so you've been doing this for more than three decades now this is a Time honor tradition what do you think people like about coming to White Castle for Valentine's Day I think it's just creating those
moments with with each other thank you thank you we'll have the lober Marco and ran here have been coming 5 years to White Castle how many years have you guys been coming here four years four so when he first proposes to you what was your what were your thoughts Oh I thought he was crazy I said no way this is my new best friend beatus beus how many years have you worked for White Castle 38 years 38 years uh-oh honey thank you beatus oh my gosh ready ready wow I think it just makes Valentine's D
ay fun it takes out the seriousness of it coming here and just being able to have a good time without the pressure of any of the other restaurants was okay for us Kathy would you describe onion rings as romantic hell yeah Ain't No Mountain High Enough will you be coming here next year yes for sure ain't no River WI enough to keep us to White [Music] Castle there are White Castles all over the country doing that each year but there's only one with my girl beatus thank you beus and thank you to my
wife guys a ring on it an onion ring I think it's a lovely idea have a great [Music] day it's Thursday February 15th and this was a loss no one had prepared for we start here more than 20 people are shot at a Super Bowl victory parade all of a sudden people started crushing forward everybody started running there were screaming with schools out several of these victims were children our team was there as it turns deadly a congressman Sparks fear of Russian Space Battles it would also be like la
unching World War III it would be a really big deal what we know about the classified report that has gripped Washington and if the government has the regulatory power it needs why do we keep seeing accidents on Boeing planes frankly I have concerns and the FAA has concerns about the safety culture at Bowen Transportation secretary Pete Buddha jedge joins us to talk about what needs fixing from ABC News this is start here I'm Brad milky the cool thing about Super Bowl parades is that they're rig
ht after your team wins the big game like within hours of Victory City officials go all right everyone clear the streets we're about to party you got to fight for your right the ball and so yesterday less than 72 hours after the Kansas City Chief's thrilling overtime Victory hundreds of thousands of fans were descending on Grand Boulevard in downtown KC a huge rally was planned at Union Station and people are having a great [Applause] timeas City everyone's got cameras there we had sent reporter
s of our own there were helicopters watching this from overhead so everyone's watching that's when we start to notice people fleeing uh we've got a Crowds Are dispersing and it looks like they're running yeah we might have a situation here we're trying to keep an eye on there were reports of gunfire soon the nation was watching attendees being loaded onto stretchers there was a man just weeping weeping and he said my nephew was shot my nephew was shot I asked it now appears more than 20 people w
ere shot one person is dead several more in critical condition and what was expected to be a day of Celebration has now become the latest example of American gun violence I said we had sent reporters there ABC's Alex Perez was on hand as this turned deadly he joins us now Alex first off just what was it like to be there well Brad it's hard to explain just how quickly this went from a joyous celebration to complete chaos and fear as people were running for their lives thank you can city thank you
Chiefs Kingdom the rally was just about to wrap up the players were just about to leave the stage and as you said there were uh thousands of people that came out classes were cancelled tons of kids were here here celebrating the Chiefs and then that's when gunfire rung out just think about having that many people that close together if you hear gunfire the immediate reaction is to run run away from it and that's exactly what happened all of a sudden people started crushing forward everybody sta
rted running there was screaming we didn't know what was happening but this day and age when people run you run people who were way on the other side of the field also started running not really knowing why they were running but simply because they saw other people running and so that chaos and confusion really really created uh this fear so we ran into a hallway and a janitor said come into this area we went where in elevator was we shut the doors and sat back against the doors and we prayed an
d there was yelling I talked to one woman who told me she actually jumped on top of her daughter and covered her daughter with her body cuz she didn't know what was going to happen and if anyone was shot she didn't want it to be her daughter so countless stories like that here after this shooting right and then the count of people affected by this just seemed to keep Rising like first it was yes there's one person dead and maybe a few more injured then it was more than 10 injured now it's well o
ver 20 injured from gunfire from this police have now been giving news briefings overnight I mean what do we know as we zoom out about what actually happened step by step yeah well you have to remember this was a big event that the city prepared for so there were hundreds of officers all over the place about 800 officers specifically assigned just to monitor this area with thousands of people and then there were 24 other law enforcement agencies who were brought in to help keep things safe yet w
ith all those officers on the scene we still had this shooting at the conclusion of the chief's rally today there were shots fired on the west side of Union Station authorities have told us that they believe there was some sort of alter that led to this shooting uh near the west side of Union Station here in Kansas City to the people who were injured in this tragedy our hearts go out to you and your families this investigation is just beginning and we are working safely to clear all surrounding
areas and businesses that gunfire erupted uh striking a number of people including children young children who were here to celebrate their team and that all happened in seconds Brad in just seconds it went from a celebration to complete chaos who did this and why I mean is this somebody firing into the crowd or are these people with a beef who happen to have guns I mean why did this happen well the exact motive Brad is still under investigation at this point authorities uh tell me they they don
't believe this was an act of terrorism but the police chief says there were multiple Bad actors here who got into some sort of disagreement or argument and decided to take care of this and handle whatever they were arguing about in the middle of this crowd we were here for a safe celebration and because of two Bad actors or more it is why we're standing here today there are some suspects in custody and a firearm has been recovered um but an exact motive why exactly they did this Still Remains u
nder investigation so as soon as uh these shots rang out uh authorities were immediately right there where the suspects were in fact uh an officer was captured on camera tackling uh someone there's another video that shows actually a few bystanders who actually ran towards the gunfire and tackled some people who were trying to run away no no no we tackled they might we tackled him when we tackled him the gun come out Kansas City like a lot of big cities is coping and dealing with on an everyday
basis is a crime problem a gun violence problem and this was another reminder of that problem this is the 48th mass shooting across the country so far this year Brad so uh this problem is not a new one it's just one that continues to happen and continues to impact people's lives and you know from the people I talk to here a lot of them are just fed up they want to see America confront this issue not only for the victim that were injured but for also the thousands of people who were traumatized a
fter seeing what happened and you've said it's the 48th mass shooting according to the gun violence archive there have only been 46 days in the year um Alex Perez they in Kansas City right now so glad you're safe thank you thanks Brad next up on start here this goes Way Beyond a space race the new concerns about Russian nukes after the [Music] break with so much at stake so much on the line more Americans turn here than any other newscast ABC News World News Tonight with David mure America's num
ber one most watched newscast across all of television from America's number one news comes the allnew ABC News app breaking news Incredible video faster smarter and customizable to your interests if you love being in the know you're going to love this experience the allnew ABC News app download it now it's lunchtime in America so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good it to your health your money breaking news pop culture with the bigg
est Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us afterno for everything you need to know I love that when something is classified that can mean a lot of things in theory more than a million Americans have access to documents labeled top secret but rarely is anything that widely circulated actually going to make waves which is why it was so strange yesterday when a secret report started making its way around Washington abou
t Russia's Ambitions in space perhaps even Ambitions that involve nuclear weapons up there multiple people confirmed this report's existence to ABC news but one law Aker considered this information so explosive so vital to National Security that he demanded President Biden declassify it at once and he said he wanted to share it with as many lawmakers as he could let's go to ABC's an flare who's covering the Pentagon an first of all nukes in space what what is the threat that these lawmakers are
even referring to well first P the what I want to start with is saying you know if you're up at night worrying about a nuclear weapon dropping on your house from space that is actually not what we're talking about right now uh so going back into the 1960s us Russia signed a treaty that says um we're not going to put any weapons of mass destruction in outer space certainly not in orbit so what we were told yesterday is from two people familiar with these deliberations on Capitol Hill is that ther
e is new intelligence and it has to do with Russia wanting to put a nuclear weapon into space this wouldn't be to drop a nuclear weapon onto Earth but rather to possibly use it against satellites so what we know is that there has always been this interest in kind of anti-satellite Technology um particularly from Russia um but this is very alarming one person we spoke to said this is very concerning and sensitive they called it quote a big deal so without having access to the classified intellige
nce itself the question here really appears to be you know what is Russia looking at and you know if Russia is looking at a technology that could be used against other satellites we know that could be a couple different things we know that one you can use missiles to destroy satellites in space the US has done this Russia has done this the other thing that they're talking about is sending a a nuclear weapon up into space to essentially disable an entire constellation of satellites that could be
very damaging to the US wait like a like a nuclear like it would blast them like a nuclear explosion yeah they're talking about kind of an electromagnetic pulse or something that would essentially create such a disturbance in space that it would render the any nearby satellite to be essentially useless that would be a huge deal for a country like the us but many other countries as well you know I spoke with one uh weapons expert who said okay they could do that it would also be like launching Wo
rld War III it would be a really big deal um for Russia to even consider this so you know without seeing this this intelligence that the house lawmakers have um we can't really say how big of a threat this is we do know that uh the White House and officials have gone uh out to the public to say okay we need to take a breath here I saw chairman Turner's statement on the issue and I I want to assure the American people there is no need for public alarm they really Tred to Tamp down those fears tha
t uh Russia is really escalating um any kind of nuclear tensions and so okay so that's the actual report that's the classified information that we've been reporting on now over the last 24 hours can we talk about how this even came to pass because this wasn't sort of your normal hey we heard from a source this was like a a lawmaker sort of publicly saying there's a huge problem in this Arena so the chairman of the house intelligence committee Mike Turner is a republican from Ohio he basically ju
st tweets you know I we've got this intelligence that's been made available to us this information concerning quote a serious national security threat um and he says I'm requesting Biden to declassify all of it so that we can talk about it in the open and then what's more is that he says I'm going to provide a secure location so that every member can get access to this information this is you know 435 members of Congress being able to get access to this raw intelligence data but it's really real
ly unusual for members of Congress to get access to intelligence without being briefed from the administration military experts intelligence experts providing them context and background and all of those things that you would need to interpret that intelligence our understanding is those briefings are happening the administration is trying to reach out and provide Congress what they need to understand this I personally reached out to the gang of eight it is highly unusual in fact for the Nationa
l Security adviser to do that but it was certainly this example of where the cart got ahead of the horse for several hours yesterday Washington essentially ground to a halt as everybody ran around trying to figure out are we going to war with Russia and the answer to that right now no the politics are kind of bizarre right because on one hand you got lawmakers jockeying in an election year to make their party look strong on National Security on the other hand Mike Turner is known as a Russia Haw
k he's deeply concerned about Vladimir Putin as a national adversary you wonder if he's hearing somebody like former president Donald Trump say Russia should do what it wants to NATO countries if that's made this all seem even more urgent either way just bizarre kind of disclosure here and flarity at the Pentagon thank you thanks Brad you might remember that in year one of the Biden presidency Congress passed a big bipartisan infrastructure funding package well that money does all get sent out t
he door at once of course for the last couple years the Department of Transportation has been examining how it would get some of that money to airports and this morning they're out with a list of airports that will split nearly a billion dollars in Improvement funds guess what we got the Secretary of Transportation himself with us right now secretary Pete Budaj thanks for being with us secretary what is in this package so what's in this package is funding to improve airports in 44 States in thre
e territories nearly a billion dollars and it's just the latest round of infrastructure improvements that we are announcing through President Biden's infrastructure plan what excites me about this is that this is a mix of things that you might consider back of house in other words uh electrical mechanical uh things that most passengers will never see but also things that you will see and will lead to a better experience better flow and better design for getting through security in some airports
jet bridges that you probably don't think about that much but if one ever gets stuck that is a huge pain when you're just trying to get off the flight and everything in between and we've airports of all sizes projects of all kinds and just really excited to be able to uh share the good news about the uh the many airports that that were supporting through this more than 100 airports getting uh support just through today's announcement right like I'm looking at the list right now there are some pr
ojects like at Dulles where like you're literally building new terminals but then at like LAX it's like traffic improvements right there were restrooms being built so it's sort of all over the map um you know I I think a lot of people go to an airport right now and they're wondering am I on one of those Boeing Max 9 we've now learned that the Alaska Airlines plane that had that door plug blown off of it was missing bolts that were supposed to be reinstalled and they weren't I mean does any of th
is funding go towards inspections or measures that ensure Flyers are safe uh that's a a separate uh uh part of the budget but uh yes a big part of what our FAA budget goes toward is the oversight uh and the the regulatory work that keeps passengers safe I take this very seriously and very personally uh yesterday I was sitting in the exit row next to the door on a 737 max9 myself I know a lot of passengers are asking questions and it's one of the reasons why the FAA put Boeing under a microscope
not only to make sure every one of these planes was inspected and was a th% uh safe before it returned to service but more generally uh frankly I have concerns and the FAA has concerns about the safety culture at Boeing and so more resources and more uh scrutiny is going going to go into making sure that everything that comes out of there is safe and they will not be allowed to increase their production until and unless they demonstrate that they can do that safely is the oversight system we hav
e in place enough though because for years the line has basically been that the FAA leaves a lot of the actual safety work on Boeing planes to Boeing itself and like after the max crashes in 2018 2019 we did see some design changes we saw some FAA Staffing changes but since then we still had this we still had this door plug issue we had milled holes and some other fuselages on Maxes does the government actually have the oversight it needs to ensure plane safety that's exactly what's being re-eva
luated right now there's always been a balance between the faa's role in establishing what the safety standards are and the company's role in proving or demonstrating that they've met those safety standards that's in terms of how a plane is designed this was the issue that the the max had a few years ago and then making sure no matter how good your design is uh that it's it's actually manufactured according to that design that's where these quality control issues are coming into play and I think
everything needs to be on the table right now in terms of how that oversight works we we can't ever treat safety as a destination that we've just reached on one hand uh it's an extraordinary thing that a form of travel like flying where you're using flammable liquids to be propelled through the air at the speed of sound is by far the safest way to travel in the United States but the most important thing is not to take it for granted that that's the case but to recognize that anytime we learn so
mething not only from a crash and there hasn't been a fatal crash in 15 years but from anything that could have led to a crash or a fatality which is the posture that the fa has right now yeah because so you're saying like all things are on the table but I mean are there actual changes because I'm thinking like Boeing has 12,000 employees at its plant in Washington FAA used to have I think two inspectors there now it's got eight I mean is that going to change are you just saying it's still being
evaluated well even right now we have dozens of boots on the ground conducting a deep dive and an audit of FAA but there is a bigger question uh to fully take on some of the functions that are currently delegated to Boeing uh would take an act of Congress and it would potentially take thousands of new people at FAA uh in order to do that we would have to be budgeted for that and we would have to be authorized for that but the only thing that should drive any of these debates is safety and and a
nswering the question what is the safest possible structure going forward yeah we said no fatal crashes in US airspace in the last 15 years but those Max crashes were fatal they had just been sold by our American company to foreign Airlines so they happened overseas um one other thing I'd like to ask you about secretary you ran for the presidency in 2020 you said it is time for a generational change at the time you said the years ahead of us can't be led by the men of the past basically now you
work for the Biden Administration President Biden has said his memory is fine his mental stamina is fine but he's also an 81y old man so I mean if your pitch back in 2020 was we need younger leaders is that still the case four years later look as the youngest member of the cabinet obviously I believe that uh young leaders have a lot to offer uh I think at the end of the day what matters most uh in when you think of all of the strengths and weaknesses each of us brings to the job age youth experi
ence originality judgment it's are you making good decisions and are you doing a good job and I'm proud of the job that President Biden has done and I'm proud to be involved with with the work that he's leading whether it's fixing airports or driving down the cost of U of insulin to $35 a month for seniors or getting rid of fees or finally dealing with climate change with the biggest most significant uh action on climate that's been undertaken By Any Nation in human history and I think what that
demonstrates is the focus on the future that's reflected not just in the age of any individual member of the government but in the actual policy decisions that are being made and this administration's policies are about the future you proud of the decisions he's made are you confident in his ability to do the job though to three four years from now yeah I wish everybody could be in a room with him the way that I often am and see the level of of detail in his attention to the issues that we work
on and the intensity that that he brings uh to uh all of the things that that we're responsible for he's a leader that uh has challenged me to be better at my job and I think that's part of why you have the historic results that we're getting out of this Administration all right secretary Pete Budd but I wanted to ask you by the way can we do anything about like TSA people yelling at me in the line I always feel like that's the most chaotic part of the airport experience I'll tell him to stop i
t okay sounds good thank you so much have a good day Take Care thank you okay one more quick break when we come back fake it till you make it or at least until you own the building one last thing is next so the question is okay here we go are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah hannes and Camal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John konus here I was here all the time be all new
season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC with so much at stake so much on the line more Americans turn here than any other newscast ABC News World News Tonight with David mure America's number one most watched newscast across all of Television inside that pen is a slice of human we're in I've never seen a place like this in my life oh my god look [Music] wow you're watching America's number one streaming news ABC News live reporting in Fort Lee New Jersey right here in the Fat Tue
sday storm I'm Ginger Z wherever the story is we'll take you there you're streaming ABC News live and one last thing you ever host a party and one guest just won't leave you've turned off the music you've thrown out the trash and they still just can't take a hint now imagine that guest is overstaying their welcome and claiming your house is now theirs for years a guy named Mickey beretto has held himself out as the rightful owner of the New Yorker Hotel this iconic Art Deco building right in the
heart of of Midtown Manhattan it's ABC senior investigative course respondent Aaron kki following the story of a New York City man named Mickey beretto who is recently charged with several counts of false filings but the charging documents are way more bizarre than that it all started back in 2018 so according to charging documents 5 years ago this guy Checks Into The New Yorker Hotel which is pretty nice and gets a room I think it was you know $149 a night the next day instead of checking out
he apparently goes to hotel management and says I'd actually like to lease this room the way you'd rent an apartment the hotel says no thanks beretto left his belongings inside the room kind of claiming his Turf and and then he left and he was evicted from the hotel they gathered up the belongings and tossed him out but beretto took the hotel to court and due to a quirk in the city's rent stabilization laws he was actually able to claim the room see back in the day after World War II there used
to be all these New York hotels populated by single men looking for work and a clean bed the city saw to it that certain hotels had to offer them leases under rent stabilization laws the New Yorker despite now operating as a Windom is still one of those hotels so beretto moved in and allegedly didn't stop there filing paperwork with City agencies claiming that now because he legally resided in one room he was actually an owner of the entire property he demanded rent from its tenants and he regis
tered the hotel under his name with City agencies for you know water and sewage payments and then he demanded the hotel's bank transfer accounts to him dude was allegedly walking around like he owned the place in fact he allegedly called the fire department at one point identifying himself as the owner telling them the building had to be evacuated and while these ploes often didn't work it's tough to deny someone like that in the moment because he knows laws and housing policies better than anyo
ne else on site we yesterday prosecutors proposed a new addess for him a jail cell he was arrested uh and he is charged with 14 felony counts of filing a false instrument 10 misdemeanor counts of criminal contempt uh and uh prosecutors intend to take this all the way to trial and beretto hasn't been convicted in fact he hasn't even had a chance to plea yet he's continued to Proclaim he owns this building despite court rulings to the contrary but I can't help think of how many other famous swindl
ers have tried schemes that sound something like this inventing Anna the Dropout the fire fests of the world these are stories of people boldly proclaiming almost pathologically to own that which they do not own to have status they have not earned it's possible anywhere but it's always easier when you've got Antiquated laws on your side and some bureaucracy to boot all this reminds me by the way ABC News Studios has a new installment of its documentary the housewife and the Hustler I don't need
to tell my bravo fans about this it's about the celebrity TV housewife Eric Jane and her husband the lawyer Tom gerardi fascinating story I'm going to be extra careful opening my next hotel door who knows what dude is camping out there I'm Brad milky see you [Music] tomorrow with so much at stake so much on the line more Americans turn here than any other newscast ABC News World News Tonight with David mure America's number one most watched newscast across all of television first thing in the mo
rning there's a lot going on get another Avalanche warning that's up to catch you up with what happened overnight a dangerous ice storm is impacting the morning commute what's happening today escalating tensions in the Middle East what people are talking about the migrant crisis fast straightforward with some fun in between how does billionaire sound sounds good to me the Moose started chasing a dog first thing in the morning America this morning America's number one early morning news on ABC Ne
ws live inside that pen is a slice of human brain I've never seen a place like this in my life oh my god look [Music] wow this is ABC News live the crush of family here in Poland at Refugee Cent In Putin Russia on the ground in Ukraine close to the front line from the capital destructive Cat 4 storm you're I Boston is in the bull let's go ABC News live America's number one streaming news anytime anywhere streaming 24/7 straight to you for free thank you for making ABC newsline America's number o
ne streaming news it's lunchtime in America so what do we ser up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good your health your money breaking news pop culture with the biggest Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us afternoon for everything you need to know I love that why do so many people start their day here from Ab news this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on
the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R murl Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here from America's number one news source comes the allnew ABC News app breaking news Incredible video faster smarter and it can customiz
e to you and your interests if you love being in the know you're going to love this experience what all the buzz is about experience the allnew ABC News app download it now reporting from Miami Florida I'm Victor okendo wherever the story is we'll take you there you're streaming ABC News live right now on America this morning the deadly mass shooting at the Kansas City Chief's Super Bowl victory parade a radio DJ killed nearly two dozen others including children as young as 6 years old injured s
ome critically we hear from the man who helped tackle a suspected gunman what he saw in that moment the developing story from Washington concerns about a potential nuclear threat from Russia in space that's what sources say is behind a rare statement from a top Congressman how the White House is responding the new legal fight against social media companies from Tik Tok to Instagram how a new lawsuit seeks to hold them accountable for the Mental Health crisis among teens critical erosion new vide
o of the backyards washing away after storms on the East Coast a designer dress resale scam what authorities are saying about the alleged Mastermind and how much money she made overnight a new mission to the Moon why this launch could be one giant leap towards sending man farther into space and from this very bizarre Valentine's Day police raid to a very lucky Valentine's lottery winner it's Thursday February 15th from ABC news in New York this is America this morning good Thursday morning every
one I'm Andrew denber good morning to you I'm Maran and Ally we want to begin with that deadly mass shooting during what was supposed supposed to be a huge celebration in Kansas City honoring the chief's victory in the Super Bowl instead there was gunfire and Chaos it's the 48th mass shooting in America this year and this is only the 46th day of the year we're learning more about the victims including young children we're also hearing from the man seen on video helping tackle a man with a gun th
is morning sorrow and shock across Kansas City where the chief's Super Bowl victory parade ended in a deadly mass shooting it was a good celebration for the Kansas City chief and it just had to end the way it did because of a couple of bad apples the gunfire erupting near Union Station a Transit and tourist Hub near the main stage of the event all of a sudden it sounded like fireworks and we're like oh okay and then my daughter yelled get down get down killed in the shooting local radio DJ and m
other of two Lisa Lopez Galvin her station describing her as a beautiful person police say 22 people were wounded including several children the youngest just 6 years old the children are expected to recover but more than a dozen adults have order described as life-threatening injuries there are a lot more people who are going to be forever impacted by by what happened here today three people were taken into custody police did not immediately release information about the suspects I didn't think
about it it just a reaction I didn't hesitate it was just just do it multiple people including Paul contras were seen here tackling and punching one man believed to be a suspect one guy was holling saying you know stop him cha or catch him you know tackle him whatever and he's just just bailing running and as I'm tackling him I see his weapon either fall out of his hand or out of his sleep so when I seen that hit the ground I'm like oh you know we got to take this guy Down Casey filter is then
seen picking up the man's gun I just saw it and just thought this I needed to get it out of the way somewhere the shooting began at the end of the celebration as the Chiefs players were leaving the stage quarterback Patrick Mahomes saying he praying for Kansas City and Travis Kelce saying he's heartbroken over the tragedy that took place it's the second time in less than a year that gun violence has rocked a pro sports team celebration I didn't know where she was at I didn't know she was safe an
d that's all I can think about in June a shooting in Denver left 10 people wounded as fans celebrated the Nuggets first NBA championship police said it was likely sparked by a drug deal reacting to the shooting in Kansas City President Biden reiterated his call for more action on gun control saying the events should move us shock us shame us into acting we became part of a statistic of too many Americans those who have experienced or been part of or connected to a mass shooting that is something
that I hope we all recognize is highly problematic for all of us police are working to determine a motive the shooting broke out even though more than 800 police officers were in the area police near Los Angeles say a fellow student helped foil a teenager school shooting plot authorities say the 18 y old suspect was planning the attack at Ontario Christian High School and is charged with attempted murder they say they found weapons and ammunition inside his home now to Washington and growing co
ncern about a potential nuclear threat from Russia in space sources say that concern is behind a rare statement from a top lawmaker on Capitol Hill ABC's M wi is here now with more M good morning Andrew good morning that top lawmaker is Congressman Mike Turner his colleagues describ being stunned that Turner exposed a Poss ible national security threat new details about the cryptic warning from the chairman of the house intelligence committee about a possible new space threat from Russia Congres
sman what do you make of The Firestorm that you've set off today can you explain why you made this decision Congressman Mike Turner had no comment after he demanded the White House declassify information about what he called a serious national security threat two sources say that threat involves Russia wanting to put a nuclear weapon in space a goal it has not accomplished yet I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan
appeared baffled by Turner's decision to reveal the unspecified threat as Turner and other Congressional leaders were scheduled to be briefed today on the issue meanwhile Congressman Seth Molton says he and Turner were briefed about Russia's plans two years ago he decided to take highly sensitive compartmented intelligence that means that even if you have a very you know like a top secret clearance or something thing um you only have access to the intelligence if you have a need to know and he
shared it with every member of Congress and indeed it only took a few hours for the details of this weapon system to come out Russia's supposed intention was not to drop the weapon onto Earth but possibly use it against satellites an assessment last year by us intelligence found Russia was in pursuit of an array of non-destructive and destructive counterspace weapons including jamming and cyberspace capabilities to try to Target us and Allied satellites Russian President Putin has taken issue wi
th one specific group of satellites spacex's startling system which has been used by Ukraine to carry out attacks on Russian troops and off just yesterday SpaceX launched a classified mission for the US space force sending National Security related satellites into orbit and Congressman Mike Turner has been urging lawmakers to pass more funding for Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia but that funding remains held up in Congress Ranon all right em thank you for that Israel has launched wha
t appears to be the biggest wave of air strikes on Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza fueling fears of a wider conflict 11 civilians were reportedly killed Israel says the strikes were in response to a Hezbollah rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier former president Trump is expected to appear in the New York courtroom today for a hearing in his hush money trial set to begin next month he's accused of falsifying business records in connection with payments to stormmy Daniels he's
pleaded not guilty the hearing is also scheduled today for the da leading the Georgia election interference case against Trump fonnie Willis has acknowledged a personal relationship with a special prosecutor Trump says that's a conflict of interest he wants her disqualify there is a new legal battle over the effect the social media is having on our kids this time it's the biggest city in the country suing the biggest tech companies we must take action to protect our children from harm online thi
s morning New York City is suing social media companies claiming they're fueling a mental health crisis the lawsuit targets Tik Tok Instagram Facebook Snapchat and YouTube alleging the companies designed their apps to get young people addicted no it is talking about taking snatching away devices or snatching away platforms we're talking about a fundamental set of rules and regulation the city is demanding the companies change their behavior and help cover the cost of mental health treatments tho
se platforms now firing back the parent company of Facebook and Instagram saying we want teens to have safe age appropriate experiences online we have over 30 tools and features to support them and their parents Tech Executives just last month testified before Congress where they were accused of failing to protect kids from bullying and exploitation isn't the internet a dangerous place for children I think it can be yeah there's both great things that people can do and there are harms that we ne
ed to work to it's a dangerous place for children a string of lawsuits similar to New York's have been filed around the country they rarely succeed doing part to a federal law dating back decades called section 230 which Shields tech companies from liability for Content people post on their platforms we must have enforcable and agreed upon standards not a patchwork of voluntary fixes that ultimately shifts the burden right back to parents teachers and young people New York is seeking monetary da
mages but no word yet on how much new images of erosion on Florida's East Coast this is the Jupiter Inlet Colony ravaged by recent storms officials say they're working to rebuild the dunes about 70% of the beach in that area is considered critically eroded time now for your Thursday weather [Music] Skies will be clearing up today in the Upper Midwest after its biggest snowfall of the season so far the Twin Cities getting up to 5 Ines that storm is moving across the Great Lakes today and into New
England tomorrow a separate storm brings snow and rain through the Plains and Midwest tomorrow before delivering more snow to the Northeast Saturday morning checking today's high temperatures below freezing in the Northern Plains warm across the southeast 40s in the northwest but at warm 77 in Miami coming up breaking news overnight the NBA player arrested for assault before a game also ahead the family of a missing mother last seen at a gas station is speaking out as police reveal new details
about the search and later the lucky man looking for love who won the lottery for Valentine's Day whenever news breaks we are here in Israel a nation at war after that brutal surprise attack by Hamas on the ground in Ukraine reporting from Leon Maine the scene of a horrific mass shooting ABC News live is right there everywhere from the scene of that deadly missile strike at Dena Ukraine reporting from the earthquake in Turkey in Rolling Fort This Tornado tore through this little town from the mo
st devastating disaster in Hawaii from Charleston South Carolina on the 2024 campaign Trail in Iceland let's go traveling with the president in Mexico City wherever the story from the front lines from Southern Israel outside the Gaza Strip in Beirut from the FBI reporting from the nurses on the picket line here at 10 Downing Street in London streaming live to you wherever the story is wherever the story is wherever the story is we're going to take you there you're streaming ABC News live ABC New
s live you're streaming ABC News live ABC news live streaming free everywhere America's number one streaming news it's lunchtime in America so so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty good your help your money breaking news pop culture with the biggest Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us afternoon for everything you need to know I love [Music] that Housewives
at Beverly Hill star Erica J celebrity attorney Tom Gerard this story was a nuclear explosion today several victims will get a chance to finally meet Erica jority and that's sort of a loss for what to say did you see the documentary the housewife and the Hustler I did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Erica why did it take you so long the housewife and the Hustler too only on Hulu from America's number one news comes the allnew ABC News app if you love being in the know you're going
to love this experience the allnew ABC News app download it now breaking overnight an arrest in the NBA as Detroit's Isaiah Stewart is charged with assault for allegedly punching Suns player Drew Eubanks before last night's game Eubanks claims he was sucker punched the NBA is now reviewing the incident US government officials say they're looking into the practices of powerful middlemen in relation to a critical short of generic drugs the FTC is focusing on drug Distributors and other companies i
n the supply chain that buy medicines for hospitals those middlemen are accused of drive driving prices higher it has been one month since a missing mother from North Carolina was seen calling 911 from a gas station and now investigators are releasing new details here's ABC's Andrea fuii this morning the family of Marissa carmichel says they're desperate to find the 25-year-old mother of five and her kids are really having a hard time and all I can tell them is that I'm trying and I'm I'm doing
everything to get their mom home carmichel was last seen January 14th after going to a party and getting dropped off at a Greensboro gas station she called 911 saying the man who drove her there left her stranded and took her phone took off on me and I don't know where I'm at I'm in the middle of Greensboro he took my phone and I don't have my phone when police got to the gas station they say Carmichael was gone they say surveillance video shows her getting into another car and they've since int
erviewed that driver who is considered a witness Carmichael's mother says after missing some phone calls that night she texted back the number and knew something was wrong he had told me Marissa's asleep and then I said let me speak to her and then he said well she walked to the store and then he just kept you you know any reason to not get her on the phone she says she believes her daughter is being held against her will we're going to drive ourselves crazy looking for you but we are going to f
ind you and whoever has her you are just evil police have not said if they believe Foul Play was involved they're hoping more people will come forward with information ranan Andrew all right Andrea thank you for that coming up the new Mission To The Moon overnight also ahead the designer dress resale scheme busted what we've learned about the alleged Mastermind whenever news breaks we are here in Israel a nation at war after that brutal surprise attack by Hamas on the ground in Ukraine reporting
from Leon Maine the scene of a horrific mass shooting ABC News live is right there everywhere from the scene of that deadly missile strike in Dena Ukraine reporting from the earthquake in Turkey en rolling for this tornado tore through this little town from the most devastating disaster in Hawaii from Charleston South Carolina on the 2024 campaign Trail in Iceland let's go traveling with the president in Mexico City wherever the story from the front lines from Southern Israel outside the Gaza S
trip in beir from the FBI reporting from the nurses on the pick line here at 10 Downing Street in London streaming live to you wherever the story is wherever the story is wherever the story is we're going to take you there you're streaming ABC News live ABC News live you're streaming ABC News live ABC news live streaming free everywhere America's number one streaming news it's lunchtime in America so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty go
od your health your money breaking news pop culture with the biggest Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us afternoon for everything you need to know I love that to me so the question is okay here we go are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and cile Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John fon
as here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC Whenever Wherever news breaks it's so important to always remember that lives are changed here in London in Buffalo yaldi Texas Edinburgh Scotland reporting from Rolling Fork Mississippi Ukrainian refugees here in warong we're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City getting you behind the stories as they have happen ABC News live Prime we'll take you there stream ABC News live week nig
hts wherever you stream your news only on ABC News live a 12-hour violent standoff in the nation's capital is finally over police say the suspect shot three police officers trying to arrest him for animal cruelty he surrendered last night police recovered 31 dogs from the house violent crime in DC has been on the rise the police Union blames a shortage of officers a Michigan woman is under arrest for an alleged scheme to resell designer dresses now prosecutors say brandine horn rented $800,000 i
n clothes and accessories from rental companies but instead of returning them she allegedly sold them even using the company's own pictures her arrest caught her neighbors by surprise and if convicted horn could face decades in prison we turn now to space and a new mission to the moon this morning overnight at Kennedy Space Center liftoff off this rocket is carrying what could be the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 it's a quite exciting time and I wouldn't w
ant to be anywhere else the private company intuitive machines built the moonlander known as odyusa will touch down near the moon's South Pole later this month and help carry out a host of NASA experiments why the South Pole NASA wants to know if that's a good spot for future man missions to the Moon the company that built dsus hopes to provide deliveries for those Mann missions as well Food Supplies instrumentation power nodes for the Artemis crew so that their time is spent doing important cre
w science and crew activities but this is Risky Business and liftoff of the first United launch Alliance Vulcan rocket already this year two other attempts to land on the moon went arai should this Mission succeed it would mark an important first step in exploring not just the moon but points far beyond the moon has 1 six the gravity of Earth and no atmosphere so it's a much easier place to launch deeper into the solar system it really is the launching pad into human exploration out into deep sp
ace five other lunar Landers could blast off this year a Japanese Lander recently analyzed rocks that could provide clues about how the moon was formed coming up Tooth Fairy inflation the Staggering amounts being left under some kids pillows plus a teddy bear with a balloon and gifts for a very unusual police raid so the question is okay here we go oh are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Hayne
s and Cal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John konas here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC inside that pen is a slice of human brain I've never seen a place like this in my life oh my god look [Music] wow with so much at stake so much on the line more Americans turn here than any other newscast ABC News world World News Tonight with David mure America's number one most watched newscast across all of television from Am
erica's number one news comes the allnew ABC News app breaking news Incredible video faster smarter and customizable to your interest if you love being in the know you're going to love this experience the allnew ABC News app download it now it's lunchtime in America so what are we serving up well how about everything you need to know you know that sounds pretty pretty good your health your money breaking news pop culture with the biggest Stars music Trends and of course good food GMA 3 what you
need to know a third hour of GMA in the afternoon so join us afternoon for everything you need to know I love that wherever news breaks it's so important to always remember that lives are changed getting you behind the stories as they happen ABC News live Prime we'll take you there streaming free on ABC News live reporting from the devastating mudslides here in Los Angeles I'm Jaclyn Lee wherever the story is we'll take you there you're streaming ABC News [Music] live time to check the pulse and
we begin with a sucker for love busted on Valentine's Day a suspected drug dealer in Peru thought she was being woed by her boyfriend but but the person in the teddy bear suit with a heart-shaped balloon was actually a police officer who immediately arrested her police say they found more than 1,000 packets of drugs in and around the suspect's apartment here in the US One Lottery player may not be lucky in love but he's lucky in another way he's near Chicago he wants to remain anonymous he boug
ht a monopoly scratch off ticket and won a million bucks just 3 days earlier he had broken up with his girlfriend but he says now he really hit the jackpot good timing out of the tooth fairy pulled by inflation the average payout has reached an all-time high a new survey found the Tooth Fairy now leaves $6.23 on average up almost $1 from last year reminded us of the scene from Bluey she came two fairy hey nice one blue way' to go kid she left me five bucks five bucks yeah I know five bucks five
bucks that's what she left all Blue's friends well that tooth fair is doing well for herself isn't she I think I'm with Dad Bandit on this one that same survey by the way found 20% of kids now receive money under their pillow and something else wow next what could be a dream Duo we're talking LeBron James teaming up with Steph Curry it almost happened Golden State tried to make it happen ESPN reports the Warriors and Lakers tried to put together a deal at last Thursday's trade deadline the Warri
ors could try for LeBron again this summer but only if he opts out of his contract in La meanwhile before last night's game against the Clippers here's curry with a shot from the opposite tunnel making it look like a layup more than 100 ft Away by the way the 76ers were also rumored to try and go after any we'll see if the Opps out of his contract LeBron your move this is ABC News live the crush of families here in Poland at Refugee Cent In Putin's Russia on the ground in Ukraine close to the fr
ont line from the capital destructive Cat 4 storm along I Boston is in the bullseye let's GOC News live America's number one streaming news anytime anywhere streaming 24/7 straight to you for free thank you for making ABC newsline America's number one streaming news so the question is okay here we go oh my God are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and Cal Bell along for the rock all righ
t let's break it is John FAS here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC Housewives the Beverly hill star Erica Jan celebrity attorney Tom gerardi this story was nuclear explosion today several victims will get a chance to finally meet Erica J I'm at sort of a loss for what to say did you see the documentary the housewife on the Hustler I did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Erica why did it take you so long the housewife and the H
ustler too only on Hulu me with them Good Vibes bites on my phone Li everything is so F little bit of just a little bit Brea more just a little bit smile little more I'm it been running through the stres on my own life everything is so little bit of sunshine Good Morning America checking more top stories of radio DJ and mother of two was the person fatally shot when gunfire broke out of the Kansas City Chief's Super Bowl Parade 22 others were wounded many of them children police have not announc
ed a motive three people are in custody Russia has launched another massive missile attack on Ukraine today one key City in eastern Ukraine is now cut off the ukrainians are facing a shortage of ammunition us funding for the war remains stalled in Congress Senator Mitch McConnell is blaming former president Trump for fueling Republican opposition to funding the justice department has charged 17 people with using fire extinguishers to smuggle Fentanyl and Other Drugs from Mexico into the US offic
ials say they've recovered meth heroin and nearly 700,000 fentanyl pills today's weather across country storm brings rain to the West Coast and snow to the northern Rockies snow is also expected from Western New York into parts of New England and finally just in time for the day of Love White Castle transforming from fast food to fine dining here's d any new okay honey we're at our big fancy Valentine's Day reservation can I open my eyes now yes yes you can wow that's White Castle it sure is com
e [Music] on so you've been doing this for more than three decades now this is a Time honor tradition what do you think people like about coming to White Castle for Valentine's Day I think it's just creating those moments with with each other thank you thank you we'll have the lobster Marco and Regan here been coming 5 years to White Castle how many years have you guys been coming here four years four so when he first proposes to you what was your what were your thoughts Oh I thought he was craz
y I said no way this is my new best friend beatus beatus how many years have you worked for White Castle 38 years 38 years uhoh honey thank you beus oh my gosh ready ready wow I think it just makes Valentine's Day fun it takes out the seriousness of it coming here and just being able to have a good time without the pressure of any of the other restaurants was okay for us Kathy would you describe onion rings as romantic hell yeah Ain't No Mountain High Enough will you be coming here next year yes
for sure ain't no River wide enough to keep us to White [Music] Castle there are White Castles all over the country doing that each year but there's only one with my girl beatus thank you beus I thank you to my wife guys a ring on it an onion ring I think it's a lovely idea have a great [Music] day [Music] it's Thursday February 15th and this was a loss no one had prepared for we start here more than 20 people are shot at a Super Bowl victory parade all of a sudden people started crushing forwa
rd everybody started running there were screaming with schools out several of these victims were children our team was there as it turns dead a congressman Sparks fear of Russian Space Battles it would also be like launching World War III it would be a really big deal what we know about the classified report that has gripped Washington and if the government has the regulatory power it needs why do we keep seeing accidents on Boeing planes frankly I have concerns and the FAA has concerns about th
e safety culture at Boeing Transportation secretary Pete Buddha jedge joins us to talk about what needs fixing from ABC News this is start here I'm Brad milky the cool thing about Super Bowl parades is that they're right after your team wins the big game like within hours of Victory City officials go all right everyone clear the streets we're about to party you got to fight for your right the ball and so yesterday less than 72 hours after the Kansas City Chief's thrilling overtime Victory hundre
ds of thousands of fans were descending on Grand Boulevard in downtown KC a huge rally was planned at Union Station and people are having a great time K everyone's got cameras there we had sent reporters of our own there are helicopters watching this from overhead so everyone's watching that's when we start to notice people fleeing uh we've got a Crowds Are dispersing and it looks like they're running yeah we might have a situation here we're trying to keep an eye on there were reports of gunfir
e soon the nation was watching attendees being loaded onto stretchers there was a man just weeping weeping and he said my nephew was shot my nephew was shot I asked him now appears more than 20 people were shot one person is dead several more in critical condition and what was expected to be a day of Celebration has now become the latest example of American gun violence I said we had sent reporters there ABC Alex Perez was on hand as this turned deadly he joins us now Alex first off just what wa
s it like to be there well Brad it it it's hard to explain just how quickly this went from a joyous celebration to complete chaos and fear as people were running for their lives thank you Kanas city thank you Chiefs Kingdom the rally was just about to wrap up the players were just about to leave the stage and as you said there were were uh thousands of people that came out classes were cancelled tons of kids were here celebrating the Chiefs and then that's when gunfire rung out just think about
having that many people that close together if you hear gunfire the immediate reaction is to run run away from it and that's exactly what happened all of a sudden people started crushing forward everybody started running there was screaming we didn't know what was happening but this day and age when people run you run people who were way on the other side of the field also started running not really knowing why they were running but simply because they saw other people running and so that chaos
and confusion really really created uh this fear so we ran into a hallway and a janitor said come into this area we went where an elevator was we shut the doors and sat back against the doors and we prayed and there was yelling I talked to one woman who told me she actually jumped on top of her daughter and covered her daughter with her body cuz she didn't know what was going to happen and if anyone was shot she didn't want it to be her daughter so countless stories like that here after this sho
oting right and then the count of people affected by this just seemed to keep Rising like first it was yes there's one person dead and maybe a few more injured then it was more than 10 injured now it's well over 20 injured from gunfire from this police have now been giving news briefings overnight I mean what do we know as we zoom out about what actually happened step by step yeah well you have to remember this was a big event that the city prepared for so there were hundreds of officers all ove
r the place about 800 officers specifically assigned just to monitor this area with thousands of people and then there were 24 other law enforcement agencies who were brought in to help keep things safe yet with all those officers on the scene we still had this shooting at the conclusion of the chief's rally today there were shots fired on the west side of of Union Station authorities have told us that they believe there was some sort of altercation that led to this shooting uh near the west sid
e of Union Station here in Kansas City to the people who were injured in this tragedy our hearts go out to you and your families this investigation is just beginning and we are working safely to clear all surrounding areas and businesses that gunfire erupted uh striking a number of people including children young children who were here to celebrate their team and that all happened in seconds Brad in just seconds it went from a celebration to complete chaos who did this and why I mean is this som
ebody firing into the crowd or these people with a beef who happen to have guns I mean why did this happen well the exact motive Brad is still under investigation at this point authorities uh tell me if they they don't believe this was an act of terrorism but the police chief says there were multip mple Bad actors here who got into some sort of disagreement or argument and decided to take care of this and handle whatever they were arguing about in the middle of this crowd we were here for a safe
celebration and because of two Bad actors or more is why we're standing here today there are some suspects in custody and a firearm has been recovered um but an exact motive why exactly they did this Still Remains under investigation so as soon as uh these shots rang out uh authorities were immediately right there where the suspects were in fact uh an officer was captured on camera tackling uh someone there's another video that shows actually a few bystanders who actually ran towards the gunfir
e and tackled some people who were trying to run away no no oh we tackled him might we tackled him when we tackled him the gun come out Kansas City like a lot of big cities is coping and dealing with on an everyday basis a crime problem a gun violence problem and this was another reminder of that problem this is the 48th mass shooting across the country so far this year Brad so uh this problem is not a new one it's just one that continues to happen and continues to impact people's lives and you
know from the people I talk to here a lot of them are just fed up they want to see America confront this issue not only for the victims that were injured but for also the thousands of people who were traumatized after seeing what happened and you've said it's the 48th mass shooting according to the gun violence archive there have only been 46 days in the year um Alex Perez they in Kansas City right now so glad you're safe thank you thanks [Music] Brad next up on start here this goes Way Beyond a
space race the new concerns about Russian nukes after the break tonight the election interference case against former president Trump the hearing on misconduct claims against the Georgia da plus the latest on the victims of the Kansas City shooting more Americans turn to the most watch newscast on television World News Tonight with David mure from America's number one news comes the allnew ABC News app breaking news Incredible video faster smarter and customizable to your interests if you love
being in the no you're going to love this experience the allnew ABC News app download it now wherever news breaks it's so important to always remember that lives are changed getting you behind the stories as they happen ABC News live Prime will'll take you there streaming free on ABC News live inside that pen is a slice of human brain I've never seen a place like this in my life oh my god look wow [Music] when something is classified that can mean a lot of things in theory more than a million Am
ericans have access to documents labeled top secret but rarely is anything that widely circulated actually going to make waves which is why it was so strange yesterday when a secret report started making its way around Washington about Russia's Ambitions in space perhaps even Ambitions that involve nuclear weapons of there multiple people confirmed this report's existence to ABC news but one lawmaker considered this information so explosive so vital to National Security that he demanded Presiden
t Biden declassify it at once and he said he wanted to share it with as many lawmakers as he could let's go to ABC's an flare who's covering the Pentagon an first of all nukes in space what what is the threat that these lawmakers are even referring to well first Brad the what I want to start with is saying you know if you're up at night worrying about a nuclear weapon dropping on your house from space that is actually not what we're talking about right now uh so going back into the 1960s us Russ
ia signed a treaty that says um we're not going to put any weapons of mass destruction in outer space certainly not in orbit so what we were told yesterday is from two people familiar with these deliberations on Capitol Hill is that there is new intelligence and it has to do with Russia wanting to put a nuclear weapon into space this wouldn't be to drop a nuclear weapon onto Earth but rather to possibly use it against satellites so what we know is that there has always been this interest in kind
of anti-satellite Technology um particularly from Russia um but this is very alarming one person we spoke to said this is very concerning and sensitive they called it quote a big deal so without having access to the classified intelligence itself the question here really appears to be you know what is Russia looking at and you know if Russia is looking at a technology that could be used against other satellites we know that could be a couple different things we know that one you can use missile
s to destroy satellites in space the US has done this Russia has done this the other thing that they're talking about is sending a a nuclear weapon up into space to essentially disable an entire constellation of satellites that could be very damaging to the US wait like a like a nuclear like it would blast them like a nuclear explosion yeah they're talking about kind of an electromagnetic pulse or something that would essentially create such a disturbance in space that it would render the any ne
arby satellite to be essentially useless that would be a huge deal for a country like the us but many other countries as well you know I spoke with one uh weapons expert who said okay they could do that it would also be like launching World War III it would be a really big deal um for Russia to even consider this so you know without seeing this this intelligence that the house lawmakers have um we can't really say how big of a threat this is we do know that uh the White House and officials have
gone uh out to the public to say okay we need to take a breath here I saw chairman Turner statement on the issue and I I want to assure the American people there is no need for public alarm they really try to Tamp down those fears that uh Russia is really escalating um any kind of nuclear tensions and so okay so that's the actual report that's the classified information that we've been reporting on now over the last 24 hours can we talk about how this even came to pass because this wasn't sort o
f your normal hey we heard from a source this was like a a lawmaker sort of publicly saying there's a huge problem in this Arena so the chairman of the house intelligence committee Mike Turner is a republican from Ohio he basically just tweets you know I we've got this intelligence that's been made available to us this information concerning quote a serious national security threat um and he says I'm requesting Biden to declassify all of it so that we can talk about it in the open and then what'
s more is that he says I'm going to provide a secure location so that every member can get access to this information this is you know 435 members of Congress being able to get access to this raw intelligence data but it's really really unusual for members of Congress to get access to intelligence without being briefed from the administration military experts intelligence experts providing them context and background and all of those things that you would need to interpret that intelligence our
understanding is those briefings are happening the administration is trying to reach out and provide Congress what they need to understand this I personally reached out to the gang of eight it is highly unusual in fact for the National Security adviser to do that but it was certainly this example of where the cart got ahead of the horse for several hours yesterday Washington essentially ground to a halt as everybody ran around trying to figure out are we going to war with Russia and the answer t
o that right now no the politics are kind of bizarre right cuz on one hand you got law makers jockeying in an election year to make their party look strong on National Security on the other hand Mike Turner is known as a Russia Hawk he's deeply concerned about Vladimir Putin as a national adversary you wonder if he's hearing somebody like former president Donald Trump say Russia should do what it wants to NATO countries if that's made this all seem even more urgent either way just bizarre kind o
f disclosure here in flare at the Pentagon thank you thanks Brad you might remember that in year one of the presidency Congress passed a big bipartisan infrastructure funding package well that money doesn't all get sent out the door at once of course for the last couple years the Department of Transportation has been examining how it would get some of that money to airports and this morning they're out with a list of airports that will split nearly a billion dollars in Improvement funds guess wh
at we got the Secretary of Transportation himself with us right now secretary Pete budajudge thanks for being with us secretary what is in this package so what's in this package is funding to improve airports in 44 States and three territories nearly a billion dollars and it's just the latest round of infrastructure improvements that we are announcing through President Biden's infrastructure plan what excites me about this is that this is a mix of things that you might consider back of house in
other words uh electrical mechanical uh things that most passengers will never see but also things that you will see and will lead to a better experience better flow and better design for getting through security in some airports jet bridges that you probably don't think about that much but if one get stuck that is a huge pain when you're just trying to get off the flight and everything in between and we've got airports of all sizes projects of all kinds and just really excited to be able to uh
share the good news about the uh the many airports that that were supporting through this more than 100 airports getting uh support just through today's announcement right like I'm looking at the list right now there are some projects like at Dulles where like you're literally building new terminals but then at like LAX it's like traffic improvements right there were restrooms being built so it's sort of all over the map um you know I I think a lot of people go to an airport right now and they'r
e wondering am I on one of those Boeing Max 9s we've now learned that the Alaska Airlines plane that had that door plug blown off of it was missing bolts that were supposed to be reinstalled and they weren't I mean does any of this funding go towards inspections or measures that ensure Flyers are safe that's a a separate uh uh part of the budget but uh yes a big part of what our FAA budget goes toward is the oversight uh and the the regulatory work that keeps passengers safe I take this very ser
iously and very personally uh yesterday I was sitting in the exit row next to the door on a 737 Max 9 myself I know a lot of passengers are uh asking questions and it's one of the reasons why the FAA put Boeing under a microscope not only to make sure every one of these planes was inspected and was a th% uh safe before it returned to service but more generally uh frankly I have concerns and the FAA has concerns about this the safety culture at Boeing and so more resources and more uh scrutiny is
go going to go into making sure that everything that comes out of there is safe and they will not be allowed to increase their production until and unless they demonstrate that they can do that safely is the oversight system we have in place enough though because for years the line has basically been that the FAA leaves a lot of the actual safety work on Boeing planes to bowing itself and like after the max crashes in 2018 2019 we did see some design changes we saw some FAA staff changes but si
nce then we still had this we still had this door plug issue we had these milled holes and some other fuselages on Max's does the government actually have the oversight it needs to ensure plane safety that's exactly what's being re-evaluated right now there's always been a balance between the faa's role in establishing what the safety standards are and the company's role in proving or demonstrating that they've met those safety standards that's in terms of how a plane is designed this was the is
sue that the the max had a few years ago and then making sure no matter how good your design is that it's actually manufactured according to that design that's where these quality control issues are coming into play and I think everything needs to be on the table right now in terms of how that oversight works we we can't ever treat safety as a destination that we've just reached on one hand uh it's an extraordinary thing that a form of travel like flying where using flammable liquids to be prope
lled through the air at the speed of sound is by far the safest way to travel in the United States but the most important thing is not to take for granted that that's the case but to recognize that anytime we learn something not only from a crash and there hasn't been a fatal crash in 15 years but from anything that could have led to a crash or a fatality which is the posture that the fa has right now yeah because so you're saying like all things are on the table but I mean are there actual chan
ges I'm thinking like Boeing has 12,000 employees at its plant in Washington FAA used to have I think two inspectors there now it's got eight I mean is that going to change are you just saying it's still being evaluated well even right now we have dozens of boots on the ground conducting a deep dive in an audit of FAA but there is a bigger question uh to fully take on some of the functions that are currently delegated to Boeing uh would take an act of Congress and it would potentially take thous
ands of new people at FAA uh in order to do that we would have to be budgeted for that and we would have to be authorized for that but the only thing that should drive any of these debates is safety and and answering the question what is the safest possible structure going forward yeah we said no fatal crashes in US airspace in the last 15 years but those Max crashes were fatal they had just been sold by our American company to foreign Airlines so they happened overseas um one other thing I'd li
ke to ask you about secretary you ran for the presidency in 2020 you said it is time for a generational change at the time you said the years ahead of us can't be led by the men of the past basically now you work for the Biden Administration President Biden has said his memory is fine his mental stamina is fine but he's also an 81y old man so I mean if your pitch back in 2020 was we need younger leaders is that still the case four years later look as the youngest member of the cabinet obviously
I believe that uh young leaders have a lot to offer uh I think at the end of the day what matters most uh in when you think of all of the strengths and weaknesses each of us brings to the job age youth experience originality judgment it's are you making good decisions and are you doing a good job and I'm proud of the job that President Biden has done and I'm proud to be involved with with the work that he's leading whether it's fixing airports or driving down the of of insulin to $35 a month for
seniors or getting rid of junk fees or finally dealing with climate change with the biggest most significant uh action on climate that's been undertaken By Any Nation in human history and I think what that demonstrates is the focus on the future that's reflected not just in the age of any individual member of the government but in actual policy decisions that are being made and this administration's policies are about the future you proud of the decisions he's made are you confident in his abil
ity to do the job though two three four years years from now yeah I wish everybody could be in a room with him the way that I often am and see the level of detail in his attention to the issues that we work on and the intensity that that he brings uh to uh all of the things that that we're responsible for U he's a leader that uh has challenged me to be better at my job and I think that's part of why you have the historic results that we're getting out of this Administration all right secretary P
ete Budd but I wanted to ask you by the way can we do anything about like TSA people yelling at me in the line I always feel like that's the most chaotic part of the airport experience I'll tell him to stop it okay sounds good thank you so much have a good day take care thank you okay one more quick break when we come back fake it till you make it or at least until you own the building one last thing is next so the question is okay here we go oh my are you kidding me what would you do you just w
on't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and Cal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John konas [Music] here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC tonight the election interference case against former president Trump the hearing on misconduct claims against the Georgia da plus the latest on the victims of the Kansas City shooting more Americans turn to the most watche
d newscast on televis World News Tonight with David mure inside that pen is a slice of human brain I've never seen a place like this in my life oh my god look [Music] wow you're watching America's number one streaming news ABC News live reporting from The Hanger collapse in Boise Idaho I'm Melissa Adon wherever the story is we'll take you there you're streaming ABC News live and one last thing you ever host a party and one guest just won't leave you've turned off the music you've thrown out the
trash and they still just can't take a hint now imagine that guest is overstaying their welcome and claiming your house is now theirs for years a guy named Mickey beretto has held himself out as the rightful owner of the New Yorker Hotel this iconic artart Deco building right in the heart of of Midtown Manhattan it's ABC's senior investigative correspondent Aaron kki following the story of a New York City man named Mickey beretto who is recently charged with several counts of false filings but t
he charging documents are way more bizarre than that it all started back in 2018 so according to charging documents 5 years ago this guy Checks Into The New Yorker Hotel which is pretty nice and gets a room I think it was you know $149 a night the next day instead of checking out he apparently goes goes to hotel management and says I'd actually like to lease this room the way you'd rent an apartment the hotel says no thanks beretto left his belongings inside the room kind of claiming his Turf an
d and then he left and he was evicted from the hotel they gathered up the belongings and tossed him out but beretto took the hotel to court and due to a quirk in the city's rent stabilization laws he was actually able to claim the room back in the day after World War II there used to be all these New York hotels populated by single men looking for work and a clean bed the city saw to it that certain hotels had to offer them leases under rent stabilization laws the New Yorker despite now operatin
g as a Windom is still one of those hotels so beretto moved in and allegedly didn't stop there filing paperwork with City agencies claiming that now because he legally resided in one room he was actually an owner of the entire property he demanded rent from its tenants and he registered the hotel under his name with City agencies for you know water and sewage payments and then he demanded the hotel's bank transfer accounts to him dude was allegedly walking around like he owned the place in fact
he allegedly called the fire department at one point identifying himself as the owner telling them the building had to be evacuated and while these ployes often didn't work it's tough to deny someone like that in the moment because he knows laws and housing policies better than anyone else on site well yesterday prosecutors proposed a new address for him a jail cell he was arrested uh and he is charged with 14 felony counts of filing a false instrument 10 misdemeanor counts of criminal contempt
and uh prosecutors intend to take this all the way to trial and beretto hasn't been convicted in fact he hasn't even had a chance to plea yet he's continued to Proclaim he owns this building despite court rulings to the contrary but I can't help think of how many other famous swindlers have tried schemes that sound something like this inventing Anna the Dropout the fire Fest of the world these are stories of people boldly proclaiming almost pathologically to own that which they do not own to hav
e status they have not earned it's possible anywhere but it's always easier when you've got Antiquated laws on your side and some bureaucracy to boot all this reminds me by the way ABC News Studios has a new installment of its documentary The housewife and the Hustler I don't need to tell my bravo fans about this it's about the celebrity TV housewife Erica Jane and her husband the lawyer Tom gerardy fascinating story I'm going to be extra careful opening my next hotel door who knows what dude is
camping out there I'm Fred milky see you [Music] tomorrow this is ABC News live the crush of families here in Poland at Refugee centers in Putin's Russia on the ground in Ukraine close to the front line from the capital destructive Cat 4 storm along I Boston is in the bullseye let's go ABC News live America's number one streaming news anytime anywhere streaming 247 straight to you for free thank you for making ABC newsline America's number one stream big news I just heard G shot breaking right
now a US military member home for the holidays found dead every officer had their cameras rolling how on Earth did this happen he gleaves the door comes down the steps and boom I can see his eyes you knew he was gone yeah now Friday night exclusive interviews my wife almost passed out and a father confronts his son's killer love honor and betray all new 2020 Friday night on ABC first thing in the morning there's a lot going on get another Avalanche warning that's up to catch you up with what hap
pened overnight a dangerous ice storm is impacting the morning commute what's happening today escalating tensions in the Middle East what people are talking about the migrant crisis fast straightforward with some fun in between how does billionaire sound sounds good to me the Moose started chasing a dog first thing in the morning America this morning America's number one early morning news on ABC News live from America's number one news source comes the allnew ABC News app breaking news Incredib
le video faster smarter and it can customize to you and your interests if you love being in the know you're going to love this experience what all the buzz is about experience the allnew ABC News app download it now reporting from monay Park California I'm Robin Roberts wherever wherever the story is we're going to take you there you're streaming ABC News live hi I'm Dian meedo today on ABC News live First We are following three big stories right now first the Super Bowl Parade tragedy one perso
n is dead and 21 injured after a mass shooting at a chief celebration what we're learning about the shooting the victims and the three suspects detained former president Trump's legal troubles are playing out in two states today he's expected to here in court in New York for a hearing involving a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels and a hearing in Atlanta could decide the fate of his election interference case in Georgia we have Team coverage and we'll follow the Atlanta case live th
roughout the morning plus the potential nuclear threat from space a top house lawmaker's warning of what he calls a serious national security threat what sources are telling us about this big deal from Russia we begin with the deadly shooting at the Kansas City chief Super Bowl victory parade this is the moment shots started being fired you can see some in the crowd initially don't react Witnesses told ABC news they thought they were hearing fireworks at least one person is dead nearly two dozen
injured including 11 children police say three suspects have been detained but investigators are still trying to piece together what happened our Alex Perez was there an investigation underway after a day of Celebration turned deadly gunshots erupting in a crowd of nearly a million people outside Union Station in Kansas City there celebrating the chief's Super Bowl win of stage such a joyous moment for the city and the bringing everyone together and then in a split second it's all ruined 21 peo
ple shot one person killed the ordeal unfolding Wednesday afternoon just as the chief's Victory rally was ending terrified fans running for their lives jumping barriers I was standing watching the stage and the shots were fired and then everybody just started running all of a sudden it sounded like fireworks and we're like oh okay and then my daughter yelled get down get down roughly 800 members of law enforcement were present all rushing to the scene as police snipers scamed the crowd from roof
tops that fatal victim identified as Kansas City radio host Lisa Lopez Galvan a local DJ and mother of two today in Kansas city was a day to celebrate we woke up this morning excited and the last thing we ever expected was to have a tragedy in our family her brother Bo Lopez talking to GMA overnight this is another example of a real loving real human whose life was taken tragically with a senseless act police detaining three people of interest and recovering at least one firearm right now we do
not have a motive um but we are asking those who may potentially have any kind of information a witness or video to contact police and this morning harrowing stories from Brave bystanders Paul contras and Trey filter seen in this video taking down a man believed to be a suspect as he fled the scene I didn't hesitate it was just just do it so I went to go attack him and other gentleman did the same thing the heroes restraining that person until officers arrived this video capturing officers subdu
ing him I just feel we did what was the right thing but we had to do among those shot several children some as young as six the one word I would use to describe what we saw and how they felt when they came to us Was Fear the Chiefs confirming no players or staff were injured and Diane you can see this is still an active crime scene the FBI is now working with local authorities they're asking any bystanders who may have video of the incident to contact police Diane all right Alex brez in Kansas c
ity thank you and ABC News Morgan Norwood is also in Kansas City with more on this Morgan what's the latest on the investigation and these three suspects well good morning Diane this is Union Station right behind me right where that gunfire erupted we still have police here on the scene pretty active scene as Alex was just pointing out they have this area shut down uh for blocks as they continue to investigate but Diane we are talking about a celebration that in a split second turned into chaos
there's evidence of this all over right we see personal belongings I see lawn chairs out in the distance just evidence that people had to you know leave their stuff behind and take off running for their lives we know that police are interviewing Witnesses at this hour canvasing this very large scene as Alex pointed out they're asking for video um of this incident anything before and after as they try to piece together the timeline of all of this we know that three people are in custody and at le
ast one gun was recovered here from the scene Diane so Morgan what do we know about the victims in the hospital yeah 22 gunshot victims one person dead we know that that was a beloved radio personality identified as Lisa Lopez Galvin a mother of two her station tahano um saying that their hearts are broken but as you pointed out we've got a number of people still in the hospital this morning and that includes children um 12 uh in the hospital nine of them shot um the injuries for all age groups
they they vary right from minor to lifethreatening but when you think about the fact that there were children who came here to celebrate with their parents you know uh this occasion having to run for their lives and then also going to be left with not just the physical scars but the emotional ones as well but for those who weren't injured they they're going to have questions about how something like this could happen during such a time of Celebration Diane all right Morgan Norwood in Kansas City
Missouri thank you and two court hearings involving former president Trump are set to get underway shortly the former president has arrived at a New York City Courthouse house for a hearing in the hush money case involving adult film star stormmy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougall it's scheduled to be the final hearing before Trump's first criminal trial he faces 34 counts of falsifying business records stemming from payments he allegedly funneled to Daniels and McDougall ahead of the 20
16 election the former president pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing meanwhile the district attorney Prosecuting Trump and 18 codefendants in the Georgia election interference case is facing allegations of misconduct a judge is set to hear testimony on whether Fulton County DA fony Willis's relationship with one of the top prosecutors on the case is improper Willis has been subpoena to testify and the judge says she could be disqualified if evidence shows she financially benefited from
the case we have Team coverage of both hearings let's bring in senior investigative correspondent Aon kerski outside Court in New York Senior reporter Katherine falers ABC News legal contributor Brian buckmire investigative reporter Olivia Rubin outside the court in at Atlanta and ab news contributor and former Georgia prosecutor Tris Timmons is also here for more Olivia let's start there in Georgia how can we expect this Fulton County hearing to play out today well Diane today is really the day
for the number of defendants to put forward all of their evidence that they say shows this uh allegations of misconduct the conflict of interest between Fon Willis because of the relationship with Nathan Wade and remember what the judge has said he wants to hear is evidence about the timeline of the relationship and specifically evidence that may show that she financially benefited because of that relationship as the defendants alleged so it's on the defendants today to show what they have and
we know that Mike Roman's attorney one of Trump's C defendants is going to sort of be leading the charge today Ashley Merchant has subpoenaed about a dozen Witnesses for Testimony today that includes fonnie Willis that includes Nathan Wade and the judge has said that they might testify today we are also expecting testimony Diane from a witness named Terrence Bradley he is a former associate of Nathan Wade and now actually his lawyer but apparently what he is going to be testifying to is the time
line about the relationship and specifically rebutting claims made by the DA's office that the relationship started after Nathan Wade was appointed so we should see a number of witnesses from the defense today again all who are going to try to be proving their point as they seek for the da to be thrown off of the case and of course the DA's office is pushing back there saying there was no misconduct there is no wrongdoing and they also said that they are going to put fonny Willis's father on the
stand who will rebut some of that evidence so a big day here a lot still up in the air but a number of witnesses set to testify Chris how high is the bar for disqualification in a misconduct hearing like this very high Diane I mean so they've got to make their burden really really high U because in this situation you don't want defendants to be able to pick what prosecutor is going to be handling the case and so the judge is going to be expecting to see serious and and also uh highly relevant e
vidence that's going to show that there's some sort of financial misconduct here the reason why the timing on the relationship matters is because the allegation is that fonny Willis brought this entire case so that her uh romantic partner Nathan Wade could financially benefit from it and thus she could benefit from it as well so there allegations that there's travel that she received as a result of his appointment in this particular case and then there are also allegations of uh forensic miscond
uct but it should be interesting and it's going to be one of those cases where it's going to change minute to minute the judge indicated that he may rule uh to keep out certain evidence even without an objection and that too is going to be unusual Katherine former president Trump's also trying to get the federal election case against him dismissed claiming presidential immunity so what's the latest on that right we know that Jack Smith the special counsel asked the Supreme Court uh last night th
at they shouldn't intervene that was the the position there but but the latest is we're waiting to hear on whether the Supreme Court decides whether or not to get involved if the Supreme Court says no we're not going to stay these proceedings then what happens is it goes back to the district judge the district judge overseeing this and then there will be another schedule set by that judge now remember this was scheduled to go to trial uh in March and that obviously has been pushed while Trump ap
peals so if it does in fact go back to the district judge then that judge will likely set give at least two months according to Legal experts at least two months for Trump to prepare for the trial so uh the bottom line is here we wait on the Supreme Court what their decision is and then we'll go from there and meanwhile Trump is in New York for this hearing in the Stormy Daniels hush money case so what can we expect there today former president Trump arrived here a short time ago Diane the last
time he was at this Courthouse it was historic a former American president for the first time being arraigned on criminal charges now as all of our uh colleagues are are explaining courtrooms are commonplace for the former president and indeed an integral part of his campaign today he's here for a hearing to determine when the hush money case is going to go to trial the former president has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records involving a $130,000 payment to stormmy Daniels made on
the eve of the 2016 election and the way prosecutors here see it this is the original election interference case because in their view Trump was trying to hide from voters information about an alleged trist with Stormy Daniels and his effort to try and buy her silence the judge is going to consider Trump's request to dismiss the case in all likelihood he will reject it and then set the case for trial perhaps as soon as late next month now Brian falsifying business records is usually a misdemeano
r so why is Trump facing felony charges here so in the state of New York falsifying business records is typically an A-Class misdemeanor punishable by year in jail and what that means is that you falsify business records for the purposes of um deleting erasing altering destroying uh a number of ways that you can falsify records that's a misdemeanor but if you do that plus your intented of fraud is connected to another crime or to Aid and conceal another crime then it becomes a E-class felony pun
ishable by up to 4 years in jail but there's no minimum so you can get probation so here what the district attorney is saying is it's not just that concealing of information or destroying or altering but it's in terms of aiding abetting a crime and what they're saying is that's campaign Finance crimes and other federal crimes as well all right Ain kerski kathern falders Olivia Rubin Brian buckmire Chris Timmons thank you all and we will bring you that Fulton County hearing live when it happens a
nd have much more on both of these cases throughout the day right here on ABC News live Meanwhile we're learning new details about a potential nuclear space threat the head of the house intelligence committee is demanding more information about what he calls a serious national security threat now two sources tell ABC News the threat involves a Russian plan to put nuclear weapons in space Chief Global Affairs correspondent Martha radit has the latest startling new Intelligence on a Potential Thre
at from space sources telling ABC news that the US believes Russia is working on plans to position a nuclear weapon in space a blatant violation of multiple International agreements the intended target not Earth but the critical satellite circling around it vital for communications and military operations moscow's military Ambitions coming to light after the Republican head of the house intelligence committee Mike Turner sent shock waves through Washington by cryptically urging the Biden Adminis
tration to de classify intelligence about what he described only as a serious national security threat the White House caught off guard you definitely are not going to find an unwillingness to do that when it's in our national security interest to do so at the same time we of course have to continue to prioritize and focus very much on the issue of sources and methods will do that lawmakers on the hill also tight lipped but some including the top Republican in the house trying to ease cons con E
R I want to assure the American people there is no need for public alarm we are going to work together to address this matter steady hands are at the wheel we're working on it and there's no need for alarm Russia's space program has fallen behind countries like the US China and even India so experts say Moscow is likely trying to gain an advantage but that it's still cause for concern because it's proof of how far Putin is willing to go the idea of catastrophic space terrorism blowing up you kno
w billions of dollars investments in low earth orbit we we think that's not credible we think that's crazy and uh but unfortunately uh the Russians and other folks are willing to do the kinds of things that we uh think is Unthinkable National Security adviser Jake Sullivan will be on the hill today briefing leadership but sources tell me Sullivan was Furious that Congressman Turner flagged this intelligence before the scheduled briefing meanwhile the Russians are saying this is all about getting
Aid to Ukraine Diane all right Chief Global Affairs correspondent Martha Raditz thank you meanwhile sources say White House officials are trying to calm fears after Turner's public warning sources say there is no imminent threat and that Turner's announcement could have revealed how the US collects intelligence information chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce has the latest on that part of the story well the White House is clearly baffled by chairman Turner's decision to go public with th
is they say the president has been tracking this situation and specifically asked asked his National Security adviser to engage with Top members of Congress in this meeting today the Senate intelligence committee also says they have been rigorously tracking This And discussing a response it is still not clear why chairman Turner decided to do this I caught up with him on the hill yesterday and he refused to offer any explanation his motives still uncleared though he has long been sounding the al
arm about Russian aggression his other Hill colleagues were also caught off guard by this lawmakers I talked to who had seen this intelligence described it as significant and concerning but again stressing this isn't cause for panic and of course all of this is coming as the president is imploring House Republicans to pass additional funding for the fight in Ukraine to fend off Russia and admit an ongoing debate about the renewal of foreign surveillance Authority Diane chief White House correspo
ndent Mary Bruce thank [Applause] you Israeli forces are storming gaza's main hospital saying Hamas is hiding there there the Hamas ran Gaza Health Ministry says at least one patient has been killed and six others injured in a statement the IDF says it's conducting a precise and limited operation inside NASA Hospital looking for Hamas hiding behind injured civilians foreign correspondent marus Moore has the latest from Tel Aviv Israel Hi Marcus well hi Diane Israeli forces are storming the NASA
hospital this morning they say searching for members of Hamas who they've accused of operating or conducting military operations out of of the hospital and they are also searching for the bodies of hostages that may be held inside there had been uh reporting from at least one hostage who was rescued uh that they were held in a hospital room there for many days for several days during their captivity um Israel ordered an evacuation of hundreds of Palestinians who had taken shelter inside the the
hospital there and they have set up reportedly facial recognition cameras outside the the facility to identify any members of humas who they said might try to exploit the evacuation um we understand that there are 450 patients and 300 staff members uh inside of that hospital they were not ordered to evacuate uh but right now Israel is saying that they have already detained uh several suspected Hamas members in the midst of this operation that Diane uh could go on for a couple of days Marcus Moor
e in Tel Israel Forest thanks Marcus coming up the federal investigation into a medication shortage at hospitals what we're learning about the critical excuse me critical drugs in short supply and the new probe underway and the two cases related to Donald Trump in two different states why the former president is expected in a New York City courtroom today as another hearing plays out in Atlanta we have Team coverage throughout the [Music] day I just heard gunshot breaking right now a US military
member home for the holidays found dead every officer had their cameras rolling how on Earth did this happen he gleaves the door comes down the steps and boom I can see his eyes you knew he was gone yeah now Friday night exclusive interviews my wife almost passed out and a father confronts his son's killer love honor and betray all new 2020 Friday night on ABC so the question is okay here we go my are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one'
s watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and cile Bell along for the ride all right let's break it is John konas here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC whenever news breaks we are here in Israel a nation at war after that brutal surprise attack by Hamas on the ground in Ukraine reporting from Leon Maine the scene of a horrific mass shooting ABC News live is right there everywhere from the scene of that deadly missile strike in De
na Ukraine reporting from the earthquake in Turkey in Rolling Fort This Tornado tore through this little town from the most devastating disaster in Hawaii from Charleston South Carolina on the 2024 can Trail in Iceland let's go traveling with the president in Mexico City wherever the story from the front lines from Southern Israel outside the Gaza Strip in beir from the FBI reporting from the nurses on the picket line here at 10 Downing Street in London streaming live to you wherever the story i
s wherever the story is wherever the story is we're going to take you there you're streaming ABC News live ABC News live you're streaming ABC News live ABC news live streaming free everywhere America's number one streaming news welcome back to ABC News live here are some of the top stories we're following right now three Washington DC police officers are injured and a suspect is in custody after an hours long standoff police say they were trying to serve the suspect an arrest warrant for animal
cruelty when he opened fire through the door they say he finally surrendered after 12 hours and 31 dogs were recovered from the home the wounded officers were taken to the hospital with non lifethreatening injuries the 46-year-old suspect now faces charges for animal cruelty and the assault on officers the Federal Trade Commission is investigating a medication shortage hospitals are reporting issues getting some generic chemotherapies and Other life-saving Drugs now the agency is looking into wh
ether some manufacturers can no longer afford to produce them more than 90% of Americans depend on generic drugs for their prescription and a Michigan woman is facing charges for alleged ly selling designer clothes that she had rented prosecutors say Brandel horn rented $800,000 in clothes in accessories from various fashion rental companies but they say instead of returning the items she sold them according to the complaint horn opened hundreds of accounts even using the company's own pictures
to sell the items if convicted she could face decades in prison we'll be right [Music] back night the election interference case against former president Trump the hearing on misconduct claims against the Georgia da plus the latest on the victims of the Kansas City shooting more Americans turn to the most watched newscast on television World News Tonight with David mure I just heard G shot breaking right now a US military member home for the holidays found dead every officer had their cameras ro
lling how on Earth did this happen he gleaves the door comes down the steps and boom I can see his ey guys you knew he was gone yeah now Friday night exclusive interviews my wife almost passed out and a father confronts his son's killer love honor and betray all new 2020 Friday night on ABC inside that pen is a slice of human brain I've never seen a place like this in my life oh my god look [Music] wow why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know
and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R murl Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here here first thing in the morning there's a lot going on got another Avalanche warning that's up to catch yo
u up with what happened overnight a dangerous ice storm is impacting the morning commute what's happening today escalating tensions in the Middle East what people are talking about the migrant crisis fast straightforward with some fun in between how does billionaire sound sounds good to me the Moose started chasing a dog first thing in the morning America this morning America's number one early morning news on ABC News live Whenever Wherever news breaks it's so important to always remember that
lives are changed here in London in Buffalo yaldi Texas edinb Scotland reporting from Rolling Fork Mississippi Ukrainian refugees here in warong we're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City getting you behind the stories as they happen ABC News live Prime we'll take you there stream ABC News live week nights wherever you stream your news only on ABC News live I'm lindsy Davis reporting from Rolling Fork Mississippi wherever the story is we'll take you there you're streaming ABC News
live welcome back to ABC News live first two court hearings involve our former president Trump are set to get underway shortly in two different states the former president has already arrived at a New York City courthouse for a hearing in the hush money case involving adult film starred Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougall that hearing scheduled to be the final hearing before Trump's first criminal trial he faces 34 counts of falsifying business records stemming from the payments he
allegedly funneled to Daniels and McDougall ahead of the 2016 election the former president pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing meanwhile the district attorney Prosecuting Trump and 18 codefendants in the Georgia election interference case is facing allegations of misconduct a judge is set to hear hear testimony on whether Fulton County DA Fon Willis's relationship with one of the top prosecutors in the case is improper Willis has been subpoena to testify and the judge says she could b
e disqualified if evidence shows she financially benefited from the case we have Team coverage of both of those hearings let's bring in senior reporter kathern falders ABC News legal contributor Brian buckmire investigative reporter Olivia Rubin who's outside that court in Atlanta and ABC News contributor former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons for more Brian let's start with this hush money case in New York this is the last scheduled hearing before this case goes to trial so how significant is
what happens today and what are you expecting to see ex significant in the sense of for the defense is a lasest effort to try to either dismiss or throw out the case or try to narrow the evidence that's going to come into the case to make it that it's the best arguments that they can make going forward also it's about scheduling and as we've seen with the with the cast of colleagues we have today Donald Trump is going to have a lot going on in the coming months and there is the former president
walking in now we saw him enter the uh Courthouse itself um earlier but now it looks like he's making his way to the courtroom itself he often will stop and talk to the Press before entering the courtroom and there he goes let's listen I've heard and read even from legal Scholars said there is absolutely no case here it's not a crime this is not a crime and when you look at what's going on outside of the street where violent crime is at an alltime high uh I think it's it's a very very it's a gre
at double standard the other thing this case could have been brought 3 years ago there is no case they decided not to bring it the district attorney brag didn't want to bring it he said he doesn't want to bring this case but it's not a crime we're here for something that is not a crime nobody's ever seen anything like it what it is is election interference it's being run by Joe Biden's White House his top person was placed here in order to make sure everything goes right this is this is a this i
s a terrible time for our country this is a real dark period for our country his top person called Angelo and some others have been placed into the DA's office to make sure they do a good job of election interference there's never been anything like this in the history of our country with all of this being said I look outside I look at the streets it's so different from when I left New York it's so different it's dirty and it's crimer R and today you walk down this Street you get mugged or you g
et shot and they're doing this where literally legal experts legal Scholars said they don't understand it there's no crime and there was no crime here at all this is just a way of hurting me in the election because I'm leading by a lot we're leading by numbers that nobody's ever seen before and they figure this is their way of cheating this time last time they had a different way this time they have something that's really down and dirty that no frankly no country does other than a third world c
ountry a Banana Republic so we're going to do our process they want to rush it because they want to get it desperately before the election if it goes before the election that's what they want to do they don't care after the election they wouldn't have brought this except for the fact no way except for the fact I'm running for president and doing well if I were doing poorly they wouldn't have brought it and frankly uh if I didn't run they would have been extremely happy because they don't like me
running and they don't like the numbers the poll numbers have as greeting him by a lot so that's where we are I'll talk to you later after we don't know what's going to happen we want delays obviously I'm running for election I can't how can you run for election to be sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day long I'm supposed to be in South Carolina right now where other people are and where again this is where I should be I shouldn't be in a courthouse for something that virtually every le
gal scholar says they don't understand it there's no crime even if he was guilty of something there's no crime so I will say that uh enjoy it it's a sad thing it's a sad day for New York they really do look I love this city and I love this state they have to focus on violent crime that's taking place outside you have a new form of crime now you have migrant crime migrants are trying to beat up our police officers they're trying to do things that we've never seen before actually we are going to h
ave a problem with I call it Biden migrant crime because you have millions of people came into this this place this country that has been so badly hurt and they're they're doing things that nobody's ever seen before so you have violent migrant crime and they're after me for doing nothing wrong you know I paid almost $300 million in taxes over the period of time $300 million and they say oh let's get Trump out you have people that it's everything is politics in this city including decisions and j
udges and everything else it has to straighten out and they have to focus on violent crime not madeup crime thank you very much we'll see you later Mr President can you expand on your former president Trump outside a New York City courtroom where he's facing a pre-trial hearing in the hush money case involving porn star Stormy Daniels we heard the president once again allege as he has before that this case is being brought for political reasons I want to go to our senior reporter kathern falers
because Katherine you have been following every detail of this case since the very beginning so what do you make of hearing the president saying that the timing here essentially a suspect that the only reason they're bringing this case now is because it's the election year and they are trying to hurt him for political reasons they being the Biden Administration right and he said that the only reason for this is for quote unquote election interference I think it's important to point out here that
Trump specifically said before the camera that he shouldn't be there he should be in South Carol ol in he should be out campaigning but the reality is he is using the courtroom and all of these Court appearances by the way which he doesn't have to attend a lot of these he does not have to attend in person until the trial so he's using these as a political platform and regardless of of what case uh he is attending or what hearing he is attending in any various case he he tends to say the same th
ing and and you you heard him speak there and I just want to point out he's standing there next to his top lawyer Todd blanch but even in the back of that photo you could see a lot of his campaign AIDS so it just shows the political in the legal blending together and Trump essentially using the courtroom as a as a political rally in a way so these are comments that you will hear from Trump constantly you know that a lot of what he has said there for example is what you hear on the stage he talke
d about on the campaign stage he talked about migrants he talked talked about violent crime he talked about the Border all of these are are campaign issues for Trump not legal issues for Trump so I'm sure we will continue to hear from him we know that that camera is out in that hallway he could potentially come out again and look we could see him in courtrooms in the next couple weeks uh looking ahead to other cases as well Brian we also repeatedly heard the former president say this is not a cr
ime this is not a crime this is not a crime falsifying business records the charges at the heart of this case are usually a misdemeanor so why is being charged with felony charges here so break down a little what I think he's getting at is paying hush money in of itself is not a crime typically this is a misdemeanor to conceal destroy omit information from a business record what's unique about this case and what he's talking about from the other legal Scholars is not many and I haven't seen this
at all have seen the falsifying business record as an E felony used where they say you falsify a business records and then you do it to conceal or to Aid uh another crime that other crime being a federal crime or campaign crimes That's Unique in its sense now does the da have to kind of carry this heavy weight of saying hey we're doing this new form of prosecution in a different way yes but at least from the steps they've taken so far it does seem to make legal sense it's just a unique charge g
ot it all right Olivia what's it stake in Georgia there fonny Willis is before this hearing potential improper you know Behavior there with her relationship with one of the top prosecutors in the election interference case there against the former president several codefendants so what's at stake for fonny Willis today and how could this impact the case against former president Trump in Georgia well what's at stake is her continuing to prosecute this case Diane what Trump and his codefendants ar
e seeking is for her and her entire office to be removed from Prosecuting the case and the indictment dismissed entirely now I spoken to a number of experts who don't none of whom believe that the indictment is going to be dismissed over this but the judge has indicated there are concerns about the relationship and the allegations that she potentially financially benefited and she denies any you know allegations of misconduct and denies that she has a conflict of interest and today is going to b
e the time for the defendants to put forward the evidence that they have so you can see Nathan Wade is in that courtroom there are multiple defendants in that courtroom uh uh Harrison Floyd and David Schaefer are in that courtroom who we don't usually see we don't usually see defendants come to these hearings so it's very high stakes uh you know the the attorney for Mike Roman Ashley Merchant is going to be the one leading the charge here today she has subpoena dozens of witnesses and the questi
on really is Will fonnie Willis and Nathan Wade have to take the stand today the judge has not ruled it out but we don't know if it's going to happen because he's indicated that it does in a way depend on what earlier Witnesses say so we're I think you can hear the judge now getting underway but it's very high stakes here with fonny Willis before what are you watching for in this hearing uh with that I turn it over to miss merchin is there anything that we would need to take up well uh D we're w
atching for the hearing is who's got a testify it's just exactly what Olivia said I mean so we've got Terrence Bradley who will probably be among the first Witnesses he's Nathan Wade's uh attorney in the divorce case there's an issue as to whether or not the should discuss testimony with any other witness or watch any kind of live proceeding or recording and it looks like that hearing is getting underway let's listen into the courtroom Chris thank you excuse from uh being called today are there
any exceptions to this Rule n a mistake any from the defense no than okay Mr AB yes your honor and prior to starting uh any testimony um the state would just like to address I guess an housekeeping matter an issu of the Court as relates to what was represented um during the previous hearing um as it relates to uh witness testimony specifically the testimony of the uh former law partner of Nathan Wade uh that be Mr Terrence Bradley and what uh the c or what the state would like uh the Court to un
derstand and realize is that in preparation for this hearing um and speaking to Witnesses uh and uh doing the additional research as it relates to the comments that were uh represented by Council specifically uh Council for Mr Roman uh Miss Merchant that we've been able to determine that the claims that the defendant has asserted and did assert and during the last hearing on Monday are not only legally meritless but are factually unsupported um by the statements that Miss uh Merchant made to the
court um what I would say are they're patently false um they are egregious misrepresentations of what is believed that Mr Bradley would say or even knows and what I would uh bring to the Court's attention in my speaking with at the defense Council for uh Mr Bradley um Mr Chopra is that um anything that he any knowledge of anything he would have would be protected under the attorney client privilege um he would assert that um and that privilege has not been weighed uh by Mr Wade more importantly
the representation was made to the court that Miss Merchant spoke to Mr Bradley and that Mr Bradley represented that he had firsthand Knowledge from speaking to the several witnesses um that he would be able to impeach with the statements she represented um that there was a relationship prior to um Mr way being appointed um special prosecutor and that um there was issues with cohabitation that he would be able to directly impeach um those witnesses that is patently false in speaking with Mr Cho
pra um those are misrepresentations that are not true they are um for the purpose of harassment and undo burden uh to the district attorney and we'd asked to renew our motion to quash and the only hearing we should be having is a hearing as it relates to sanctions for um the defense council's lack of cander that's required by not only statutory law the professional rules of responsibility and case law and we uh asked it we move into a hearing that that is related to the sanctions due to the misr
epresentation and flagrant um falsehoods that have been spread throughout the world um in in an effort to affect this case and to keep it from moving forward with that your honor um that's our request so just small matter of housekeeping yes all right Miss Merchant um Judge first the witnesses haven't been sequestered so I just ask that they be sequestered before we argue this or more argument I know Mr is still here um so we just ask that he leave since he is under subpoena um that let's let's
start there Mr Bonnie well I I would agree when testimony starts that the rules of SEC could rules of sequestration um would require Mr way to leave but that we haven't started testimony this his argument he's lead counsel for the case and he has every right uh to be sitting at the table okay Miss Merchant let's hear from some witnesses judge let's actually hear some sorn testimony under oath um I have made propers and it just seems like all we're going to get is objection after objection becaus
e the state clearly does not want any witnesses to stand doesn't want the truth to come out in front of the court this is a very important issue and we need to have witnesses I have a good faith basis learn I have a good faith basis and Mr Bradley is not my only witness to this good faith basis it is just happens to be the evidence I offered at the hearing when the state first tried to keep all of the other Witnesses off the stand I was forced to profer certain testimony to get over the hurdle t
o uh refute their motions to quash I did that I used Mr Bradley's testimony to do that he is not the only witness that can state that there was a relationship prior to Mr Wade being hired um the first witness that I'd like to call is Robin YY not Mr Bradley no privilege issues let's start with her we have um additional argument or matter to be brought up do we want to do it like I just stand up and with relation to what's just been said by Mr aate or are you want hearing from this Merchant at th
is point I just need to know the Court's protocol on that sure so I think it at this point we just need to take these issues one at a time and as you've joined the motion I think defense Council would have the opportunity to weigh in but again at any point if uh I'm just hearing the same thing over and over again from each separate defense Council I'm going to reserve the right to say thank you I I appreciate that I only ask for the opportunity heard on the invocation of the attorney client priv
ilege and the burden being on the individual raising the privilege to prove that a privilege in fact was in existence before we get to Simply get the clim that's that's what I asked question sure understood so Miss Merchant I do want to put it back to you though the uh issue raised by the state this morning is that the essentially as I would summarize it the good faith basis that you did put forward on Monday um did not exist right so why wouldn't we start with Mr Bradley and see where we go fro
m there judge the good faith basis does exist so you basically have them saying it's not true and me saying it's not true so we both that they think they have a good faith basis I think I have a good faith basis I have a huge good faith basis for everything that I put in every single motion um that's going to come out the reason I don't want to call Mr Bradley first is for hearing objections quite frankly um and you know normally we don't have to disclose how we're going to present evidence um I
'm okay doing that here but based on the Rules of Evidence hearsay and privilege issues what makes the most sense and we' been a lot of time thinking about this which makes the most sense is for us to have this year to testify and if you want me to profer what I anticipate she's going to say I talk to her last night she's going to say that there was a personal relationship that began in October of 2019 she's going to testify to that and she has personal direct knowledge of that it's not hearsay
and it's not privileged she's going to take the stand she's terrified but she's going to take the stand and tell the truth and then I plan on calling Mr Wade because at that point I can overcome their tion to quash and bring Mr Wade bring him to come then I can go through privilege issues with him and then I can have Mr Bradley testify and we won't have to have an objection to every single question I asked Mr Bradley an objection to hearsay an objection to privilege so that's how I plan on prese
nting the evidence because it makes the most sense and I think I'll be able to overcome any privilege objections we can talk about that when Mr Wade takes a stand all right Mr body uh any last words on starting with Miss Y and going from there taking it a witness at a time we're watching a hearing play out in Georgia right now in Atlanta surrounding the district attorney from fton County and the election interference case against former president Trump and 18 codefendants the question is whether
that da fony Willis is uh is is guilty rather of of improper conduct for relationship she has with Nathan Wade another top prosecutor in the case we were watching the attorneys go back and forth here I want to bring our legal Brian buckmire and off a little context on what's happening in court because Brian we hear a lot of the term good faith being thrown around and a lot of what we're hearing today hinges on testimony from Terrence Bradley Nathan Wade's former business partner so why the back
and forth that we're seeing right now so right now we're talking about the order of the witnesses coming forward on Tuesday or earlier this week the hearing Ashley Brad uh Ashley uh Merchants sorry the the attorney there who said that Michael Michael uh Bradley sorry Bradley thead ter Bradley thank you Terrence Bradley has the direct information that can impeach everyone as to this relationship well the issue of starting with someone else is privilege and heares it easiest way to do it is this
privilege is my clients they have an attorney client privilege so someone can't testify to what they and I said that's going to have an objection hear say an out of court statement said for the truth you two both great friends of mine you Diane know my son's name because you have seen him you've interacted with him you've seen me call him that name John has never met my son if he was to testify as to what my son's name is he only knows it because I told him that that would be hearsay and so thes
e kind of rumored gossip testimony can't come in as I understand it Terence Bradley would have to start because he has the unimpeachable information to put forward to say that this relationship actually happened got it all right let's listen into what's happening in court now you may on Zoom I'm not will miss Partridge or uh sorry Mr Partridge was joining us by Zoom but Mr Y is here in person right Mr Partridge I believe represented that his client would be more comfortable if he were here in pe
rson and that due to his conflict in Richmond County this morning couldn't occur until this afternoon I think that is a reasonable request but not the state's business um the witness is here if her if her attorney is able to join right now um perhaps that can be something that is addressed with this partridge in the court but I I want to alert the court that was the representation the witness would prefer not to go forward without the client present and that's certainly a reasonable reest sure I
think the latest i' seene though that was that Mr Partridge was going to be able to join by Zoom great I I didn't know that he had Rec that Mr Partridge had um affirmed that but perhaps that was a email this morning that um I know yeah I I don't know either um but the state seems to know that Miss YY is here so I guess she's not appearing by is Mr Partridge here we'll find out so we are watching a hearing underway in Atlanta Georgia questioning whether or not the fton County district attorney u
h is is guilty of misconduct there due to her relationship with the top prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against former president Trump now that prosecutor she has a relationship with is Nathan Wade we saw him actually sitting just to the right of the edge of the screen right now moments ago uh but the prosecutor in the case uh the the the attorney bringing the case um had asked for all potential witnesses to be sequestered from the courtroom so we now are no longer seeing W
and Wade you can see his empty chair there um no longer allowed to watch these proceedings unfold as he may be testifying In This Very case I want to go back to our legal contributor Brian buckmire here to offer a little context of what we've seen so far because Brian this is sort of a complicated case this is being brought by Michael Roman who's a former Trump Aid who's one of his codefendants in this Georgia election interference case they are alleging misconduct by fonny Willis the da because
of her relationship with Nathan Wade but there are several questions at play as to whether that constitutes misconduct including when the relationship started and what the benefits were from that relationship so can you sort of put together those pieces of the puzzle right now yeah so the idea that fonny Willis knew Nathan Wade prior to his appointment as a special prosecutor the point that Ashley Merchant is trying to bring forward is that that relationship started before he was appointed if t
hat occurred that's one issue but it's not the issue the other issue becomes is the money that he was paid exuberant amount a lot of money more so than what Ashley Merchant is saying that typically a special prosecutor would get the question that becomes did he take that money and then create a benefit for fonny Willis through these um trips through kind of recording her the romance if I get you paid a lot of money and you then use that money to take me in a bunch of lavish dates I'm then benefi
ting from it exactly and that's the issue here and did fonny w do that with the intent to benef for herself that would be a conflict of interest that would be a reason to potentially take her off the case and maybe her entire office and as the uh Merchant is trying to say a reason to dismiss the indictment but that's that's a bit of a long ask I want to bring in Chris Timmons as well cuz Chris you actually worked with fonnie Willis what can you tell it what's your reaction when you hear the alle
gations about her relationship with Nathan Wade and whether or not this was misconduct sure so I I think it's there's a couple issues at play here um with regard to the misconduct it really has to do Brian's absolutely right as to whether it's Financial misconduct as opposed to personal misconduct but I think the other issue that's in play here and something that hasn't been brought up yet is that Terrence Bradley was at one point Nathan's Wade's attorney in his cob County divorce case and that'
s really where the attorney client privilege comes in it's not just that they were business partners but rather that Terence Bradley actually represented him now where that comes in is if Terence Bradley learned about when the relationship started the deepness of the relationship or anything about the finances of that particular relationship if he learned that as Nathan Wade's attorney then it's not going to be admissible be protected by what we were refer to as the attorney client privilege mea
ning anything that you say to your attorney during the course of that relationship when that's relationship as attorney client that means that it can't be brought out even in a court hearing so there are a few different barriers to Bradley's testimony here attorney client privilege as well as hearsay that's correct I mean I think you know it it depends on so some of that's going to be hearsay coming from Nathan Wade and there's an exception there for what we refer to as a statement by a party op
ponent or an admission by a party opponent but really it's a statement by a party opponent so if Nathan Wade said it to Terence Bradley you got a couple of hurdles there the first hurdle is the statement from Nathan Wade to Terence Bradley that's probably accepted from the hearsay rule under that statement to party opponent but then the next step is getting Terence Bradley's statement from wa Nathan wade into the courtroom and that's probably going to be protected by the attorney client privileg
e BC Chopra who was represented earlier as the attorney for Terrence Bradley is a well-known respected defense attorney out of cob County he indicated at least through what we heard through Mr Abate was that any statements with regard to the relationship would be protected by the attorney client privilege and so without th those statements we're probably not going to hear a lot unless it's coming from a third party now there may be other folks that know about that relationship but Brian's absolu
tely right those statements wouldn't be admissible unless that person actually saw something not just what they heard and and while this is all playing out in Atlanta former president Trump Trump is in a New York City courtroom in the hush money case surrounding porn star D Stormy Daniels and uh Playboy model kathern McDougall I want to bring in our ex executive editorial producer John santui for that because John first of all just react to this split screen the number of cases former president
Trump is facing right now that we're seeing both of these related hearings playing out in two different states on the same you actually can't make it up I mean both literally gaveled in at 9:30 this morning both have done Donald Trump named as a defendant Donald Trump wanted to be in Georgia the problem is you can't be in two places at once so obviously this is going to be an amazing day playing out in Georgia because it's on camera but in New York Donald Trump is doing what we've seen him do fo
r the last several months Diane he of course spoke to cameras entering criminal court this morning he's in there right now and the judge in that case is moving very quickly so here are the headlines so far at the moment we have a trial date March 25th Donald Trump is going to have to be in this Manhattan Criminal Court every day moving forward for the next several weeks once we get started that will obviously go like a normal criminal proceeding there will be jury selection there will be Witness
es that'll called and Donald Trump is going to have to sit there which is different than what we've seen so far in the other cases that Donald Trump has popped into court he's just visited when he felt like it but under a criminal statute as Brian you know far better than me he has to be there every day for these proceedings which is going to make very tough for Donald Trump being a candidate for president trying to be on the campaign Trail and being in that courtroom Diane all right and let's l
isten back into that courtroom see what's happening in Atlanta Georgia all right well Miss Merchant do you have any other Witnesses available well we have Mr Bradley um we can have him testify um but again we're probably going to have a lot of objections with um privilege and so I might trity first but I know that Mr Partridge the rle in that this morning I having a conflict sure so but I can I what I could do is I could call Mr Bradley and then I could bring him back exactly I think you can alw
ays you can always recall them we can ping pong back and forth if we need to based on uh hearsay issues but at least we can use this time until Mr Partridge chooses to join us is he on the zoom or not Mr Partridge or or miss on no not the wew of no okay just wanted to check I don't all right soos call your next witness then all right we call tery we're watching a hearing underway in Atlanta Georgia on misconduct allegations against the Fulton County district attorney bringing the election interf
erence case against former president Trump uh attorneys have just called called Terrence Bradley to the stand he is the former business partner of Nathan Wade one of the top prosecutors in that case and a prosecutor alleged to have had an improper relationship with da fonnie Willis so let's listen understood thank you thinking is someone getting Mr Bradley in yes I believe so oh the sheriff's gone okay sorry normally I'm sorry are the sheriff's well when I call a witness will the sheriff's not s
ound for them uh I don't know if they're going to know where they are okay so I think it'd be best if maybe someone from your team okay and they're not going to know what they look like either not a problem he's outside yeah all right and now we just watched the attorney walk outside of the courtroom they're having some issues with the witnesses it seen they wanted to call one witness but that witness is not in court because the attorney couldn't be there and the witness did not want to be there
without the attorney then they thought maybe on Zoom that didn't happen now they're trying to find Terrence Bradley it seems who's Nathan Wade's former business partner and also his attorney in his divorce proceedings Brian why the back and forth over who's being called and and how well any attorney defense or otherwise has the ability to perform or put on a case where they want it they start with this witness rather than the other this seems to be more technical in terms of okay this person do
es have their attorney there clearly their attorney needs to be there so they don't say anything incorrect or incriminating uh but I thought especially at the beginning of this that Terence Bradley would be uh the first one to testify because from what we heard he's the Lynch pit everyone else heard things but Terence Bradley is the one who can corroborate it and has firsthand information about it now Ashley Merchant seems a little hesitant which makes me think I was kind of joking saying she do
th protest too much uh in terms of putting him forward he is the lynchman he should be the one to say this is what I saw this is not protected by privilege this is not hearsay and then every else can go from that so it's it's kind of interesting to see the delay so how do they distinguish between things said to Terrence Bradley as just Nathan Wade's former business partner versus things said to Terrence Bradley as Nathan Wade's divorce attorney that's difficult it's going to come down to context
I I would assume um I have clients who would tell me hey I'm going to McDonald's before uh I come to court that wouldn't be covered in an attorney Cent privilege because it's not in furtherance of the itself but if you're my divorce attorney and I'm talking to you about my ex or about a relationship going forward that could affect I don't know maybe how much my ex might want to take in terms of divorce settlements or or Alam anything like that I would think that's all covered so any extra marit
al Affairs anything that happens between him uh him being Terence Bradley and Nathan Wade I think it's going to be a very difficult case I think we're going to see a lot of sidebars in this case where he's going to open his mouth we're going to get an objection a sidebar being when both attorneys come up before the judge we don't hear what's being argued and then John and I are going to go back and forth as to what's going on but this is going to be a very limited hearing from what I understand
and how just the Rules of Evidence are going to March along and I want to bring in ABC contributor former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons for more on that Chris what's your reaction to seeing the way this has played out so far well I'll tell you as as a trial lawyer it's always nerve-wracking trying to get your Witnesses onto the witness stand um that that's a normal and can really cause you a bit of stress what I think is interesting here is where the judge has got to air um if there's any que
stion as to whether a statement or something that Terrence Bradley learned in the case whether it's as uh we see Terence Bradley coming and into the courtroom now if he learned this information as Nathan Wade's attorney it's going to be protected he learned it as Nathan Wade's friend then it's not going to be protected but I think the judge is going to air on the side of finding that he learned it as Nathan Wade's attorney rather than as a friend all right and Terence Bradley's taking the stand
now just took his O Let's listen t e r r n cley b r a d y your honor as Mr W's Council before we start we would requesters to talk about5 before we get why does that need to be in camera um does it necessarily well there's statements that could be made that could be prejudicial depending on whether they recovered or not whether he's going to break the so at the time a question is asked that you think implicates some of those statements object and we'll handle it than on behalf of Mr Bradley and
I apologize this is not our proceeding but it might be helpful to have a brief sidebar as opposed to Something in Chambers at least so that we could let the court know our position rather than having to restate it repeatedly and judge I've carefully crafted my questions to avoid any privileged information um but if they think that I'm invading that then I welcome an objection and I'm happy to address it let's see how it goes and again Mr Bradley I'll ask if you can just give a pause in between e
ach question to allow Council the opportunity to object before answering thank you judge did was the witness warn or do I need to the Witness believe he was great thank you I'm sorry good morning Mr Bradley how are you good morning um not happy to be here I'm assuming I am not okay I understand thank you for being here um wasn't by choice right um You Were subpoena to come and testify in this case I was and but you and I have spoken previously about um relevant facts surrounding um Mr Wade and W
ell's relationship no we have not we have not we've not texted about those facts through a third party um you were giv some information you and I shared text our text were more so about my health um more so about um if I was okay with what was going on um that I would not be um whether or not I was going to be subpoenaed or not and that um emphatically I would not have been sitting in this position as being called as a witness so that's what my takes change show um so no that we've never talked
about um Willis and Wade having a relationship not directly you and I no we talked about my health okay we talked about um as I stated before um other things but not this no okay um did you text me about um Wade and Willis taking many trips together I there's been an objection one I'm going to object as it relates to attorney C privil two I'm going to object because I haven't seen the text message that she's attempting to impeach uh the witness with uh and he's made all of his representations si
nce that he said zero Communications as it relates to the issues that um Miss Merchant continues to ask about and that the only information that she has from him is through a third part which would be hearsay Miss Merchant um judge is not hearsay um we've had these conversations if I need to take the stand I will um if I need to put my phone into evidence I will so the first objection was to uh privilege on behalf of the state oh I'm sorry I did not respond to that thank you judge um privilege i
s only Communications that are made in furtherance of legal advice there's been no showing that whether or not they took a trip to to California or took a trip or that Mr Bradley and I talked about that um either in person or by text that that's privileged that's not I'm not asking for any Communications that Mr Wade might have made to Mr Bradley in furtherance of any legal advice all right and Mr AB body U I believe as the one asserting privilege it would be your burden to show the necessary Fo
undation there is that something you want to V he the witness on or take up here on the specific question well no I'd also object to Foundation ground she has not um provided any foundation that he have any knowledge of what she's um requesting he his answers were he had no knowledge and now she's she hasn't laid the foundation in order to continue to ask the same question over and over Miss merch behalf of Mr Bradley we do object This falls under the Privileges of for under 1.6 of the rules and
the attorney client privilege is not something that Mr bra can wa only Mr Wade can wa it regardless of any information or communication being cered by the CL Mr Wade would have to wave them in order for Mr Bradley to continue to testify about any of this relationship until it's been established when that privilege should have begun sure and so far though I haven't heard anything about a relationship about an attorney client relationship about a privilege ever attaching and I think that's going
to need to be established before we can actually determine the scope of it and whether This falls inside or out of it so I think either Miss Merchant can take the lead if she wants to but uh my understanding was that generally has to fall on the person who's asserting the privilege except for the attorney is not authorized to violate that privilege or else he has in fact violated the bar rules which we have an opinion regarding from someone in the State Bar of Georgia all right that's why I thou
ght perhaps a sidebar might be important rather than not inter well I still want to kind of see how we can go so Miss Merchant uh it sounds like you're going to need to bit lay a little bit more Foundation to see whether this actually is uh is going to fall under privilege or not that's that's not a problem judge and and what I can do um I was just told that Miss y's in the waiting room um but I can um if the state wants to read my texts if Mr Bradley wants to read them to refresh his memory I h
ave absolutely no problem with that um I have my phone here and they're welcome to do that but I'll I'll talk about some other things and then maybe um if they're going to have a lot of objections to privilege and he say what I can do is I can lay a foundation with Mr Bradley get him off the stand put Miss YY up um and then Mr Wade so we can get through the privilege issues that might make the most sense thank you um all right let's talk about something not controversial then when did you and Mr
Wade first meet um probably 1998 okay and um did you all have a firm a law firm together we did when did that firm start um probably I think it was 2010 we started um exclusively working together as a firm operating as a firm okay and were you all actually incorporated as a firm uh not initially no uh he had um uh when I um passed the bar and I hung with shingle in ' 07 um I think he had been practicing um a few years prior to that he had his own firm we had two separate firms okay at some poin
t did you all incorporate though together we did do you remember about when that was um I do not at this particular moment ma'am I'm sorry okay um do you remember if it was administratively dissolved I've been made aware that it's been administratively dissolved yes I left the firm around two years ago when did you leave the firm um August of 2022 I think it was August of 2022 okay we the August or September of 2022 okay August September let me make a note so at um in October 2019 were you all i
ncorporated as a firm I think we were maybe okay yes and when Mr Wade filed for divorce November 1st or 2nd um 2021 were you all incorporated as a firm we should have been U I'm thinking that we we were yes ma'am okay um when did Mr Wade come to you to file the divorce action in cop County that's that's privileged information the the timing and the beginning of the privilege I don't believe that is overall so the timing was around 2018 um and it was probably December um 2018 I remember it specif
ically because I was building a house um and I noticed that he wasn't wearing his ring I asked him about it I had invited him to the house because I was having a not a house warming but people over uh and he wasn't wearing his ring I inquired about it from there we discussed um what would happen um and we discussed the divorce and what would happen What would happen with the divorce what would happen over over to me representing him for the divorce and when when he would want to do it yes when d
id he retain you well um my memory would be 2018 okay when he um consulted with me about the divorce and told me what he would like to see done and when he wanted to do it okay um um do you know when fonnie Willis and Nathan Wade met specific dates no um I know it was sometime at a conference um Municipal Court conference correct okay um and um October 2019 um if if it's been represented in in the state's pleadings before that that's when they met does that sound familiar if that's if that's wha
t they're saying then absolutely I know it was at a conference in 200 I mean it was at a conference I don't to if you say it's 2019 I'll take you at your work okay so it was at a you what you're sure of though is it was at a municipal courts judges conference yes when they were both Municipal Court judges yes so it's fair to say since she became district attorney she was no longer a municipal court judge so it had to have been before that that they met yes yes and um he was teaching a class at t
hat seminar as far as you know I'm going to object as Del leeting at this point she has mother was he teaching a class at this seminar to my knowledge he was and was Miss Willis to your knowledge attending the seminar your honor I'm going to object he has no personal knowledge he wasn't present at the at at the Municipal Court training they put it in their pleadings like we are going to be here all day um we are going to be here all day all right uh if you can establish that he would have some p
ersonal knowledge then then that's a fair question so if you just need to preface it with that then that's fine thank you um are you aware of when their romantic relationship began I know going lates to privilege he says that he began representing U Mr Wade in 2018 he met Miss Willis in 2019 that's clearly within the bounds of attorney client privilege there's a understood Mr R so I think Miss Merchant you need to qualify that uh question um thank you I'm not asking you to tell me what Nathan Wa
de told you in furtherance of legal advice okay so I want to be very clear if he told you something asking you legal advice I'm not asking you about that I'm asking about what you observed what you saw and what you knew outside of what he told you when he was specifically seeking legal advice okay this is too far a field I apologize I object again on behalf of Mr Bradley he's asserting that there is an attorney client privilege associated with this case under rule 1.6 for him to draw any inferen
ce making the statements or any other profer of information after this relationship began between attorney and client December 2018 would be improper and he would in fact be violating the rules of Ethics associated with his bar license so the way the question was phrased was just saying what did he personally observe outside of the relationship not involving Communications how does that fall with an attorney client privilege the honor whether we like it or not when we have a client there are a n
umber of items associated with that relationship between attorney and client that come within your purview and that lead you to fur action further investigation further questions develop your strategy we can't talk about Mr Wade on any level it would be inappropriate the divorce was filed sometime thereafter during that entire interlude any of these issues could in fact have formed the basis for their relationship to remain privileged M Merin judge his observations are not privileged that's not
what the privileged law says and I can I can read you the attorney privileged attorne client privilege attaches where and this is the law this is the rule there is an attorney client relationship the communications in question relate to the matters on which legal advice was sought and the communications have been maintained in confidence and there's no exceptions to the privilege first on number two the second prong this was not in furtherance of legal advice that's not in furtherance of legal a
dvice what he witnesses as a human being is not in furtherance of of legal advice unless I mean and and if he Witnesses them together it would get rid of the attorney client privilege because Miss Willis is there um additionally though exceptions we can go all day about exceptions to this draw to the court that's an exception Mr Wade we can has filed a false affidavit with this court that is fraud to the court if this witness has direct knowledge that that is not true then that's an exception to
attorney client privilege all right um Miss Merchant if you could Reas that question again qualifying it as if it's I think you qualified it as anything that outside of anything he learned or was told as a result of his representation it was just any observations he made which in my mind as you phrased the question would have included before December 2018 when this first consultation occurred right uh I think if you can go step by step uh we can handle this and and judge I would just ask permis
sion um we gave the state notice under 611 that all of these Witnesses do not want to be here they are adverse Witnesses I understand yes so I'd like to heavily waiting to be able to cross it thank you judge um all right Mr Bradley yes ma'am in um do you have knowledge that their relationship began in 2019 I do not have knowledge but again I have consulted uh with the bar um as late as yesterday today at 4:00 um I am not here to your testimony is that you do not have independent knowledge I cann
ot I was advised by the bar that rule 1.6 of confidentiality applies and that I cannot reveal anything that I saw or learned and that if the court is asking me to do that that an immediate certificate of review should be asked and so I'm not here to um misrepresent to the court or to say anything inappropriate or or anything I am here because I also have a law license and I'm not trying to lose that and so Mr Valley can you finish that thought is saw or learned just period without qualification
whatsoever judge I'm going to refer to what I was told by the bar that rule 1.6 confidentiality applies and that I would be asking for an immediate review by the Supreme Court sure but applies to what any Communications is what the person at the bar told us any Communications he did he did not qualify to Mr Wade that's covered well judge I I don't know um he didn't go into those specifics um but this is what was told I was sitting there U with my attorneys and this was what was told to us to sta
te that rule 1.6 applies um and we gave them the scenario and this is what they told us to do and this is what I'm doing at this particular Point Jud we have no knowledge if the bar was aware of the AFF David that Mr Wade filed um but that significantly changes the privilege um he waved the privilege when he put that in the affidavit so that's one of the reasons I wanted to call him that's a waiver he put the relationship in the in the um when the relationship started and put the relationship in
his affidavit he put a lot of information in that affidavit that would wave certain amounts of privilege so he disclosed this relationship so basically what we've got is we've got Mr Wade being able to say what he wants about this relationship but then we're not allowed to ask questions to qualify that um so that's that's not how it works they either get to to admit it or they don't either privileged or it's not we're just talking about relationship though how does that open the floodgates to a
nything he's ever told an attorney during representation it it doesn't and I'm not asking him that I'm asking for his knowledge they were law partners and as as I go through the questions I think he has knowledge of things that is not something that Mr Wade specifically told him I also think there's a fraud exception to a lot of this even if there was a privilege but I don't think there was for most of it but he's already represented that he has no knowledge about that I don't think we've actual
ly gotten anything to that extent yet uh I think we're still making our way through it which is uh I think he's taking the position that he's not willing to share anything Mr Wade ever told him period which that's a a broader representation of attorney Cent privilege than I've ever heard and uh I think that's what we're trying to parse out is if there's a if the relationship starts I've never heard anything that said everything before that point is privileged do you have something that I should
know yes sir apologies that's fine before that relationship these questions aren't being established it was 2018 December the last question was directly related to a point in time after that during which the relationship attorney and client would have been already established he has a an opinion from the state B of Georgia if he's going to be required to testify need ordered by the court on any of these issues and judge I understand how delicate this is you can phrase it in a thousand different
ways to try to make him say something but you can't unring a bell that he puts out into the universe where he has violated that privilege we're going to get to go back 6 months from now and say oh we shouldn't have said that it's not acceptable it violates hundreds of thousands of relationships in this state that we rely on in order for the justice system to function this is an attorney client privilege issue we've done all the diligence we can as far as looking up the relevant laws the relevant
information we do not have a waiver from the client the client is present there's there's no question why we're not barreling ahead is because I recognize the privilege what uh what we have to determine is actually what that privilege the scope of it and when it started and I don't think we've even gotten close to that yet I apologize J I thought December 2018 Mr Bradley testified directly that is when the retainer and the divorce proceedings were beginning the issues then brought up by the St
have to do potentially if I've been so we have we have a starting point right uh but does that necessarily uh foreclose anything from that point onward if they started talking about something else entirely post divorce of course not your hon but during dep pendency it would absolutely curtail that especially as it had to do with observations attendance um functions together or other realizations that Mr Bradley came into during the the dependency of his representation to parse it to parse it out
would put Mr Bradley in an untenable position because his reputation means everything okay Mr St down you I think we're talking about two aspects of arguably the attorney client privilege there's the attorney client privilege which is controlled by case law and statute which deals with Communications and ordance I don't hear that being the objection the objection is that there are confidential matters under 1.6 which in some form or fashion mean that once you start a relationship attorney clien
t that everything from that point on is confidential between the two of them there is no such case law in Georgia that deals with confidential information of that time attorney client yes confidential information no and I believe what's being argued by Council Mr Bradley is that he has received of course we don't have anything in write it but we he's received some oral advice that under 1.6 confidential matters cannot be gone into which is according to them everything that occurs between Mr Brad
ley and Mr Wade from 2018 forward there's no such law that protects such confidential only Communications made in F and if I mistaken I apologize but I think what we're being told is I don't have to say anything at all about Mr Wade once I have an attorney client relationship with him because it would be deemed confidential and if it's deemed confidential I can't talk that and there's no such case law to that effect in Georgia there is no bar rule to that effect the only thing the court has to d
o is say are we talking about attorney client privilege or pure confidences or confidential information once you decide is confidential information you ordered Mr Bradley to testify and then it's up to his Council to decide whether he wants to have his client held in contempt after you've ordered him to testify and Jud that's an over statement we have not said that he can't testify to anything the specific question on the table is What observations do you have between Mr Wade and M Willis from t
hat point on now they the defense and their teams have made an allegation of some impropriety that same impropriety could be related to a divorce proceeding on every level we're not here to say we're not talking we're here to say we're not talking about things that came into his knowledge associated with his representation during the divorce I realize there's an evidentiary standard and then I realize that there's a Cornerstone of what we do which is the bar rules the State Bar rule 1.6 we viola
te that and the whole thing comes tonging down we're not saying that you can't ask about did Mr Wade enjoy a beer at that wasn't a question the question was specifically relating to some impropriety that they were trying to dig into that is privil and more importantly Mr W Mr Bradley has said twice now that he has no independent knowledge as it relates to what she's referencing she he has said it two times so there's not a good faith basis for her to continue to probe into this area because he s
aid he has no independent knowledge outside of the attorney client privilege all right Miss Merchant last word yes judge um judge Mr Bradley if ordered he's here by subpoena if ordered to testify he it's it's not a issue with the bar um my question was not about attorney client privilege and being very careful not to ask anything that Mr Wade asked in furtherance but I've been informed that Robin YY is on the zoom and so if we want to start back on our original plan we can call Miss YY and have
her testify and then put Mr Wade up and we can go through the privilege issue with him and then we won't have to have all these objections or else I'm I'm happy to continue questioning Mr Bradley all right so Mr Miss merch you're saying that your understanding of the evidence that you plan to present that these issues are affected by Miss YY in terms of the scope of the privilege and the relationship no I think and no let me thank you for letting me clarify that I think that Miss YY is going to
give me enough to get Mr Wade on the stand once I get Mr Wade on the stand because they filed a motion to B and you said I had to present something before I can put Mr Wade on the stand so once I present Miss YY I can put Mr Wade up on the stand and then I can put him up before I call Mr Bradley and then I may not even have all right uh judge sorry who's I'm I'm on Zoom attorney Deon par judge on behalf of Miss yardi y honor when we were here for the motion to quash earlier this week is my under
standing as represented by defense Council that Mr Bradley's testimony is uh so to speak the bridge that was built to involve my client uh Miss Yi into this this matter alog together now it seems as though that is being usurped and now she is being the quote unquote foundation for defense council's uh presentation this morning so we do object to that judge and would renew our motion to quash The subpoena because this is completely contradictory to what we uh had via the hearing earlier this week
y judge it's okay M mer um Mr Partridge as I recall that did not apply to your client as much the uh original motion to quash that you filed said she had absolutely no knowledge about anything what Miss Merchant profer and what I didn't hear you saying was not the case is that at some point Miss JY lived in a residence and shared a residence with Miss Willis and potentially Mr Wade at some point so I think she's directly involved in the center of this I don't think that really needs much in the
way of foundation um and judge I apologize your honor to to talk over the court that that information however Y is my understanding came from Mr Bradley and that information was incorrect as I informed the court early this week as well there was never any time that Miss yardi and Miss Willis lived together uh there was a sublet of a condo that Miss Willis resided in that had absolutely nothing to do with that of Miss yardi outside of Miss yardi subletting it to Miss Willis Miss YY actually move
d into a different residence uh part of our conversation with Miss Merchant yesterday that that is exactly what it is there was no overlapping or any time that they stayed together nor does Miss yery have any information as it relates to Mr Wade staying at that condo as well with that of of Miss Willis so again judge I I'm renewing we don't need hear again Miss Merchant luckily I don't have to tell the state or them everything that I plan on introducing a witness for in response to their motion
to quash she has a lot of personal knowledge and when we had a motion to quash I had to get over a good faith basis and I presented that to the court I did not spend four hours going through everything that This Woman's going to testify to she has personal knowledge is she actually here I think she's on Zoom what I understand Mr Partridge Mr Partridge is your client with us she she's on the zoom platform y honor since I'm in Richmond County on uh via my conflict but she is on the zoom platform a
t this time y in the waiting room I believe she may have been admitted I see a robin on my screen I'm assuming that that is my my CL Merchant you went to examine her by Zoom that's fine all right we will wave any sixth amendment objections to that's fine my only objection was the was the representation at Monday's hearing was the good faith BAS was based on what uh she learned from parents Bradley and we know that is false it's not true so there is no good B basis and we would renew our objectio
n and to clash the that was not in regards to Missy it certainly was I I it was at like the 20 minute mark from hearing judge she has personal knowledge of this relationship not what was represented on Monday the personal knowledge came from Mr Bradley she has no good faith basis to explore this fishing fishing Expedition as it relates to miss this is a blatant uh Miss Merchant I do believe that when we went through the motion to quash there were you group them into two categories and each one o
f them we said that they were going to be impeached by Mr Bradley there there were well we took Miss YY outside of Fon County judge so we talked about fton County differently um than Miss YY you took Miss YY out separately she was different than Fon County because there wasn't other issues and and again so we're arguing a motion to quash I responded to their argument on the motion to quash do did I tell them that she's going to testify that she's known Miss Willis for years and that her middle n
ame is Latrice no I didn't tell them everything she's going to testify to I don't like if you wanted me to I could have but that has nothing to do there is a witness that contradicts what they have said in court and they're doing everything they can to keep her off the stand and keep the truth away from this court they filed a motion to quad I showed a good faith basis if my good faith basis is Mr Bradley or Miss YY or texts I've seen it's still a good faith basis there's no law that says I have
to tell them every single good faith basis I have ahead of time if we did we would never have trials R right Miss Merchant uh appreciate the argument of council I think uh the standard on a motion to quash and a subpoena is not one where we're required to completely flush out and litigate every reason the witness may be relevant and so we'll take these one at a time with Missy uh I'll deny the motion to quash and if if your um ele election to proceed in your presentation of the evidence is to c
all her then that's what we'll do thank you judge so Mr Radley you may be excused for now thank you but subject to recall we will call Mr YY a hearing underway in Atlanta Georgia on misconduct allegations against fton County's district attorney fonnie Willis who is bringing the election interference case against former president Trump and several codefendants they're switching Witnesses right now after calling Terrence Bradley uh to the stand but facing a number of objections during that process
let's listen in now' for to the testimony should get a court be the truth will help you yes would you please State and spell your full name for the court Rin Latrice yod thank you Miss Yi um thank you for being here can you can you tell the judge um when you first met Miss [Music] Willis um in college okay so 19 probably 90 or 91 okay and have you been friends since 1990 or 91 yes okay um when was the last time you spoke with Miss Willis um March of 20 March of 2022 okay um from 1991 till 2022
were you what you would consider good friends with Miss Willis yes um and did you all share personal information regularly yes and um did you even come and work with her at the DA's office yes and um when she needed a place to stay um did you let her stay at your apartment you're I'm it was a condo right condo yes okay do you remember approximately when she moved into your condo um it was a ail of 2021 okay great and um you know that Miss Willis and Miss Wade met at a Conference in October of 20
19 I'm going to object to that your honor without a foundation for how this witness would know that if Miss Merchant can establish he has personal information of that then um certainly that's something the witness can testify to but if it's she heard I'm M cross all right Miss uh Merchant if you can lay the foundation do you have information that Miss Willis and Mr Wade met in o October of 2019 I'm going to renew my objection your honor information is not sourced to personal information if the q
uestion can be rephrased then that may address my concern so so judge I let me I just want to make sure that I understand so they've objected to me calling Willis and Wade it's just it's just a matter of foundation if you can just rephrase do you have knowledge of when Willis and Wade met I'm going to object again personal knowledge overruled thank you do you have personal knowledge of when Willis and Wade met yes she told me that they met at a conference I don't know what conference okay I'm go
ing to renew my objection your honor clearly this is not firsthand information from this um witness it's here say that was but she said she told me yes it's it's statement against interest judge if Miss will is just pause I'm sorry okay Mr Cross the representation of the witness the testimony of the witness was that Miss Willis district attorney Willis had a conversation with her there is no statement against interests district attorney Willis is not a a party opponent in this case the informati
on that the witnesses testified to came from Miss Willis and there's uh we have a hear objection to that why wouldn't she be considered a a party opponent in this context she's a representative of the state your honor this isn't private litigation or civil litigation obviously the the courts aware this is um Miss Willis is not on trial Mr Willis has not is not a party to the litigation outside her obligation to pursue criminal char for the state Miss Merchant I guess I guess it's it's evolved in
to a hearsay objection yes judge and um we plan on calling Miss Willis to the stand she's under subpoena so hearsay will be cured uh if there is a hearsay objection as as far as that issue but we do still think that it's a statement against interest um Miss Willis has filed a document that states that they met at this Municipal Court conference so I'm you I I think maybe I can streamline a little bit state will stipulate that district attorney Willis and uh Mr Wade met in October 2019 at the jud
icial conference that we've been talking about there's no reason to get it secondhand from this witness we that's that's true all right you accept the stipulation Miss Merchant yes all right am I permitted then to to ask questions about that since it's now not hearsay uh if it's just to a stipulation if it's just to that basic fact I don't think we need a question but if there's a followup you think is admissible go for it Miss Yi um you have personal knowledge that Miss Willis and Mr Wade began
their romantic relationship soon after this time that they met at the municipal court I'm going to object to that question that certainly is a leading question no Foundation has been laid for how this witness would have personal knowledge of that until that's happened in the state of JS judge I think you can do a yes or no and then follow up with how she knows it thank you um do you know if Miss Willis and Mr Wade started dating in October of 2019 I don't know if it was October of 2019 could it
possibly be November of 2019 could possibly okay and when we spoke you said it was shortly after the Municipal Court conference though correct yes okay so you know that their relationship their personal relationship began shortly after this Municipal Court conference yes and when I say personal romantic is that is I just want to make sure we don't get in an argument over what personal and romantic is later when I ask you personal do you take that to mean romantic yes okay and do you understand
it that their relationship began in 2019 and continued until the last time you spoke with her yes and you were essentially her best friend during this time right not best friend good friend good friend okay close friend and so would you frequently socialize with her yes okay um and you saw her at work every day yes so you had a chance to see them interact together on a personal level yes um and so from everything that you saw heard witnessed um it's your understanding that they were in a romanti
c relationship beginning in 2019 yes and um when you left the da oh I'm sorry let me ask you um you said that Miss Willis came to live with you in April of 2021 I'm sorry April 1st 20 20 or 2021 she didn't live I never I never live with her okay I'm sorry she took over your lease in April April 1st 2020 correct no 2021 20 okay I'm I had it both ways so I'm glad you clarified so when she took over your lease in April 1st 2021 it's your understanding she moved out of the house that she was sharing
with her father and started staying at the condo yes and is it your understanding that that's because she needed to have her own space yes away from her father yes okay um when you left the DA's office was it um were you fired no I resigned you resigned okay just one moment um can you tell us why you resigned to the DA's office um the number of things that was happening a number of things that were happening is that what you said ma'am yes okay what what was happening that you that caused you t
o resign um it was a spiral of things so um I guess the the last draw is I was put in a department that I knew had no knowledge about something happened and I didn't like it they didn't like it and that was it okay did you have any falling outs with Miss Willis well we never spoke after that you never spoke after that okay um and so you're you know without going into all the the painstaking details there is no doubt in your mind that from 2019 until 2022 um Miss Willis and Mr Wade were in a roma
ntic relationship what's the question um you have no doubt that their romantic relationship was in effect from 2019 until the last time you spoke with her no doubt okay and that's based on your personal observations and obser and you know speaking with them and seeing them together and things like that yes okay no other questions thank you the other the other folks may have some questions for you Mr say down want me to go to uh if it's more than a couple questions then sure but if not a couple q
uestion I think can the court reporter hear me okay uh ma'am let me be very specific did you talk with Miss Willis about her romantic relationship with Mr W yes did Miss Willis tell you on more more than one occasion that she was engaged in a romantic relationship with Mr Wade prior to you leaving the District Attorney's office did she tell me or did I observe I'm St right now with to tell me yes did she tell you that in the year of 2020 yes in the year of 20 21 yes are you certain that Miss Wad
e told you I'm Sorry Miss Willis told you about the Romantic relationship with Mr Wade prior to November 1st of 2021 yes now did you also have observations of Mr Wade and Miss Willis together prior to November 1st of 2021 yes and are those observations were those in a social setting yes and Did You observe them do things that are uh common among people having a romantic relationship yes such as can you give us an example huging kissing this affection all of all before November 1st of 2021 correc
t yes that's all I have Mr STS ma'am did I understand you to say that there was a period of time when you and Miss Willis lived together no Mr Durham no nothing for me you're on Mr McDougal nothing your H Mr rice good morning Mr YY um are you were you aware in 2021 of any trips social trips that Miss Willis and Mr Wade took together no are you aware of any social trips that Miss Willis and Mr Wade took together in 2022 no and are you aware of them in 2020 or 2021 spending the evening together ov
ernight no no F Mr Gillan no Mr Mulla and Mr Cromwell no question let cross I do have some questions thank you your honor is y we haven't met before is that correct correct you're able to see and hear me okay yes all right I want to start with a couple things now I think you've made it it clear that you never lived and we'll call it the South Fulton address the South Fulton condo that you were leasing you never lived at that address with the district attorney Willis correct correct and never at
any time never all right you never observed or have any information about district attorney Wade and district attorney Willis and Nathan Wade living together correct correct you don't have any information about that no I don't anybody said that that information was sourced to you then that's incorrect that's incorrect did district attorney Willis pay rent at that establishment at that condo while you while she lived there and you were living elsewhere yes who paid the rent she didn't Nathan Wade
ever pay the rent no and you never told anyone otherwise I didn't answer I didn't hear your answer there miss y did you ever tell anyone otherwise no all right so let's talk for a second about your time at the District Attorney's Office you were disciplined several times in the District Attorney's office office during your employment there correct no you weren't written up ever for poor performance Mr y once not several one time you were written up for poor performance where you counseled sever
al times about your performance in the district attorney's office that was subpar no did the district attorney tell you that your performance was insufficient and that you were going to be fired no that never happened no maybe when we went at the end what's the question question Miss YY was did the district attorney ever counsel you on your poor performance in the district attorney's office uh prior and inform you that you were going to be fired um I don't really know how to answer that I'm look
ing for the truth I I I don't really know how to answer that I mean a situation happened that wasn't my fault and I I either was going to resign or be let go so you understood that that was the situation you could resign or you could be let go correct yes you were not welcome to stay no and the conversation where you were informed that you could resign or you could be fired uh that conversation was not the first conversation you had with the district attorney about your poor performance in the o
ffice correct well it was kind of a spiral but no yeah it was whatever the situation was com question understood Mr M cross Miss YY the circumstances of your leaving the District Attorney's Office uh ended your friendship with the district attorney Willis correct yes y all haven't spoken since no all right I want to talk about the representations that she made here um this morning Miss YY about any relationship between district attorney Willis and Mr Wade I wanted you to tell me what was the fir
st time any let me ask it this way you said that district attorney Willis personally informed you of a romantic relationship is that what you testified to yes when did that conversation that you report to have uh to recall when did that happen I mean I don't have a month or or a day but just talking just talking in general you want you'd like to keep this witness under umena but that's all the questions I have right now all right thank you m cross I cross I mean redirection sorry all right on th
ose points only yes just those points um the state asked you a lot about um when you were let go when you resigned um did something happen as far as um purchasing that you didn't feel comfortable with purchasing things through um the county from Miss Willis that caused you to to not be comfortable working there anymore no um and I didn't tell you how to testify here today though right right okay and everything you've testified to is from your personal knowledge yes okay and um you've told the tr
uth here today yes okay um judge I believe she's only under my subpoena and I'm fine releasing her from that subpoena not yet oh I'm sorry by show of hands from other Council starting with Mr s you honor I believe the door has been open now to ask this particular witness about statements that um Miss Willis made to her um she brought it up on Cross examination on a couple of occasions did Miss Willis say this or inform you of that so I'd like to now ask your questions directly about what M Willi
s told her about romantic relationship I think we'll take those one at a time question by question and we can address those to see I don't I don't know about a complete opening of the door we'll we'll see where we go the first time that you spoke to Miss Willis about her relationship romantic relationship with Mr Wade do you happen to remember what Miss Willis said in essence not word for word but in essence what she said no do you remember the first time she told you in whatever words were used
that there was a romantic relationship no is this the kind of conversation that you had with your best friend uh ongoing over a period of time in which it was common knowledge to you that there was an ongoing relationship between Miss Willis and Mr Wade what's the question yeah I'll ask it again is the nature of your then relationship with Miss Wills such that you were having these ongoing conversations that is best friend type conversations about her relation ship with Mr W I don't remember wi
thout getting any further in too much detail is there any doubt at all that Mr Wade and Miss Willis had a romantic relationship as was told to you prior to November of 2021 she she was already asked that question by Miss Merchant I just didn't know whether that need to she said she said no no doubt no all right uh any other defense counsel by show of hands seeing none uh last recross from Miss cross anything else uh not at this time you're on with ask the witness remain under subpoena and subjec
t to recall judge she's under my subpoena and I'm releasing her from my subpoena so if they want to subpoena her do M cross I would prefer that the court keep render subpoena I think um given the representation of Miss Merchant given how she intends to proceed today that this witness May um may need to be recalled all right understood um in the interest and knowing that we may have to bring Witnesses back and forth uh I think it's in the interest of effective presentation of the evidence here mi
ss YY you are still going to remain under the offices of your subpoena and so please stay in touch with your attorney we may need you to rejoin us on Zoom at some point today or tomorrow understood okay all right don't discuss your testimony with any other potential Witnesses all right all right all right you can log off and judge I'd ask just can Mr Partridge stay on for just one moment for what reason um the state had made some allegations that I misrepresented some things to the court and I i
' just like the opportunity to clear that up that Mr Partridge is the one that told me that they lived together for a month they've they've called me everything but a liar today and so I just think that it's appropriate for everyone to know where that information came from all right Miss Merchant I think you've uh made your position clear that's uh I don't think we want need to get sidetracked on that all right uh Miss Merchant you can call your next witness thank you call Mr judge may I be excu
se as well please all right take care Mr Partridge we call all right Miss cross you want the motion to quash Mr way subpoena uh was held in advance U waiting for the representation I I believe that the good faith basis that Miss um Merchant represented on Monday I think that that's clearly not accurate understand the testimony that's now in the record um Mr Wade is uh available but we maintain that at this time that the motion to to clash probably um should be granted but understand the court ri
ng uh well Mr Cross uh I'll I'll say yes on Monday it did seem like the focus was that Mr Bradley would be the the the hook that makes every witness potentially relevant and we really haven't been able to explore that U on the privilege issues that we'll likely have to tackle again later but for now uh as it the evidence in front of the court at the moment is that we have a witness who has said this relationship may have predated the affidavit that Mr Wade filed I don't see a way around um the r
elevance of his testimony and so I'll deny the uh State's motion to quash uh spe Mr Wade M [Music] Merchant we're watching attorneys in Fulton County Georgia questioning Witnesses about the district attorney Prosecuting former president Trump in the state's election interference case the da fonny Willis is facing allegations of misconduct due to her affair with the top prosecutor her relationship with a top prosecutor on the case attorneys for one of Trump's codefendants pressed Witnesses on whe
n that Affair started what they know about the relationship but face several objections from State Attorneys over their questioning I want to bring in senior reporter Katherine falers our executive editorial producers John santui ABC News legal contributor Brian buckmire and ABC's contributor former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons for more on this Brian we've seen a lot of objections earlier in the case they did just finish questioning robin gerti though who worked for the District Attorney's o
ffice for a while and we seem to get some Headway there with Robin talking about not only what she was told by D fonny Willis about her relationship with Nathan Wade but also what she personally observed about that relationship what did you make of that exchange and why was that so important yeah well to seal one of John's lines that the headline is that they're established a relationship we have Nathan Wade here walking in and because they were able to establish that that uh relationship happen
ed before in 2020 and 2021 this is why Nathan Wade's taken the stand and and being swart our oath so this is Nathan Wade now taking the stand he's one of the top prosecutors working on that Georgia election interference against former president Trump and the allegations are that he's had improper relationship with the district attorney let's listen prior to filing this motion to disqualify you and I were friends correct yes and in fact I supported you when you ran for judge in 2016 you did I wor
e your shirts my kids wore your shirts M Merchant your personal opinions have no relevance I mean that in the best way that's completely fine I let's get to the point thank you no no no I totally fine thank you um you filed for divorce from your wife on November 2nd 2021 yes ma'am and um in that divorce proceeding did you file um answers things such as interrogatories I did okay and so interrogatories are where you're responding to things that basically answers that the other side is asking yes
ma'am and um I've got your complaint for divorce I'm just going to mark it for the record as it is Def it's Exhibit 2 um the first interrogatories that you answered those were December 27th 2021 is that right they about okay and in those um you were asked different things but those are sworn you actually swear to those you verify them right yes ma'am okay um and so that verification is where you're swearing under oath that everything in it is true yes ma'am and let's see the um you were asked if
you had any documents which relate to the purchase of gifts by you to any person other than the defendant with whom you have or had a relationship romantic relationship from the date of your marriage correct yes ma'am okay and you responded under oath that you didn't have any documents to that that's correct um you again responded to an interrogatory you updated those responses on May 30th 2023 yes okay and you actually sent those directly to opposing Council in the divorce yes ma'am I think so
um but in that one you answered none again to that question correct yes ma'am okay so May 30th 2023 you said that you didn't have any documents showing any purchase of anything with someone that you had a romantic relationship with I believe the interrogatory was was gifts okay not anything yes and I and I have it if you want to take a walk um I'm going to Mark okay so so just for the record I've got your complaint for divorce marked is number two I've got the verification and the interrogatori
es from 2021 I'm going to Mark those as three and then your May 30th 2023 I'm going to Mark as four um judge me I approach the witness you may thank you that is what I marked for this is what I marked this great okay thank you judge all right if you take a look at what I marked as 2 three and four just see if you recognize those I do and um are those that's your divorce complaint um and then your 2021 interrogatory and your 2023 interrogatory correct yes ma'am okay they have fair and accurate re
presentation of what is filed in that case yes ma'am I'd move to admit those into and is this is 2 three and four um it's 2 three and four yes all right any objection from the state the divorce it's on the district have no objection to three and four and subject to miss Merchant's representation that two is a filing of divorce I just don't the divorce complaint I don't have that that's subject to that representation Jud all right and by show of hands any objection from other defense Council seei
ng none defendant 2 three and four uh this should be Romans Global just S 2 three and four admitted without objection um so that interrogatory that you filed in 2023 that's the one where you said no that you didn't have any documents um relating to the purchase of gifts um that you had a romantic relationship with someone right number which interrogatory talking number four 2023 which number in the interat number four so which number interrogatory are you referring to it's defendant exhibit numb
er four I I have defendant exhibit four here uhhuh which number interrogatory are weing oh which like which number out of the questions yes ma'am um hold on it is number 20 24 25 all have oh um it's supposed to be number I guess they're all numbered one so number one number one again and then the third number one didn't put page numb on didn't I don't know how to tell you what number one because when you responded you put number one on all of them you just point to it this one this one I'm talki
ng about this number one where T there's two number ones that are C okay and there's no page number but it is the second page all right right we're watching Nathan Wade a special prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against former president Trump and a number of codefendants testing in a hearing about potential prosecutorial misconduct by the district attorney fonny Willis about her relationship with Mr Wade so Mr Wade just took the stand and is being asked a number of questions
regarding his divorce proceedings and Gifts he may or may not have bought for a romantic partner let's listen where you accompanied a member of the other sex romantic partner correct it says Identify any in All Occasions okay and so it says to identify any in all occasions where you entertained a member of the other sex okay who's not in related to blood M and including dining drinking restaurants bars pubs hotels all of that right and what was your your answer to that none none okay so May 30th
2023 you prepared you prepared this document I did submitted it I did and it says None as far as entertaining a member of the opposite sex it does okay no hotels no bars no restaurants correct okay um you again updated that let's see you updated it on December 22nd 2023 and I'm going to mark that as defendant number five and I have copies is that correct yes ma'am okay and then you updated it once again on January 26 2024 correct yes ma'am okay there's that one may approach the witness again ju
dge is that what you're marking is defens exhibit six yes judge I'm marking um number six is the January 26th 2024 interrogatory and then 20 that one and then number five is the December 22nd 2023 interrogatory response all right are you tendering those at this time yes I am all right any objection from any council do defens ex upit five and six yes sir no objection thank you m cross seeing none others i t for you um so now that you have those let's just talk about those for a minute um those we
re verified so sworn under oath MH okay and one of them was December 22nd and then of this last year so last December and then one was just recently submitted in January right M okay um in May May 20 what let's see May 10th 2023 judge Thompson heard a motion to compel in your divorce case as well correct yes okay and you were actually held in willful yeah I'm going to object to the relevance of his credibility um is relevant judge and if he was held in willful contempt for failing to provide ans
wers and documents I think that's relevant to this court how is that a prior false act or crime of conviction or anything else allowed for impeachment on the Rules of Evidence I I'm not offering it as a prior bad act or something like that I'm offering it towards his credibility judge which you get to determine um if he's made misrepresentations in these pleadings um you're you're here to determine whether or not he's telling the truth or not so if another court has held him in contempt and that
's part of the divorce proceeding I think it's relevant but just contempt generally can be for many different things like a failure to produce is not necessarily a false act right right and he's welcome to explain that he may not have to miss cross I I I object to the relevance of that that's clearly not in a proper impeachment uh we're going pretty far field into divorce matters that don't have any direct relevance to anything we P before the court I to the relevance of that and any further all
right not seeing uh that being a proper grounds for impeachment uh it's sustained okay let's talk about this December 22nd 2023 um verification I tabbed it for you um again they asked you if you had any documentations showing proof of this relationship proof of any relationship correct I'm going to object to the phrasing of that question I don't believe that's an accurate read of the interrogatory all right be precise Miss Merchant and and you please read it I want to make sure I'm accurate ple
ase read it which which number this one actually has a number I tabed it for you so you should be able to open right to the page um it's number 22 the question specifically is if you have any tangible evidence of any nature in your possession or control or any other person or entity which relates to any manner of your activities to any person with whom you've had a sexual relationship during your marriage tangible evidence EV is notes cards letters photos films recordings documents tapes video r
ecordings receipts invoices and other tangible evidence yes okay and you answered that you did not have any documents to that effect correct correct and um that was on December 22nd 20123 yes ma'am you updated those responses again after after the motion to disqualify was filed though correct when was the motion filed January 8th 2024 when I filed the motion to disqualify you and alleged that you had a romantic relationship with Miss Willis yes after that you updated these responses correct yes
ma'am and so your new responses you now changed your answer from that you didn't have any of this to you're asserting the privilege under 24555 correct yes ma'am okay um and both of these are under oath yes ma'am you also updated your response to the question about spending time with someone other than your spouse for dinner drinks things at restaurants bars hotels or the other person's home correct yes ma'am so in December of 20123 you said no to all that and then in January after I filed my mo
tion you said privilege to all that Fifth Amendment privilege yes ma'am okay um and I just to be clear was it sorry I'm going to object the characterization at Fifth Amendment privilege I think it was a statutory that's what I was just about to ask him so that privilege covers infamy or fifth amendment privilege correct so it was a privacy privilege is what I updated my response to do once you filed your motion to uh intervene in my divorce action um I then figured that you were in talks with my
former wife's uh divorce lawyer okay um and because of that um I asserted a privacy privilege because I didn't want the uh proceedings of my divorce to bleed over into the proceedings in this case which is the case that obviously you're involved in so your answer is in December of 2023 that you didn't have any documents about any travel that you took with Miss Willis that wasn't true though correct they didn't ask me about any documents regarding Miss Willis a romantic partner they asked you fo
r documents regarding a romantic partner so I'm sorry I I inserted Miss Willis name let me rephrase the question they asked you for documents about travel with a romantic partner in December 2023 and you under oath said you did not have any of those correct I did not okay and they asked me about gifts I never purchased a gift for Miss will and they asked you about receipts for dinner receipts for drinks hotels bars and restaurants and you said you did not have any of those I I did not and do not
have any receipts for any of those things okay and part of the Civil Discovery they say that you even if you don't have it in your pocket if it's within your pervy you got to get it and give it to them correct you I'm going to object again to the relevance of the the questions about the scope of civil Discovery I think she's asked him about statements he made in pleadings um the answers are already in the record and um all right to the extent you're trying to establish a prior uh mistruth uh Mi
ss Merchant uh I'll all you to ask a few more follow-ups but if it's not there we have to move on thank thank you um so in 2023 December you said you didn't have any receipts I do not have any receipts I did not have any receipts but you did travel with Miss Willis in 2023 correct I did and you traveled with her in 2022 correct I did and you traveled with her in 2021 correct no so you only traveled with her in 2022 and 2023 2022 and 2023 is what I recall that's what you recall yes yes okay um so
you just don't remember if you traveled with her in 2021 2022 and 2023 is what I recall is what you recall my question is did you travel with her in 2021 I'm not recalling any travel in 2021 so it's not yes or no you just don't remember I'm not recalling any travel in 2021 so you did not travel with her in 2021 this has been covered let's keep going thank you um let's see you um you filed an affidavit in this case correct I did okay and I marked that already I gave it to the state um as number
one number one may I approach judge thank you in that affidavit you swore under oath correct yes ma'am and in that affidavit you swore that um well first of all do you recognize the affidavit I do okay did you sign the affidavit under oath I did and you gave this affidavit specifically to refute the allegations that I had raised yes ma'am nobody forced you to sign this no ma'am you chose to sign it I did and you signed it on purpose to to admit into court to refute allegations I did um you signe
d it specifically to prove that you were not in a relationship with Willis prior to November 2021 correct correct okay and you were a lawyer when you signed it I was and you're still a lawyer today correct I am when were you barred 1999 okay and um you believe that your relationship with Miss Willis is subject to attorney client privilege correct I'm going to object to that you're I I don't think that's factually correct I don't think that's a relevant question and I don't think it's appropriate
to qu question this witness about the scope of his attorney client privilege um he's got an attorney who can speak for him for that but questioning the witness I think is inappropriate all right so a lot to unpacked there uh the question is simply that does he believe there's a relationship that exists in the terms of attorney Cent privilege between him and Miss Willis is was that accurate M mer it was I asked if he believed his relationship with Miss Willis is subject to attorney C privilege o
kay I don't see why yes or no would be barred I'm I'm maybe not maybe I'm not understanding the question if if the question is does Mr Wade and district attorney Willis have an attorney client relationship it is not there's no foundation for that if the question to the witness is does his relationship with district attorney Willis impact his attorney client relationship with his divorce attorneys uh that I don't think is an appropriate question for that for that witness first if uh first I belie
ve is a proper phrasing the the second I think there's been a representation that Mr Wade preserves and doesn't wave anything and so I think asking him particular questions in order to potentially um backd door a waiver is inappropriate and that's that's my all right if we're just trying to again assess where a privilege does or does not exist and we're not actually getting into it uh I think that's we can establish those you know uh parameters but M Merchant can you rephrase the question based
on that concern and we'll see where we are yes um do you believe you that your relationship with Miss Willis is subject to an attorney client privilege not if you and Miss Willis have one but do you believe that that relationship is subject to one I'm going to object to that question as it phrase in what context um any conversation with his attorneys is privileged uh that that I think is is clear what's not clear to me from that question is is that is Miss Merchant asking in the context of your
communication with your attorneys is that is that or outside that context is it right um and Miss merch I think we need to figure out what what are we getting at with this I'm I'm just trying to figure out if he thought that their relationship is subject to an attorney client privilege I mean it's been asserted I think it's going to be asserted and that's that was all I was asking um I mean the the actions themselves wouldn't be an issue it's more Communications saw someone saw them someone had
knowledge of it is that attorney client privilege I want to all well I guess I would find his legal opinion on this isn't isn't relevant we can deal with that as it comes up so sustained um in 2022 um in this affidavit you swore that you and Willis developed a personal relationship yes ma'am and you said that that didn't that didn't develop until 2022 correct that's correct and that's different from what you said in your pleading in May 2023 in the divorce case correct no ma'am in May 202 3 when
you were asked if you had a um if you'd had any Affairs essentially and you said none that's correct okay so in May you said you had not in May 2023 in the divorce case you said you had not had a personal relationship an affair a romantic relationship with anyone that's correct but you told this court in the affidavit that you did have one that started in 2022 so that would have been ongoing at 2023 so here I think there's a distinction if you'd allow me to explain um the interrogatory um asked
the question during the course of your marriage um or or to date it actually says I'm going to request that the witness be committed to answer Mr W so my marriage was irretrievably broken in 2015 ma'am um by agreement um my wife and I agreed that uh once she had the affair in 2015 that we'd get a divorce um we didn't get a divorce immediately because my children were still in school and I refused to allow them to grow up without their father at the time so we waited we waited until the youngest
graduated and we dropped her off at college and didn't fil for the divorce so if you're asking me about the interrogatory as it relates to having uh the 2022 relationship with disc Willis I'm going to say because my marriage was irretrievably broken I was free to have a relationship so the question though was if you had had a relationship and in 2023 you said you did not and that is different than what you said in this affid correct no ma'am I said during the course of my marriage so in believe
let him finish M mer so in 2015 my marriage was irretrievably broken so I did not have a relationship ship with anyone during the course of my marriage um and in that interrogatory they asked you if you had any receipts for travel with someone of the other sex up until the time you were answering it is that correct yes ma'am and you said that you didn't we've already testified to that earlier but in this affidavit you said you swore that you had travel expenses and shared expenses on travel wit
h Miss Willis again during during the course of my marriage I had no relationship or receipts I'm not asking about during the course of your marriage no I'm going to ask the witness about to answer the question continue I have no problem with them answering okay um as it relates to receipts today I don't have any receipts man so you don't have any travel receipts um available to you for any travel that you did with Miss wellis I don't have any receipts no ma'am um no receipts that so so you're y
ou used your business credit card for these trumps correct I use my business credit card for everything okay I yes um you used it for your kids tuition yes ma'am used it for personal travel with Miss wellis yes ma'am and you have receipts from those business credit cards that you have to file with your taxes correct no ma' no I I I filed the statement I turn over the statement and whatever is there on the statement the accountant looks at it and the accountant says okay this is personal goes ove
r here this is business goes over here here your taxes so you have those statements we'll call them statements instead of receipts you have those statements correct I have the statements yes ma'am okay but when you answered the interrogatory under oath you said you did not have anything to show the records of travel with Miss Willis I answered the question I had no receipts ma'am you had no receipts but you had statements I ordered the statement yes ma'am you did order the statement okay and um
so so we're just talking of semantics between invoice and statements or receipt I'm sorry I'm going to object your honor to the um argumentative tone of the question I believe it's been absent answer so all right so um in let's see you also in this affidavit said that no funds paid to you for compensation as your role as special counselor will served with Willis correct that's correct um and that you never cohabitated with Willis correct that's correct um by cohabitation does that mean that you
never spent the night with Willis I spent the night with her during travel yes ma'am okay and so when so I just want to qualify your term your use of the term cohabitation that means you didn't live together that's great but you did spend the night together yes when was the first time you spent the night together your honor um that's the subject of his affidavit Judge right but it might not be the subject of this hearing so the question is the nature and extent of the relation relationship and s
o if they just spent the night on a single occasion I don't I would be I don't think we're going to document in detail every single time that happen and I don't intend to do that judge but I think what is relevant is when the relationship started and that's what you had indicated on why don't we start with that question and go from there that question and that's what I asked when the first time he he spent the night with her was that's that's what I asked that's a different question isn't it oka
y so let's not talk about when you spent the night when did your romantic relationship with Miss Willis begin 202 2 when in 2022 early 2022 so you were appointed in November of 20121 yes ma'am and your relationship started early what's early January February around March around March but you two met at an October 2019 um judicial conference correct yes ma'am and um describe your relationship at that point then which point 2019 so I was at a Judicial conference to teach a course if you will um to
newer judges um I did that in 2019 um as I was exiting the conference um another judge was standing outside who was a friend of mine I stopped and exchanged pleasantries with with her um and standing talking to her at the time was then judge Willis she introduced us um at that time we shook hands exchanged business cards and I got into my vehicle and left the conference so that meeting was probably 3 minutes okay when was the next time you talked to her didn't talk to her again probably maybe a
month or a month and a half it gone by okay so you talk to her November maybe maybe on the phone on the phone okay how regularly did you speak with her in 20121 on the phone in 2021 I'm sorry 20 2019 I'm so sorry 2019 how frequently did you speak with her on the phone 2019 after the meeting I probably talked to her two or three times she would have questions um I was the district rep for the particular District that I sat in um and the judges would when they would have questions they sometimes
would go to the rep so she was outside of my district but um she would call me she felt comfortable calling me to ask me the questions I don't know if you know the the racial makeup of uh certain benches but it wasn't very diverse so she felt comfortable calling me for advice um and she did that and we had also in common that she was starting um a private law practice at the time and I'd already had mine up and going and we talked about balancing the demands of the the bench with their private p
ractice so we didn't we didn't talk that often but when she had questions of mostly legal issues that would come up she would call me I just want to make sure because my question was just how many times and you said two to three times right okay and in 20122 how frequently did you speak in 2022 this is before you were appointed I'm sorry perhaps mes uh your timeline 2022 I'm sorry 2020 2020 how frequently did you speak in 2020 2020 it was um more more frequent than than 19 um obviously but more
frequent can you tell me approximately a month how often you think you spoke with her on the phone I'm I'm going to object to the granular detail um I I think uh Mr W can certainly answer however want you but if we're going to go through every time they spoke on the phone as opposed to generally characterizing the relationship it would be more detailed than is necessary judge I'm not going to go through every time they spoke on the phone I'm asking for generally how frequently they spoke I think
at that level that's fine over about how frequently did you speak in 2020 per month I mean if it was two or three times that entire year you can tell me that if it was more than that then you can quantify by month no no no we we spoke on the telephone often I mean I don't know how many I couldn't give you a a a amount of time because you remember Co happened and the world was shut down but so we spoke on the phone more than 2019 de okay let's let's qualify it before her election in 2020 how muc
h how frequently did you speak you mean as she was campaigning before the election before yes as she was campaigning before she was elected it's it's two different animals as she was campaigning before she was elected okay so during the course of her campaign um we didn't talk as much obviously because she was busy Fon county is a a large jurisdiction to cover um but we didn't talk a whole lot but she did know that i' had gone through the election process so when things would come up um she had
questions about she would call me and ask me so and just be I I'm only judge actually he's not asked and answered and I mean I don't mind him explaining but I just wanted to know how many times I mean if we talk about every conversation they talked about I he's got you got to let him finish his sentence and then if you need to redirect him or have me direct him I can't Mr Wade you can continue yes sir so so sometimes it would be like a 3se second call she would go have you during your election h
ave you ever seen this and I would say no but here's what I would do and we'd hang up um she had a lot of professionals working for her but um she trusted my judgment so she called me and it you know be brief conversation but she called so my question was how frequently did you speak with her prior to her election I I frequently infrequently more than 2019 um but it wasn't a a everyday thing no in 2021 before you were appointed in November so January to November 2021 the only time I'm talking ab
out how frequently did you speak with Miss Willis on the phone in 2021 then it became frequent frequent yes but you did not work at the DA's office at that point correct I did not um so the affidavit that you submitted um you showed on it you submitted one record that showed that Miss Willis had paid a couple hundred dollars for one flight correct say again the affidavit that you submitted to this court mhm showed that Miss Willis had paid for one flight several hundred is that correct no ma'am
I think that are you drawing a distinction for her paying for a flight or for her actually booking a flight cuz there those those are two separate things it's I will read I'll Reas it the affidavit you filed in this court MH you alleged that Miss Willis paid for one flight paid for one flight correct no ma'am you you did not allege she paid for one flight no ma'am what I what I allege is what I allege is that our travel was split roughly evenly so where you see I have booked the flight or I've p
aid for a flight with my credit card what you don't see is that she covered her own flight re reimbursement to me flights that the flights that you see here are the flights that she would have booked with her own resources so to her own car and there's one flight correct one flight reflect that that she actually Miss Merchant let him finish and then you can redirect one flight that she actually booked yes the other flights I booked she paid for so the affidavit you submitted one flight that she
booked and paid for yes ma'am I'm I'm going to OB to the phrasing of that question the line in the affidavit is not as Miss Merchant is representing it it said examples of the district attorney district attorney Willis purchasing plane tickets for she and I with her personal funds were attached us an exhibit it certainly did not rep present that it was the only example of the district attorney purchasing flights for um Mr Wade or for compensating um other travel all right understand Miss cross I
think that's something you can it's now on the record but also something you can take on Cross thank you and and just so everybody's clear all I asked you is your affidavit you submitted proof of one flight that she paid for in book that's all I'm asking correct with the explanation yes ma'am all I needed um you said in the affidavit that you roughly shared travel though correct yes ma'am okay so this roughly sharing travel you're saying she reimbursed you she did and where did you deposit the
money she reimbursed you oh was cash she didn't she didn't give me any checks so she paid you cash for her share of all these vacations Mr schaer you'll step out if you do that again yes ma'am okay and so all of the vacations that she took she paid you cash for yes ma'am and you purchased all of these vacations on your business credit card correct yes ma'am and you included those in deductions on your taxes correct no ma'am no you did not no ma' okay um we'll get to that in just a minute then le
t's see um so the only thing that you have have actual documentary proof not cash is this one receipt that you attached to the affidavit is that correct I object to that question that is a mischaracterization of the assertion that is in the affidavit I'm asking so then he can deny it I think he can P for himself Miss Merchant is this the only written proof that you have of a trip she paid for that I have yes yes ma'am okay 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 No that's not accurate okay please tell me what other receipts do you have then that show that she paid for things I don't have them so this is the only receipt that you have to show that she paid for travel that I have yes ma'am thank you okay in your divorce case you filed a domestic relations financial affidavit correct yes ma'am the first one you filed was in January 2022 right there about yes ma'am and those are under oath yes
and um you also filed corporate taxes in 2022 correct did okay and um tell me about your your business are you do you have a partnership or are you a solo practitioner as it stands today yes so today um I have a separate piece my law partner has his own separate PC okay so but we're under the same umbrella under the same roof so we share expenses we share income and we split it so are you a partnership we are a partnership in the sense of we share expenses we share income are you registered with
the state of Georgia as a partnership so the WBC firm that included myself Terence Bradley and Christopher Campbell we were registered with the Secretary of State as a partnership um for a short period of time um when that was dissolved though right in 2023 I'm going to witness to answer his question Mr W did you have something else to add there I did um when uh things happened and we excused Mr Bradley from that partnership it left Christopher Campbell and myself so now you have two separate P
CS under the same umbrella um sharing expenses and income okay 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 way and Campbell waade no ma'am you've never been registered as a partnership as Wade and Campbell no ma'am and Campbell yes thank you but as Wade Bradley Campbell yes ma'am Wade Bradley Campbell was registered on April 1st 2021 and administratively dissolved on September 8th 2023 correct yes ma'am other
than that partnership you have always been registered as law office of Nathan Wade yes ma'am not with Chris Campell correct 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 I'm marking the 2022 as seven I'm marking the 2024 is eight I'm marking the um the credit card statements as nine and your taxes as 10 object to taxes um the relevan
ce of them at this point U the relevance of this entire business structure doesn't seem clear to me as either impeaching or relevant to the issues at the Court's uh under the Court's consideration but in so far as we're talking about tax returns and other things like that certainly that's uh should be redacted and um I I would object to the relevance of it I agree they should be redacted I don't agree to the relevance um but I haven't tried to Tender them yet judge I'm just marking them right no
w so that everyone can follow right and what is the eventual relevance that you're getting at here um 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 students um so let's see 78 sorry nine and then 10 all right so right now I'm just going to show you what I've marked um as these exhibits oh yeah
of course all from the um y driving [Music] driving approach chud may we are watching a hearing playing out in Atlanta Georgia right now over Miss conduct allegations again district attorney fonnie Willis who's running the case election interference case against former president Trump on the stand right now is Nathan Wade he's a special prosecutor who was brought in to work on that case and Willis is now facing misconduct allegations over whether or not she brought Wade in to work on the case be
cause they were having a romantic relationship he is facing a number of questions from one of the defense attorneys right now about when he and Miss Willis DED out at Times Gifts he may or may not have bought her uh but facing a lot of objections from his attorney side I want to bring in our legal contributor Brian buckmire for a little bit more on this Brian what is the attorney here trying to do with all of these specific questions about frequency of phone calls and whether or not he had recei
pts or went on dining experiences or trips with da Willis yeah so there are interrogatories or just questions throughout his divorce proceedings that he was asked about receipts the questions there come as to whether or not he's telling the truth or now we're seeing her bringing in taxes and statements to see whether or not she can impeach him on those statements he as I was saying during the break is kind of walking through raindrops he's not technically lying when he says I don't have the rece
ipts but they're probably statements or taxes that exist so he's not lying those interrogatories if they can catch him in a lie and show that he gained a benefit from his partnership with fonny Willis and that that money came from public funds that's where the conflict comes that's where the question as to whether or not F Willis should be removed from the so she's trying to establish that he lied in these answers during his divorce proceedings about his relationship with Fon Willis and what evi
dence he had of that relationship and he is trying to explain that he didn't lie he didn't have the receipts that it's about the technicality of the questions that he answered yeah even about the affair when he said no I didn't have an affair my relationship was damaged in 2015 my wife I think he alluded to having an affair shortly after that and so they stayed together for the children as he articulated the relationship that he had withis when he docents did you have an affair in 2020 20212 no
because I wasn't in a marriage at that point he's explaining why these statements are not false right he's saying we divor we may have filed for divorce in 2021 but our marriage was irrevocably damaged in 2015 all right let's listen back to Nathan Wade's testimony now end of the day whatever the Propet is so I did not get $300,000 no ma' and let me just clarify my question was not did you put in your pocket $300,000 my question was was the law firm of Nathan Wade paid over $300,000 in the year 2
0122 again a third of that came to the law firm of Nathan Wade so you're saying that the law firm of Nathan Wade did not receive checks from fton County government over $300,000 in the year 2022 that's a different question um a a third of the 300,000 came to Nathan weade again I'm not asking what went in your pocket I'm asking were was the law firm of Nathan Wade paid over $300,000 in 2022 ask answer s times I know but I think we're dancing around the the point there so final time Miss Mery that
's fine I can move on Judge thank you um so you said that they were dispersed amongst all of you um or put into an account with all of you so it's your testimony that for 2022 every check you received from fton County government went into an operating account with you Bradley and Campbell no no no no that's not what I testified to um so the the the way Bradley and Campbell firm um established um an account when we decided to purchase a building in 2022 at that point every piece of income that ca
me into the entity went into that account okay 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 um my account one of my accounts and then I would disperse the funds between now attorney Campbell and myself one half and one half okay makes sense it it does let me um let me be more direct then so the covis operating account that you had for Wade Bradley and Campbell yes ma'am the checks from Fon Co
unty from January of 2022 until June 17th 2022 those checks were deposited in that operating account yes ma'am starting on July 15 2022 the checks you Reed from Fon County up until May 26 2022 all went into an escrow account that you had at Fifth Third Bank correct no not all of them some of all of them some of them yes so so it's your testimony that some of your checks from July 15th 2022 up until May 26th 2023 um some of them went into an account outside of fifth thirdd bank you're Che to the
the relevance of of the financial transactions how much money you made is highly relevant in this case it's the personal fincial business and where where the money was and I mean it's just a follow up on other things that he's testified to and why is how much money he made relevant because he represented in a in a it it's very relevant he filed an affidavit with the court saying with another Court he told another judge that he made $99,500 a month that's what he swore to and all right so this th
is entire inquiry is just to try and is to establish that prior in consistent statement yes all right um I I'll give you a minute or two more to try that but we're going have to move on thank you um 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 so miss merch it's not what I'm saying it it they're numbers they're they're there it's it's the it's the truth the the funds were paid they were divvied between th
e three of us going into to an operating account expenses paid out of it okay at the end of that the 9,000 figures what you have um so that's where you got the 9,000 figure from yes ma'am and let's see let's um um prior to when you filed for divorce in November 2021 um you would use Mr Bradley's credit card to pay for things with Miss Willis correct and then pay him back in cash I've never used Mr Bradley's credit card You' never used his credit card never for transactions to anything with Miss
Willis out to dinner anything like that I've never 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 um and you'd pay pay back if you ever did use someone's credit card you'd pay back in cash though correct ma'am I've never used someone else's credit card um can you take a look at the bank records that I gave you that's the largest tab you have for the record which exhibit is this um it is exhibit hold on Judge exib
nine it should be the largest section you thought what there starts be questionings from that the exhibits haven't been tendered and I maintain my uh relevance objection all right let's see what the next question is and maybe then that objection is going to be highly relevant okay is that an accurate copy of your Capital One statements that you provided in Discovery to um is that an accurate reflection of your Capital One records that I provided in Discovery to whom um to your divorce lawyers or
so or that you provided in the divorce proceeding is the is the question does he recognize it by site I'm asking if it's his statement I think that is the question well I mean it's it's a thick document but I I believe you if you say that that this is this is what my wife's divorce lawyer gave you I believe it your name's on every page of that document correct on every page pretty much every page it's not every page no it's not on every page no man they're all Capital One bank records okay just
take your time look through it tell me if there's anything that you think is not yours no no no they appear to be okay um and those bank records show that you paid for travel with Miss Willis yes ma'am yeah I'm I'm I'm going to object the relevance of these documents and the um well I think are you tendering um exhibit 9 I'm going to judge and they're highly relevant to the they the well you've asked them a question about the contents of them and they haven't been admitted yet so why don't we s
tart there thanks those show travel that you and Miss Willis took well so you're asking about the contents of something that hasn't been admitted yet right well I'm asking him if that's what it shows because I know that they're going to object on relevance well first we got to say if it's you've authenticated it perhaps and before we get into other details of what's in it I think should be ad fine I move to admit them all right object on relevance on relevance all right and on that overruled M M
erchant thank you um those records demonstrate that you paid for travel with yourself and Miss Willis correct they they should okay and let's just talk about that travel okay um the first trip is bise in March 2023 is that a trip that you took with Miss Willis are you asking did you take a trip with Miss Willis in 2023 to bise I did did you take a trip to California with Miss Willis in 2023 I did did you pay for those trips on that credit card I use the credit card to book the the travel but un
understand she paid you back cash well let me say this let's take the B trip for example since you started there that was a birthday gift to me so I paid nothing for that trip zero okay so the the charges that are on your card she gave you cash for she did okay so all of the charges excuse me you're believe the witness have finished answering the question oh did you have more I did okay um I I wanted to get into the the charges on the the C because so traveling with her um is is a is a task you
can probably imagine the attention that that happens so for safety reasons um she would limit her transactions um I mean imagine trying to walk through an airport or sit at a restaurant or do anything um so there was no there's no attempt to can conceal it's a credit card everything is here so and and that's not what I asked okay um what I asked was the charges for B in March 2023 on that credit card those are things you purchased to go with Miss way with Miss Willis to Bel those are those are t
hings that we booked with my card that she paid yes yes so those show up on your credit card they do and you're saying that she paid you cash to reimburse you for all of that she did and she paid you cash for both of your portions or just hers both okay so that trip B just B she paid you for everything on B the entire trip okay so the food tattoo parlor all that stuff she paid for I'm going to as I may through the question there was no there was no tattoo parlor in believe the charges there's a
there's a tattoo parlor on the charges I I'm not getting getting into what it was for I'm just asking if everything that's on that card related to bise she paid you back for she paid for yes ma' okay um let's talk about California in May 2023 you all went to California together yes and you booked plane tickets yes and her name was on those plane tickets they were and so I know you said that you were worried about security and things like that but that was in her name when she traveled she had to
use her name oh oh so the the plane tickets yes ma'am okay and you paid for those plane tickets and you paid for a hotel so again the the card yes 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 I did and um there's a lot of Ubers on there as well for California did you pay for those Ubers as well yes did we were in Nappa and you're saying that Miss Willis are you saying that Miss Willis p
aid you back for that yes did she pay for the entire trip or did she pay for her half of the trip the the Nappa trip she paid for the excursions so the the 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 cost $25 you need to give me $25 if if you've ever spent any time with Miss Willis you understand that she's a very independent proud woman not so she's going to over Mr White so she's going to insist tha
t she carries her own weight and it it it actually was a point of contention between the two of us she is going to pay her own way so let me re ask the question to make sure that you answer it a California trip that you paid for saying that she did not pay you back for cash instead she paid for excursions and you believe that was roughly half no she gave me some cash yes what I'm saying is the the everything that we did when we got into Napa she paid for the trip that she booked on her credit ca
rd in Miami did you pay her cash back for your half of that no so you never paid her back for the tickets she bought for you no no I would say I did pay her back because there were times when I would pay for dinner okay she would pay for dinner it would balance out but in a relationship ma'am you don't particularly men um we don't go asking back for anything so you're not keeping a ledger of things that you P paay for versus the thing that she's paid for um which is why I said that it it was a p
oint of of contention because she was very emphatic and adamant about this independent strong woman thing so she demanded that she pay her own way um but she's the district attorney of fton County and she has to file Financial disclosures disclosing any gifts with anybody that she does business with in Fon County correct I I'm I don't know okay um let's talk about Tennessee you 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 August of 2023 you booked a trip for $1,481 54 are you are you asking me did I take that trip with Miss Willis or are you asking me 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 c cabin 6 months ago $1,481 in Tennessee where where where are we now what page is that I'm just asking from your memory do you rem
ember paying for a cabin in August if the if he's going be asked about a particular transaction you can answer whether he remembers or not I don't Mr W I'm I'm not asking you to go through a thousand pages of Records I'm asking if you remember paying for a cabin six months ago in Tennessee no you remember booking a cabin I boo lots of cabins did you go to a cabin with Miss Willis ever ever ever no you've never gone to a cabin with Miss no um you ever gone to Tennessee with Miss wellis yes okay w
hen was that that was around 20 20 to early 2022 early 2022 okay it was uh it was a a a day trip um okay so you didn't spend night so it was a day trip okay we would drive there have lunch drive back um the reason we would do that is because the attention she couldn't get any peace of mind going locally so we get in my car and and drive to someplace off the big path and have lunch and F back is that when you went to fainting goat with her it's in Jasper Georgia no that's that's in Georgia I don'
t I don't I don't recall going to fing goat with her so the Tennessee day drip day trips were not were only Tennessee yes okay did you ever do these day trips in Georgia did we drive anywhere in Georgia yeah you were you were talking about day trips going out out and I'm talking about outside of the metro area 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 Tennesse
e no we drove to Alabama before okay back you drove to Alabama mhm um did you go anywhere in Georgia North Georgia no I'm I'm going to object wants to direct his attention in some way to a time frame or a location then I think it might be easier for the witness to accurately Miss mer I think if you don't have the specific details yourself mhm we need to start getting into specifics or more maybe broadly phrased questions um we can't just be exploring around indefinitely is it is it fair to say t
hat you've taken so many trips with her you don't even really remember all the places you've gone so many trips you're having trouble remembering going if you went to North Georgia or not well you're asking me about specific places and I I want to be candid in my responses so I have to jog my memory because these are places that I have frequent it but not with her so I want to make certain that if there was ever a time that she accompanied me that I was candid in that response okay um Aruba Octo
ber 2022 and I've got um business records should I've get for these judge might be a little faster um but did you did you take a trip with her to Aruba in 2022 yes ma'am so that Aruba trip um was so there was a package deal there we um my mother had recently retired and I decided to take my mother on a cruise okay um and the second leg after the cruise concluded um da Willis and I went to Aruba so that was all one one trip if you will okay so my question was did you go with da Willis to Aruba in
2022 I did thank you and you paid for that trip using your business credit card correct I did okay and you paid for a cruise as well correct that that's the cruise I was referencing with da Willis my mother and myself okay and because there's two cruises so let's just talk about the first one so the first one was um you took that's the one with your mother yes and so you introduced da Willis to your mother that trip you all took a cruise together three of you yes after the cruise was done you a
nd VA Willis flew to Aruba together and your mom flew home yes and you paid for all of this with your credit card on your business credit card I did and are you saying that Miss Willis paid you cash back for that she did now now but but let me make this distinction though um because the the number that you're looking at reflects the the three people on the cruise ship there were things that my mother and I did um just the two of us that da Willis didn't didn't do and and and I'm not attributing
that I did not my math is not good but I did not include anything with your mother um on those you wouldn't be able to see it because it's not separated out um it just shows a charge on the on the uh on the account when actually it would have been something with my mother and die um judge may approach with exhibits 10 and 11 they're both certified business records from one's from Vacation Express one's from H I thought 10 was taxes I'm sorry 11 and 12 yeah thank you and um these are business rec
ords judge they have the certification so I need to admit them all right uh defense 11 and 12 M cross based on Miss Merchant's representation that they are true and accurate as to the certification that was provided to her um you have no objection all right again seeing no other objection there admitted um so the trip just the trip to Aruba alone for you and da Willis was $3,835 126 correct just Aruba I'm looking for the um the amount 11 or 12 this one is 11 yes ma'am $3,835 126 and then the Roy
al Caribbean for just you and Miss Willis was $1,269 70 correct no ma'am your mother's got a different line item on there I'm talking about the cruise the actual Cruise cabin I think you need to rephrase that as in the form of a question Miss Merchant did you pay Royal Caribbean for yours and Miss Willis's cabin $269.71 okay in 11 can you direct me to where you are on in exhibit 11 the receipt for World Caribbean so we've got your flights on the one page I already asked about her Ruba and just f
or the record I blacked out their um dat supp and then Royal cribbing may be on oh it's small it's hard to read um it's very hard to read so let me just let me ask this way then do you recall paying around $1,269 70 for Royal Caribbean cruise for you and Miss Wallace you don't remember that that that amount seems kind of small I I don't think okay so you believe it was higher yeah okay um while you were in Aruba then you bought a cruise a Norwegian Cruise right and that was the New Year's Eve Cr
uise while I was in Aruba no man um the credit card documents that were ex um admitted earlier show the purchase date when you were in Aruba but you don't remember doing that in Aruba I didn't I didn't purchase a a cruise while I was in Aruba that may be when The Cruise Company decided to run the invoice but I didn't I didn't purchase a cruise in AR Ruba no man around the time you went to Aruba you purchased a cruise for Norwegian for you and missis to take for New Year correct before I went to
Aruba yes ma'am and that was roughly $3,387 to cruise to Aruba I mean the cruise I'm sorry the Cru the um the Norwegian Cruise so that cruise was with my sisters okay um and the the number that you're are seeing would reflect um my buying dinner for my sisters and their husbands or I'm just talking about the cruise the amount that was paid for the cruise ahead of time when you booked the cruise I'm just talking about that okay that that was a little over $3,000 yes ma'am okay so and I understand
you you're saying you paid for other things but I'm just talking about the cruise amount okay and you paid for a Jeep and you paid for dinner while you were there in Bahamas yes ma'am okay that's the one that Miss Willis paid for a fight for correct that's one of the fights he paid for yes ma'am actually a documented paid for not cash I'm talking about a non- cash transaction that's what she paid for you you mean the one that I provided the the receipt for yes yes ma'am that's that okay and um
so she booked that on her credit card and wasn't worried about I know you said earlier that you were booking everything because she was worried about people knowing where she was traveling she didn't have any fears booking that one though correct going to object to the phrasing of that question speculate as to what was the motivation of the district attorney she wants to ask if that was the transaction he respond if that was a transaction uh M mer I think you can rephrase the question but I'll s
ustain it on the current phrasing um so she purchased that under her own name correct she did okay um let's see so I know we talked a little bit about the seminar where you all met um isn't it true that you would go to miss Willis's House in South Fulton County I've never occasionally I've never gone to her house in South fton County you've never gone to her house in South I've never seen her house the first time I even heard the address of that house was when um one of the individuals in the uh
election for our case somehow doxed it and it got out that was the first time I had even seen that address um but you would go to the East Point condo correct what East Point condo East Point haille something like that I've I've never been to East Point with Miss Willis you've never gone to you've never gone to a condo in either the East Point or hateful area with Miss wellis wait that's different I have gone to a condo in Hapeville okay so Hapeville yes ma'am so you have gone to a condo with M
iss Willis and hate though I have have you spent the night there never never spent the nightmare never is that the condo that was rented by Robin YY I believe it was and um other members of The Da staff were there as well correct sometimes I I've I've never been around other members of The Da staff at a a condo in a bill there's never been any security from Miss Willis not around me um did you have a ride with Miss Willis with her security detail to and from the house no um you served on Miss Wi
llis's transition team correct yes and you were part of all of her interviews Where She interviewed and reined employees I would say probably 98 eight8 99% of them yes um is it fair to say you took an active role in these interviews yes ma'am prior to this you'd never worked at a DA's office right have I ever worked in her DA's office at any DA's office any DA's office no ma'am um have you ever managed a large Law Firm or a large I'm going to object to the relevance of these questions M mer he s
erved on her transition team and so I me what we're trying to prove is that there's a personal and financial relationship and then it was improper um and so you know whether or not he had experience to serve on this transition team I think is relevant right I I think I already said that we don't need the evid you're hearing on that point sustained um Terence Bradley also received a contract for Fon County correct correct you're asking me about Terrence I asked if Terrence Bradley also received a
contract for fton County I believe that he did and you were partners with him at that time correct I was so under what you testified to earlier you would get a third of that contract as well correct I would have and Chris Campbell also had a contract with fton County I believe he did and so under what you've testified to you would also get a third of that correct I would um they both had contracts for what are called first appearance which is where they would appear on behalf of the district's
attorney to do first appearance hearings correct I believe they I believe they did okay and um they also had what's called a taint contract um they both entered into him January 25th 2021 correct filter yes ma'am taint or filter yes ma'am and that was for work in the anti-corruption unit I don't I don't know that it was anti-corruption I I think that it was uh civil rights maybe okay and and judge the um the da or B Count's come and I guess brought a certificate now so um we would move to admit
the contracts I've got those um under that certificate I was planning on doing it under the open records officer but I believe now they've certified it I haven't looked at everything they've certified though so I'm going to ask that the document be um looked at and confirmed prior to it all right Miss merchin is there anything else uh what other areas were you planning to cover on is direct other than these documents um I'm planning on introducing all of the contracts and invoices but I haven't
had a chance to look at what Fon County certified um so I'm planning on introducing those and then um not much can we do the not much we'll do the not much and then we'll get back to the contracts okay yeah definitely um okay so this taint taint contract um and and we're not admitting these right now but if I represent to you that they say anti-corruption unit um can you tell us what a taint attorney for an anti-corruption unit unit would do I didn't have a part in those contracts they were your
partners at the time though correct oh absolutely okay and so you didn't have a part in those contracts but you got a third of the contract payment oh absolutely okay so the tank contracts that Bradley and Campbell who are your law Partners at the time had for doing taint review you got a third of those yes ma'am okay um you signed a confidentiality agreement with the DA's office as well correct I did and I think I'm up to judge 13 marking that as number 13 may approach judge you showing you a
copy of what I marked as number 13 um if you could take a look at that and tell me if that is the confidentiality agreement that you find with a it is and this basically says you can't talk about anything that happens inside of the da office right no it doesn't say you can't talk about it no no no you said it basically says that I can't talk about anything that happens in fail to see the relevance LGE a relevance objection but otherwise this merching relevance to this judge it's relevant to his
testimony if he signed an agreement that says he can't talk about things that happen in the district attorney's office I think that's relevant to to this I also think how that he because it's motivation in his testimony I mean whether or not he's going to testify to something also have been certified I mean it's part of the record as from what Fon County gave us um sure but he hasn't said that that's preventing him from testifying in any way today is it and I can ask him about that Mr Wade is Th
is Confidential agreement affecting your testimony today no sir okay all right that's fine um let's see the contract judge um and the invoices that I wanted to admit I wanted to admit all of his invoices and contracts with um Fon County I have them certified I I guess I have them certified through Fon County so I wasn't sure anyy to do that I just wanted to know if the state had an objection to those before well they haven't had I don't think they've had a chance to look at them so is that that'
s the sole remaining U exhibit in line of questioning here yes and in terms of the follow-up questions would it just be for him [Music] to say what's reflected in these documents themselves if they have an objection to the certificates that Fon county has given I would admit them through him because he could recognize them but assuming they're admitted would there actually be anything substantive he would add other than the documents themselves all right okay so subject to that qualification do
you have any other questions to this witness um May I just have a moment sure thank you is it possible actually we take a quick break we're getting there okay thank you and I quick break there in Atlanta Georgia or maybe not let's listen um did you discuss your relationship with Miss Willis in Social settings help me understand your question did you discuss your relationship with Miss Willis in Social settings no I heard the question I just I just need to understand what you're asking me like uh
like what relationship when your personal relationship with Miss Willis ified I'm sorry did you discuss your personal relationship your private personal romantic relationship with Miss Willis and social settings no ma'am you've never discussed it in Social settings no ma'am um did you ever discuss it in front of Robin YY in a non-social setting no ma'am Miss Miss Willis is a very as in my we're private people not our relationship wasn't a secret it was just private so not at all I wouldn't have
discussed my relationship with with Miss YY or anyone else publicly okay I actually did have some questions just about the um the invoices if we want to just these are the documents that you're referring to yeah they are it's all of his invoices I mean what kind of questions would these be other than the invoices say what they say it just that yes that they say what they say all right just talk about them that's fine no all right thank you all right at this point uh we'll take a break I'll ask
uh the parties to take a look at what did you did you marked that as a defense exhibit um I have his contracts in his invoices that I'm about to Mark um so before he leaves me I just want to make sure that the state doesn't have any objection to those are marked as they about to be marked um as exhibit 14 14 15 16 17 and 18 all right so 14 through 18 so ask state to take a look at those I we'll take a look at those and see if I can match them up with the certified documents that we all right and
then we'll address whether they are tendered for the record when we come back and from there then we would turn over to the remainder of Defense Council and then the state for any uh examination as well so to that end uh let's take 45 minutes we'll be back at 1:00 Mr Wade uh you're still under oath and I'd ask you not to speak um with any other Witnesses about your testimony or about any testimony that's already occurred yes sir all right we'll be in [Music] recess all right court is now in rec
ess there in Atlanta Georgia where attorneys have been questioning Nathan Wade he's a special prosecutor in the election interference case against former president Trump and several codefendants and the question here for this hearing is whether or not uh the The Da let leading up that case funny Willis uh is uh blamed for misconduct prosecutorial misconduct for her relationship with n Nathan Wade the special prosecutor one of the big questions here is whether fonny Willis herself who you're seei
ng on the screen financially benefited from her appointment of Wade to become special prosecutor the idea being that if Wade for example took her out on dates and if they went on trips together then she would be financially benefiting from the pay he is receiving as a result of working on that case so I want to bring in our ABC News legal contributor Brian buckmire ABC News executive editorial producer John santui and ABC News contributor former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons for more on this
Brian one of the big questions at the heart of this case is whether funny Willis financially benefited from appointing Nathan Wade as a special prosecutor to the case so why are these details to how they paid for dates and trips so important well it's really about who ended up fronting the bill if uh Nathan Wade pays for these trips to bise trips to Napa Napa California uh Ubers dates all those things and he lied about in his filings that's prosec misconduct that's potentially her getting a bene
fit for giving him the job but he's really walking this tight RPP of saying you know what she made it a point that she's an independent woman she's going to pay her route uh but what I highlighted was a lot of this payment is in cash My worry is is it going to be them that have to prove that these cash payments were made or uh the worry exists on the other side does Ashley Merchant have the ability to say hey these are the withdrawals uh these are cash payments this did this didn't happen uh at
this point I'm kind of on the fence as to whether not fonny Willis will have to testify but there's still a lot of questions here Chris you're a former prosecutor in Georgia you've worked with Willis yourself how do you see this playing out the fact that so much hinges on what Wade is saying were cash payments and that he says he doesn't have receipts for them I mean I think that's huge but in my opinion Ashley Merchant's the one Roman's attorney is the one that's got the burden of proof here an
d so if he says that those are cash payments um then that means that they're they're probably unlikely to be proven unless she's got Miss Willis's bank records which is highly unlikely that she's going to have the access to the elected District Attorney's bank records there's really three things at stake here one we're talking about the timing of the relationship when did they start dating and that's going to go directly to Wade's credibility and also whether he may have committed perjury in his
affidavit two is just as Brian said the financial aspect of this case did she find and as you said Diane did she financially benefit from his placement as the prosecutor as a special prosecutor in this case and then finally it's all about impeachment of the witness I mean is he believable under oath did he say things that were false I'm curious to see what's in those tax records I suspect that he may have whether inadvertently or not you sign those tax records under oath but whether he is going
to say in those tax records that those were business expenses and again that could be problematic at least for prong three which is his credibility in this case and Chris you mentioned the timing of the relationship being important because one of the questions is were they already in a Rel relationship when funny Willis appointed him to this position of special prosecutor I want to play you a sound bite from an earlier testimony of a former employee at the DA's office about that let's listen to
that moment Miss Willis and Mr Wade were in a romantic relationship okay and that's based on your personal observations and obser and you know speaking with them and seeing them together and things like that yes so Chris what what did you make of that moment 2019 is far earlier than what Nathan Wade is saying about when their relationship started and what they have written uh in previous testimony and affidavits Dian that's a huge deal and so at this point we're we're in a swearing contest you'
ve got YY who's testifying that the relationship began uh sometime in 2019 certainly well before his appointment as a special prosecutor in the case and that's going to be problematic especially because Nathan Wade swore in an affidavit that the relationship did not begin in until after he was appointed as a special prosecutor the other issue is that filing got funny Willis's name on it so arguably you know if she let this thing get filed and of course the district attorney is going to read that
document before it gets filed she's arguably committed suborning perjury but again this is a swearing contest you've got YY swearing on the one hand you've got Nathan Wade swearing on the other the big thing to consider about YY is that she also has an asks to grind against Fon Willis I mean she basically admitted under oath that she either resigned or got fired and that's going to create some animosity between the two um so is she telling the truth when she said when that relationship began or
is Nathan Wade telling the truth as to when he said that relationship began and so it's going to be interesting it's a little bit of a swearing contest in this particular case I think it's the the tie goes to the district attorney's office if there's no determination between the two Brian there was also a big focus on when Nathan Wade's marriage ended and how that relates into this timeline that has no legal bearing on this aspect of the case but why was that such a big Focus for the attorney h
ere well it goes to Chris 's uh kind of three-prong approach so I'll use that because it's so well thought out it's that third one of credibility he put down in an affidavit that there was no Affair or no money or gifts being uh used or uh during the pendency of his relationship and to him the relationship ended in 2015 when it was irly uh damaged and there was an affair that he kind of slid in there a little on the part of his wife shortly after that so he in writing those interrogatory said yo
u know what I wasn't with someone during the pendency of this relationship I didn't have gifts during the pendency of this relationship with the marriage because to him even though the divorce filings happened in 2021 uh and he sought an attorney in 2018 that relationship ended for him in 2015 so those were not lies uh so to speak so the attorney here was trying to make the case that he's not credible because he did not admit to having this relationship during his marriage and he's saying my mar
riage was over before this relationship started despite the fact that my divorce still had not been filed the other um the other big Focus here we saw earlier testimony or you I don't even know if you could call it that attempted testimony by Terrence Bradley who was um who was Nathan Wade's former business partner he's also his divorce attorney but we saw slew of objections because of the question of what in their conversations is covered under attorney client privilege and we heard the judge h
imself say that Terrence Bradley is meant to be the hook here on behalf of attorneys who are trying to bring in a number a number of other Witnesses and that they sort of can't bring in those Witnesses unless they can get Bradley's testimony so Chris how significant is it that they haven't been able to really explore the the full depths of what uh Bradley knows or what he even can testify to I mean I think that's big Diane I think one of the big questions here is did Nathan Wade say something in
consistent in the past I mean did he say to Terrence Bradley hey look I've got this relationship going on with F Willis if that's something that he said to Terence Bradley before his appointment in November of 2021 that's extremely problematic however that would go to factors related to the divorce and Terence Bradley was representing Nathan Wade during that divorce and so if that's information that changed hands between Wade and Bradley while Bradley was his attorney then that can't come into e
vidence under Georgia law 1.6 is the rule if Terrence Bradley betrayed attorney client privilege he's absolutely right he could get in trouble with the bar up to an including disbarment um so that's really the tension that's going on here I mean I think everybody watching this hearing would love to hear what Terence Bradley has to say about what Nathan Wade told him in the past I just don't think we're going to hear that unfortunately and so we're at this point stuck with y's testimony but Ashle
y Merchant may have more witnesses up her sleeve who could also testify to that information but Yi didn't wasn't allowed to testify as to what Nathan Wade told her we may see her again on the stand to contradict what he's just said as we're watching now there there was a moment though that stuck out to me when Steve sow Donald Trump's attorney came out and questioned Yi directly and he and she testified under his questioning that she not only heard about that relationship that it wasn't just tha
t Fon Willis who she says was a very good friend of her at the time not just that fonny Willis told her about the relationship but that she observed it directly that she saw them hugging she saw them kissing she saw them you know acting in a way that would show that they were in a romantic relationship so how strong is that testimony if they can't get Bradley if they can't get some of these other things on record to have someone saying I not only heard about this relationship I saw this relation
ship with my own eyes and it was before the timeline that they're giving you Diane we're still in the swearing contest that I talked about earlier who do you believe do you believe YY or do you believe Wade in this particular case they both have reasons to uh not necessarily tell the truth on the stand y's incentive to not tell this the truth on the stand is that this would be a way for her to get back at fonny Willis a former friend who she probably feels betrayed by When Miss Willis let her go
from her job or at least told her if she didn't resign she'd be fired same time Nathan Wade's got an incentive to protect himself in this particular case not just because it goes against the financial crimes that he's or the financial benefit that he's alleged to have uh engaged in and received here but also with regard to um whether he committed potentially perjury in his affidavit and so we're back to that swearing contest that I talked about before you've got both witnesses that have issues
with regard to their credibility I think something that plays in favor of Wade's testimony is that he's a member of the bar he's a lawyer and so it seems like you know in that particular case he's he's he's somebody who's expected to be candid with the court at all times and again like I said before Ty here go to the runner I don't think that Ashley Merchant would be able to prove her case if she doesn't have additional information and that's why I'm really curious to see what's in those tax ret
urns because again it's kind of a stepbystep uh cross-examination I mean I guess it's a direct examination but really it's a cross- examination when you get down to it it's a stepbystep questioning of Nathan Wade where she's attacking his credibility bit by bit by bit kind of eroding at it like you would water dripping on a rock all right Brian buckmire Chris Timmons thank you both and while this is happening in Atlanta we also watched former president Trump's a here play out pre-trial hearing p
lay out here in New York in the hush money case involving porn star Stormy Daniels we will have a full wrap up of what happened in that case right after the break stay with us this is ABC News live the crush of families here in Poland at Refugee centers in Putin Russia on the ground in Ukraine close to the front line from the capital destructive Cat 4 stor along I Boston is in the bullseye let's go BC News live America's number one streaming news anytime anywhere streaming 247 straight to you fo
r free thank you for making ABC newsline America's number one streaming news Housewives the Beverly hill star Jan celebrity attorney Tom gerardi this story was a nuclear explosion today several victims will get a chance to finally meet Eric jority and that sort of of a loss for what to say did you see the documentary the housewife and the Hustler I did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Erica why did it take you so long the housewife and the Hustler too only on Hulu so the question is
okay here we go are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and Camal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John Kus here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on ABC why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on the days top stories a lot of news today so le
t's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with for Edward R ml Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here I just heard G shot breaking right now a US military member home for the holidays found dead every officer had their cameras rolling how on Earth did this happen he leaves the door com
es down the steps and boom I can see his eyes you knew he was gone yeah now Friday night exclusive interviews my wife almost passed out and a father confronts his son's killer love honor and betray all new 2020 Friday night on ABC first thing in the morning there's a lot going on got another Avalanche warning that's up to catch you up with what happened overnight a dangerous ice storm is impacting the morning commute what's happening today escalating tensions in the Middle East what people are t
alking about the migrant crisis fast straightforward with some fun in between how does billionaire sound sounds good to me the Moose started chasing a dog first thing in the morning America this morning America's number one early morning news on ABC News live reporting outside the Gaza Strip I'm Matt Gutman wherever the news is we'll hi I'm D We are following two court here hearings involving former president Trump the former president is set to go on trial in March now for the hush money case i
nvolving adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougall after he attended the final scheduled pre-trial hearing in that case earlier calling it a disgraceful situation and I'm going to have to sit here for months on a trial I think it's ridiculous it's unfair a trial that legal Scholars say there's no crime they say there's no CRI but I'm honored to sit here I'm honored to sit here day after day after day on something that everybody says the greatest legal Scholars say it's not
even a crime thank you very much Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records stemming from payments he allegedly funneled to Daniels and McDougall ahead of the 2016 election the former president has pleaded not guilty and he denies any wrongdoing meanwhile the district attorney Prosecuting Trump and 18 code defendants in the Georgia election interference case is facing allegations of misconduct a judge has been listening to testimony on whether Fulton County DA fonny Willis's relations
hip with one of the top prosecutors on the case is improper Willis has been subpoena to testify and the judge says she could be disqualified if evidence shows she financially benefited from the case we have Team coverage of both hearings I want to bring in senior investigative correspondent Aaron cury outside Cordon New York ABC News legal contributor Brian buckmire ABC News executive editorial producer John Uchi investigative reporter Olivia Rubin outside Court in Atlanta and ABC News contribut
or former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons for more Erin let's start in New York what's the latest uh there and what came of this pre-trial hearing Diane I think it's pretty significant that for the first time in American history a a former American president's going to be going on trial and we now know when March 25th the trial is going to start with jury selection in a case that as you say charges the former president with falsifying business records to conceal from voters uh an alleged trist
with Stormy Daniels a a porn actress and Trump's attempts to silence her uh and and all of that unfolded on the brink of the 2016 campaign so the way prosecutors here in Manhattan see it this is sort of the original election interference case because the goal according to Manhattan da Alvin Bragg was to keep information from voters today Bragg said in a brief statement after the court hearing ended that he was pleased the judge rejected former president Trump's attempt to dismiss the charges he
said he looks forward now to presenting the case to a jury beginning next month Brian Trump keeps repeating this claim and we heard it there it's not even a crime it's not even a crime traditionally falsifying business records is a misdemeanor so can you explain the different aspects that he means when he says it's not a crime and why he's being charged as a felony here yeah so think about it this way you the misdemeanor falsifying business records is when someone with the intent to Def fraud de
stroys erases Alters uh deletes obliterates as a multitude of words a document or emits information into a a business record or into an Enterprise uh when it becomes a felony is when you do all of that and the intented def fraud is attached to intent to either commit a crime or to Aid and conceal that crime the uniqueness of this case and where Donald Trump does have some truth in is that many scholars have not seen that other crime being a federal crime or a campaign crime and so that uniquenes
s is where people are kind of scratching their head and says I'm not quite sure if we've seen this before I'm not quite sure if this works but at least in the pleadings and the indictment the legal Theory works and applies it's just a matter whether or not a carry in court John the judge in this New York case denied the motion to dismiss not a huge surprise I assume but what did you make of the the way these proceedings played out and what's coming next well I think what today was about was sett
ing the rules for the road right and as we've all been texting internally here we now have a trial that's the headline of today right for everything that we've been thinking about Donald Trump was indicted by the Manhattan DA's office in that grand jury in late March of 20123 literally almost one year to the day this trial is going to begin and it comes as Donald Trump is now a year ago there were other people running against him at the moment it's just him and Nikki Haley he's up in all the pol
ls and he said himself outside of Court Diane this is where we are going to see this actually talked in real live TV right we've said for a while the Collision Course right Donald Trump's going to have to be in a courtroom but we haven't seen that yet now we are and up until now he has made several Court appearances that he didn't have to make choosing to be in courtrooms he didn't actually have to be in but that changes once this goes to Trav oh he has to be there right so Donald Trump who said
he loves living on Fifth afternoon hasn't really done that for a couple years guess what you're coming back he needs to be in in that courtroom every day for every time the Court's in session as of now slated to go for 6 weeks could go more could go less but for six weeks Donald Trump gets to be in the Empire State Brian we heard Aaron say it that that March 25th date will begin with jury selection how difficult is that process going to be when the defendant is a former president yeah uh so typ
ically jury selection is difficult regardless of who the defendant is or the crime but in a case this contentious during an election year all eyes on the case and someone as polarizing as Donald Trump I don't think there's any people in the middle you either love him or hate him uh Ching choosing a jury where you're going to say hey have you heard facts of this case okay fine but can you put those to the side and only listen to the evidence that's going to be presented to you and rule on that I
don't think this is going to be a jury selection it's going to last a day or two this might take days if not weeks to protect to get a jury a six week trial I don't know how much evidence is coming in but the jury selection alone I think it will take a week maybe even two meanwhile in Georgia we've been watching the attorneys they questioned special prosecutor Nathan Wade who's at the heart of the misconduct hearing against Fon County district attorney fonnie Willis one of the questions is wheth
er or not fonnie Willis has benefited from her appointment of Wade to special prosecutor through the course of their relationships and so one of the big focuses here has been on who paid for What on dates not normally you would expect to hear in this kind of a a hearing uh but Chris I want to go to Chris Timmons who's a former Georgia prosecutor because Chris you know this system very well you know funny Willis personally you've worked with her so what did you make of the line of questioning so
far and what's come out so far with Nathan Wade's testimony yeah so I I think you know we're starting to get around to and hitting bits and pieces of did she financially benefit and so that's where that information about whether uh Nathan Wade reimbursed her or not became important I think that's the big issue but again Diane what this case is really about is is it's a swearing contest who do you believe do you believe Nathan Wade when he says that fonny Willis didn't financially benefit from th
is case or do you believe YY and then potentially other witnesses that may say that there's a romantic relationship but also she benefited in some way we haven't heard at least from the defense side anything from the financial benefit beyond the records that are in so far and so I think it's going to be very difficult for them to rebut the allegation that fonny Willis paid back Nathan Wade in cash I mean it's almost possible to prove a cash case I was a prosecutor for years and anytime I would h
ave a cash case I'd be shaking my head because there's almost no way to prove that short of some sort of financial records and I don't think the defense has got Financial records from fonny Willis John one of the strategies by the attorneys here was not just to ask details questions about expenses and whatnot but also trying to poke hes in Nathan Wade's credibility what does that do for the big picture of this case here when we're talking about The credibility of a special prosecutor working on
a case where the president is former president's being prosecuted and the district attorney leading that case I mean and really let's talk about what the goal of this was it was to humiliate Nathan Wade humiliate fonny Wells I mean I had people involved in this case even people in Trump's team texting me saying this is mortifying to watch it I mean think about it how many times are people put on a stand to be questioned about their private relationships I mean if any of the three of us we wouldn
't want to do that that's the worst case scenario for any body and that's what we saw then I think the followup right Ashley Merchant who was the first attorney on behalf of Mike Roman one of the codefendants to bring these allegations forward to get these proceedings forward she was out there alone until Trump's lawyers joined on to her motion and we saw those fiery questions from Steve Stow who Donald Trump brought in because other people around Trump said look now that you've been indicted th
is is a scary case this is a RICO case you need a pitbull so before Donald Trump went to to fton County Diane as we were covering in real time to go to that jail he brought seow on board seow first met Donald Trump on board his airplane right before Donald Trump went to surrender and the goal for sow's hiring was simple go in and make this go away throw as many shiny objects as you can and that is what Steve sow did in court today questioning a prosecutor and and friends of theirs about did you
see them kissing you see them hugging whoever thought you'd see this happening no and it was one of the biggest moments of the morning to hear a former da employee district attorney employee saying not only did fonny Willis tell me about the relationship but I saw it with my own eyes I saw them hugging I saw them kissing and I saw that happening before the timeline that they are giving you for when the relationship started uh they are in a break right now so the Court's in recess at the moment t
hey're coming back in a little while so I want to go to Olivia who's outside that courthouse now Olivia what are the next steps here we left Nathan Wade was still on the stand they took a quick break what happens next with this case we're going to see Nathan weade back on the stand at least according to Ashley Merchant she said she's not done she has some more questions for him and to Chris timm's point maybe she's going to start getting into more of the financial records more things that he pai
d for and continuing to question him do you have anything to show the court that you were reimbursed for some of these expenses so we will continue with that testimony and then the question ultimately is Will fonnie Willis have to take this stand the judge had made very clear before today that it was going to be sort of a live decision-making process on his part he would decide who is needed based on the evidence that he had heard so far and that is why Nathan Wade took the stand after the frien
d Robin YY did they tried to caution he said no based on that testimony we need to hear from Nathan Wade so now based on Nathan Wade's testimony will we hear from fonnie Willis that really is the question and as both sides indicated we could be here all day and don't forget the judge has already slated tomorrow for the hearing to continue as well if needed so clearly a lot of evidence that still needs to be put into the record and we have not even gotten to the def to I'm sorry the states case y
et they have said that they have witnesses as well one of whom is Fon wills's father so a lot of points already so far and we are only just three hours into the hearing of what is expected to be a very long day here it does seem that way Olivia Chris Timmons John sanui Brian buckmire and Aaron kerki thank you all and that hearing in Atlanta set to resume just shortly we will bring that to you live when it happens but we also want to get to some other news today including police in Kansas City ar
e now giving new details on that shooting at the Super Bowl victory parade at least one person is dead and nearly two dozen injured including 11 children as young as 8 years old now police say the shooting was a dispute between several people and that several guns were recovered they also say arrests are pending ABC News Morgan Norwood is in Kansas City Missouri with the latest Morgan what do we know so far well Diane we're learning more about what led up to everything that unfolded here in down
town Kansas City yesterday police giving an update just a short time ago where we learned that children made up most of the victims of yesterday's shooting and then two juvenile suspects are in custody and being questioned by police you know Kansas City Police face tough questions on how something like this could have happened despite the more than 850 law enforcement Personnel federal state and local that were here unseen you had heightened security measures as well that wrapped around this Par
ade route um the chief saying quote we do face gun violence here in Kansas City officials telling reporters but my note of this this is not Kansas City officials also saying two of the three people detained yesterday were juveniles and that when it comes to the motive they say that there's no connection to terrorism or homegrown violent extremism rather a dispute between two groups that spilled over as the more than 1 million people were celebrating the Kansas City Chief's Super Bowl win additio
nally we know that the toll grew overnight 22 were injured yesterday now we're learning that number has gone up by one 23 victims injured in this shooting the youngest just 8 years old the oldest 47 and again this massive cleanup and the investigation continues all of this as a memorial has been started here at the scene we spoke with one woman who say she drove all the way from Arkansas s to place flowers here she is frustrated and heartbroken as as to how something like this could have happene
d and again Diane all of this still under investigation as this community continues to grieve and those victims continue to recover in the hospital Diane all right margan Norwood in Kansas City Missouri thank you and Super Bowl champion Trey Smith is now describing the moment those shots were fired at ABC News Alex Perez has that story the day started just like last year parade Super Bowl champ Trey Smith was enjoying the celebration when he learned there was an active shooter at the parade near
Union Station just remember the security guard just ushering us through the doors quickly just saying you know come on hurry up hurry up hurry up it's okay this is not a joke it's the life of death situation Smith forced to run for his life finding shelter in a closet guiding as many people as he could to safety right before I run in there there's like a little kid in front of me so I just grab him just yank him and just tell you're hopping in here with me buddy so I don't know how many people
there were in the closet maybe 20 plus um one of my teammates my Long Snapper uh James Winchester was very instrumental and helping keep people calm we end up getting the green light to be able to get out of there uh we end up walking um to the buses the chief's team buses soon filled with frightened bystanders trying to escape the madness outside this little boy uh was with his father he's just a little hysterical he just panicked you know he's scared he doesn't know what's going on and you kno
w I had the WWE belt um on me the entire parade and you know I was man what can I do to help him out I just handed on the Belt hey buddy you're the champion No One's Gonna Hurt youw No One's Gonna Hurt You man um we got your back we just started talking about wrestling you know who's your favorite wrestler what was your favorite wrestling match and just little things like that just to take his mind off it he was looking out the window and he was see people you know just react in a way they're tr
ying to get out of that situation so I'm like here you go buddy this is yours you know man like so again no one's going to hurt you here with us keep you protected buddy you're going to be a okay you're going to be all right Smith is still in shock that a day of Joy could turn so violent I'm pretty angry um because it's senseless violence you know someone lost their life today um you have children are injured you have children are traumatized I'm hurting for one the families and the people who g
ot impacted the city of Kansas City but the offensive line man still believes in his City Hearts go out to you guys you know we're thinking and praying for you but you know at the end of the day Kansas City as a city we're going to stand up together and we're going to be strong Alex Perez in Kansas City Missouri thanks for that coming up the potential nuclear threat from space a top house lawmaker's warning of what he calls a serious national security threat what sources are telling us about thi
s quote big deal from [Music] Russia whenever news breaks we are here in Israel a nation at war after that brutal surprise attack by Hamas on the ground in Ukraine reporting from Leon Maine the scene of a horrific mass shooting ABC News live is right there everywhere from the scene of that deadly missile strike in Dena Ukraine reporting from the earthquake in Turkey in Rolling Fork This Tornado tore through this little town from the most devastating disaster in Hawaii Charleston South Carolina o
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here America's number one streaming news I have a point of contact they're expecting us this our secret world we have do you think we're going to be safe I don't know this is my pen inside that pen is a slice of human brain these are assassinations that people are going to be murdered there's really no telling what some of them will do I'm in in in oh my God it's happening everywhere and anywhere wow so the question is okay here we go oh my God are you kidding me what would you do you just won't
believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and Cal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John Kus here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on [Music] ABC welcome back to ABC News live first we're learning new details about a potential nuclear space threat the head of the house intelligence committe is demanding more information about what he calls a serious national security threa
t now two sources tell ABC News the threat involves a Russian plan to put nuclear weapons in space Chief Global Affairs correspondent Martha Raditz has the latest startling new Intelligence on a Potential Threat from space sources telling ABC news that the US believes Russia is working on plans to position a nuclear weapon in space a blatant violation of multiple International agreements the intended target not Earth but the critical satellite circling around it vital for communications and mili
tary operations moscow's military Ambitions coming to light after the Republican head of the house intelligence committee Mike Turner sent shock waves through Washington by cryptically urging the Biden Administration to declassify intelligence about what he described only as a serious national security threat the White House caught off guard you definitely are not going to find an unwillingness to do that when it's in our national security interest to do so at the same time we of course have to
continue to prioritize and focus us very much on the issue of sources and methods will do that lawmakers on the hill also tight lipped but some including the top Republican in the house trying to ease concern I want to assure the American people there is no need for public alarm we are going to work together to address this matter steady hands are at the wheel we're working on it and there's no need for alarm Russia's space program has fallen behind countries like the US China and even India so
experts say Moscow is likely trying to gain an advantage but that it's still cause for concern because it's proof of how far Putin is willing to go the idea of catastrophic space terrorism blowing up you know billions of dollars investments in low earth orbit we we think that's not credible we think that's crazy and uh but unfortunately uh the Russians and other folks are willing to do the kinds of things that we uh think is Unthinkable National Security adviser Jake Sullivan will be on the hill
today briefing leadership but sources tell me Sullivan was Furious that Congressman Turner flagged this intelligence before the scheduled briefing meanwhile the Russians are saying this is all about getting Aid to Ukraine Diane Chief Global Affairs correspondent Martha Raditz thank [Music] [Applause] you Israeli forces are storming gaza's main hospital saying Hamas is hiding there the Hamas run Gaza Health Ministry says at least one patient has been killed and six others injured in a statement
the IDF says it's conducting a precise and limited operation inside Nas Hospital looking for Hamas hiding behind injured civilians foreign correspondent Marcus Moore has the latest from Tel Aviv Israel Hi Marcus well hi Diane Israeli forces are storming the nassa hospital this morning they say searching for members of Hamas who they've accused of operating or conducting military operations out of the hospital and they are also searching for the bodies of hostages that may be held inside there ha
d been uh reporting from at least one hostage who was rescued uh that they were held in a hospital room there for many days for several days during their captivity um Israel ordered an evacuation of hundreds of Palestinians who had taken shelter inside the the hospital there and they have set up reportedly facial recognition cameras outside the the facility to identify any members of humas who they said might TR to exploit the evacuation um we understand that there are 450 patients and 300 staff
members uh inside of that hospital they were not ordered to evacuate uh but right now Israel is saying that they have already detained uh several suspected Hamas members in the midst of this operation that Diane uh could go on for a couple of days Marcus Moore and Tel Aviv Israel thank you coming up the federal investigation into a medication shortage of at hospitals while we're learning about the critical drugs in short supply and the new probe [Music] underway this is ABC News live the crush
of families here in Poland at Refugee centers intin Russia on the ground in Ukraine close to the front line from the capital destructive Cat 4 storm along I Boston is in the bull let's go ABC News live America's number one streaming news anytime time anywhere streaming 247 straight to you for free thank you for making ABC newsl America's number one streaming news tonight the election interference case against former president Trump the hearing on Miss conduct claims against the Georgia da plus t
he latest on the victims of the Kansas City shooting more Americans turn to the most watched newscast on television World News Tonight with David [Music] [Applause] mure I love it [Music] it why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R murl Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news p
odcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here get ready America every Friday the hottest Trends Styles and must have what's the right stuff to buy right now I really love that it's time to buy the right stuff yes and save big time too The Right Stuff Fridays on GMA you're going to love it from America's number one news comes the allnew ABC News app breaking news In
credible video faster smarter and customizable to your interests if you love being in the no you're going to love this experience the allnew ABC News app download it now welcome back to ABC News live here are some of the top stories we're following right now three Washington DC police officers are injured and a suspect is in custody after an hours long standoff police say they were trying to serve the suspect in arrest warrant for animal cruelty when he opened fire through the door they say he f
inally surrendered after 12 hours and 31 dogs were recovered from the home the wounded officers were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries the 46-year-old suspect now faces charges for animal cruelty and the assault on officers the Federal Trade Commission is investigating a medication shortage hospitals are reporting issues getting some generic chemotherapies and Other life-saving Drugs now the agency is looking into whether whether some manufacturers can no longer afford to
produce them more than 90% of Americans depend on generic drugs for their prescription and a Michigan woman is facing charges for allegedly selling designer clothes that she had rented prosecutors say brandine horn rented $800,000 in clothes and accessories from various fashion rental companies but they say instead of returning the items she sold them according to the complaint horn opened hundreds of accounts even using the company's own pictures to sell the items if convicted she could face de
cades in prison we'll be right [Music] back tonight the election interference case against former president Trump the hearing on Miss conduct claims against the Georgia da plus the latest on the victims of the Kansas City shooting more Americans turn to the mosted newscast on television World News Tonight with David [Music] mure I love it it come why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot o
f news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R ml Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here you're watching America's number one streaming news live reporting breaking new exclusives keep streaming with ABC News live reporting from Memphis tenness I'm M win
wherever the story is we'll take you there you're streaming ABC News live [Music] and good afternoon everyone I'm Kira Phillips our top story this hour the testimony at times was cringy even the witness looked uncomfortable a former friend of district attorney fonnie Willis who previously worked in the DA's office testified Willis's personal relationship with the special prosecutor began before he was even hired in the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump Robin YY testimony d
irectly contradicting statements from Willis and Nathan Wade take a listen Miss Willis and Mr Wade were in a romantic relationship one part what's the question um you have no doubt that their romantic relationship was in effect from 2019 until the last time you spoke with her no doubt and that's based on your personal observation and obser and you know speaking with them and seeing them together and things like that clearly not thrilled to be there but we do have the latest on today's ongoing Co
urt proceedings let's bring in our investigative correspondent Olivia Rubin in Atlanta also our contributor and former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons and also legal contributor Brian buckmire along with our editorial producer John santui we got quite the panel here Olivia let's uh just begin with you and talk about uh who exactly testified was it just YY and and what else can we expect now well we've heard from YY who as you said is sort of a decades old friend of fonnie Willis and also worked
in the office and we have heard from Nathan Wade who came up after YY and has sort of been working to undo some of the very damaging testimony that YY entered into the record and I know John santui said this earlier and he sort of took the words out of my mouth but when Yi was testifying my phone really was blowing up from sources down here saying that that testimony was so incredibly damaging so incredibly hard to come back from and what we've been seeing this morning is sort of Nathan Wade tr
ying to walk back from it and he did dispute her testimony he said that the relationship did not start before he was hired he said it was uh beginning in early of March 2022 so that would be after he was hired and he's also now started disputing the characterization that he was paying for trips for Fon Willis as part of the relationship he said he paid her back or sorry excuse me that she paid him back and that everything roughly evened out even though most of it was on his credit card but I wou
ld say Kira he did not have really any evidence to put forward to prove that she was paying him back he said it was all done in cash so he did not have any receipts or evidence to show to the court to say hey here's her paying me back so moving forward Court should be getting back underway any minute now and what is supposed to be another long afternoon session where we should hear more testimony testimony from Nathan Wade uh you know being questioned from Ashley Merchant uh Mike Roman's attorne
y who unraveled all of these threads and then he will be turned over to the state who is going to try to work with him and you know bring out some of their own testimony from Nathan Wade and this is all set to determine if fonnie Willis ultimately will end up taking the stand as part of this evidentiary hearing it is still up to the judge who has not yet said if that is going to happen all right I want to dig in on Nathan Wade first of all y testified that she saw Wade and and Willis hugging and
kissing prior to November 21 that she knew uh fonny Willis very well but I want to talk about Nathan Wade for a minute and let's talk lawyer to lawyer here Nathan Wade clearly uh an attorney so are you what did you make of the language he was using when he was saying yes I was still with my wife but after her Affair in 2015 we decided that that marriage was over and and I had the permission to date whomever I wanted it was very interesting to see how he tried to turn that story line what did yo
u make of that as an attorney and do you think that'll justify anything here well so first of all Kira I think it's really uncomfortable for everybody involved as Olivia said as John said earlier to have an attorney talking about you know on the stand whether they were involved in a romantic relationship and then hearing before that hugging and kissing Etc I think he's walking a legal line um I mean he's going back anytime Ashley asks a question in court and I know both of them I know both Ashle
y Merchant and Nathan Wade but every time she asks a question he's asking for clarifying information trying to be very precise in the testimony that he's giving in this particular case um and so I think he you know trying to walk that line as as we attorneys sometimes do but I'll tell you watching it as an attorney um hearing him having to talk about about a romantic relationship uh that's an incredibly unusual situation to see in a case like this I mean we're just we're I think it's been said h
undreds of times we're again in uncharted waters but I guess that's what you get when you've got a former president who's facing charges so let me ask you Chris you know the talk is at the end of the day is it possible fonnie Willis could get booted from this case you know both of these individuals you know this courtroom you know the judges I mean you know this this whole scenario what what are you what are you thinking at this point I'm thinking two things Kira one I'm thinking that it's unusu
al and probably unlikely for a district attorney to be disqualified in a case unless they've got a direct conflict of interest in some way some relationship with a party and that's not even an allegation here so I think that's one issue the second thing is everything gets down to jury selection when we're talking about it and this is really taining the prosecution's case it's doing a ton of damage to the prosecutors involved which may be something that they're not able to recover from when we ge
t to trial Brian what are your thoughts after what you've seen so far the bar to have a district attorney removed is quite high and I don't think the evidence we've seen so far unless Ashley Merchant has the receipts uh which Nathan Wade says doesn't exist uh that there was some sort of financial benefit here but to Chris's point I think the prosecutors in this case really have to take a long look in the mirror and say are we the right ones to bring this case there is so much baggage that has be
en uh brought out so much dirty laundry that's been aired out for everyone to see that the credibility of this prosecution is brought into question even more so so do they step aside and let someone else kind of carry the day or do they push through hoping to get a result in their favor so we are looking at live pictures right now Brian of the courtroom uh testimony with Nathan Wade is about uh to start again uh you guys just let me know if we hear anything so so and and we'll dip right back in
but okay so it's procedural things we're going through right now so Brian if indeed fonnie you said it's a high bar but if indeed fonny Willis is taken off this case what happens so does it continue with somebody else yeah so it more likely than not continue with someone else of course Ashley merch and the other defendants are Al also asking for this case to be dismissed I don't think that's even in the realm of possibility if anything else another district attorney gets appointed other special
Council probably as well and they carry forward with the case the major question becomes for me is if the district attorneys are taken off the case how much of a delay does that create within Georgia because ultimately this is kind of a look at the shiny object here of the distraction of what these prosecutors did rather than focusing on this RICO case and how long will the court and all of us watching focus on that shiny object before we get to the actual case and the matter here and move forwa
rd for a trial so that's exactly what Trump probably sits back and loves to see is yet more of a delay John yeah I mean listen why Donald Trump and part hired Steve sow one of the lawyers that was brought in earlier uh to these proceedings and really had those harsh questionings uh for Willis's former friend getting out the details you see them kissing you see them hugging this is what Donald Trump wanted right to throw as many to use Brian's phrase shiny objects at these proceedings to delay de
lay delay cu the goal here is to get all of these places as close as you can in November because then if you stand up and say election interference you have a little more Grand to ground to stand on now obviously in New York that failed because earlier today we got a trial date for the Manhattan DA's case that Kira is going to trial next month March 25th 6 weeks so Chris you were on the inside uh here in many ways just knowing all the players and and um you know this is where you handled numerou
s Rico cases say all right we're going to go ahead and and dip in let's listen in we'll continue the conversation because I I want to get down to the specific language to clear up exactly what the interrogatories asked for and exactly what you answered okay yes sir now if we look on the interrogatory that uh I believe as we indicated there they're really I think on page two uh the one that's that starts off describe each instance in which you've had sexual relations you see that one yes sir righ
t now that interrogatory uh begins describe each instance in which you have had sexual relations with a person other than your spouse during the course of the marriage including the period of Separation you see that yes sir now these were filed on May the 30th 2023 correct yes sir now at that time you had had sexual relations with Miss Willis correct on there I'm going to um object to the question as phrased I think the question is properly at that time um certainly asked about his answer but I
object to all right Mr I just ask you to rephrase but I think you can make the same point Co your honor it's a specific interrogatory and I would you know so the words do matter and I would like him to answer uh whether or not he'd has sexual relations with Miss Willis because if he answered yes then this interrogatory is a uh is a false interrogatory so I would ask the Court's Indulgence I'm not here to jump into some salacious um bed situation but this is an interrogatory that matters so I wou
ld ask the Court's Indulgence C cross these questions have been asked and answered several times I understand Mr Gillan is coming at it U from a different way but this question is not substantively different than those that have already been asked and answered in the information that he speaking all right um Mr I'll allow maybe this question one more but uh I think you are are asking it in a different way and I'll ask you to stick to the point right now as of May the 30 and may may may I ask the
question that I okay thank you Ron on as of May the 30th 2023 you had had sexual relations with Miss Willis isn't that correct the the interrogatory sir asks during the course of the marriage and through the period of Separation excuse me resp your honor I would ask the court direct the witness to answer my question yes or no as of May the 30th 2023 had you or had had you had sexual relations with Miss Willis yes Mr Gill if let's start with uh at the higher level whether he believes he answered
it truthfully and then we can get drill down into why or why not he doesn't and maybe we'll end up exactly where you left us well but again your honor the point of it is is that the words matter and that we have to establish what did and did not happen and then he can give whatever explanation he chooses to to what apparently is a false answer but I would like an answer to my question and you may get one I just would ask I would like us to start at the high level before we drill down in specifi
cs to see whether he actually contradicted that interrogatory if I'm making sense well uh the interrogatory is relatively direct and explicit sexual relationships with a person other than your spouse during the course of the marriage including the period of Separation that's pretty simple sure let's let's see if uh if that's something you can get him to admit you did have sexual relationships with someone other than your spouse during the course of the marriage uh and during the period of Separa
tion which included up to May the 30th 2023 isn't that correct sir the the my answer to this interrogatory is none is no so you're saying that you did not have sexual relationships with anyone uh outside of your marriage and the period of separation is during the period and you're answering the question to this interrogatory correct sir I'm saying during the course of my marriage I did not have sexual relations to anyone and this answer is no well again your honor you can proceed Mr I need to we
need a yes or no let's just get down to it did you or did you not by May the 30th 2023 have had sexual relations with Miss Willis yes or no yes or no yes okay now what you did is you answered no to that question question didn't you n correct I didn't answer no to the question you just asked I answered no to the interrogatory question and the interrogatory stands uh that you answered as a pleading in a in a uh in in a civil proceeding your divorce case right yes now excuse me the next interrogat
ory let's move there that interrogatory states as follows identify any All Occasions in which you entertain a member of the opposite sex other than your spouse who is not related to you by blood or marriage um you see that I do you now uh there are two parts to this the second part is I read on or in which a member of the opposite sex other than your spouse not related to you by blood or marriage entertain you and then it goes on to say including but not limited to dining drinking in restaurants
bars pubs hotels you see that correct I do now as of May the 30th 2023 when you fil this interrogatory you had in fact entertained Miss Willis on many occasions had you not again during the course of the marriage the marriage was irretrievably broken in 2015 the answer the answer is still no let's read what the interrogatory says about the time period required to answer the interrogatory because what it says is uh it goes on to say including you including but not limited to dining Andor drinkin
g at any restaurants bars pubs hotels or person's homes from the date of marriage to the present you understand what the word present means I do and present means the filing on May the 30th 2023 is is that right it is so as of May the the 30th 2023 you have done a lot or you had done a lot of entertaining of Miss Willis had you not I had done some yes and in fact under your testimony uh you would have said that she had also entertained you isn't that correct yes and so your answer to this interr
ogatory is false is it not sir no it's not false uh well hate to dance around the the answer is yes you did entertain as well is correct right yes she's not she's not your spouse at that time or any time correct that's correct she's not related to you by a blood or marriage correct that's correct but you entertained her right yes and during the course from your marriage the period of time up to the Pres so the answer would have been yes I did entertain somebody correct during the course of the m
arriage no Mr Wade Mr G I think we've we've made her point I think it speaks for itself and we can save that for arent I'll just follow up with one quick question you understand what the word present means your honor that's been as I think we did cover that already as well okay now what has happened um from the time that you filed this court document in May of 2023 let's go over some of the things that you uh had been involved in in terms of being entertained or entertaining prior to your filing
on the answer on the the interrogatories on May the 30th 2023 we've already established have we not that you had paid for a uh Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas uh with Miss Willis correct yes sir with Miss Willis and my mother well your mother's not a part of this interrogatory I'm talking about Miss Willis okay so you paid uh and and and caused to be paid approximately $3,335 on that trip Bahamas trip from uh October the 28th through October the 31st correct you objection I think we've Te
d this ground several times already Mr Gill let's let's cover new ground well I am I'm just trying to establish with with specificity the things that he had done to entertain or be entertained prior to May the 30th 2023 I'll try to move through it quickly sure well uh that's already part of the record in terms of his prior testimony and so if you want to link those things to those two things together you can do that dur an argument well uh so let me then let me discuss this you indicated that du
ring the course of your explanation concerning the B Trip that Miss Willis P that Miss Willis paid you all that money back in cash remember yes sir now the BCE trip had just happened hadn't it that occurred in March 18th 2023 right yes sir so you're filing this maybe two months after you have gone to biss with Miss Willis correct again I believe all of this is think I think he might be getting somewhere new we'll see yes sir so we've got the trip in we've got the trip in to belce on on March the
18th 2023 you and this will is correct yes sir now two months later you follow the interrogatories that speak for themselves that we've gone over a few a few minutes ago correct yes sir now the March the 18th 2023 to State the obvious is before March excuse me may the 30th 2023 will you agree with me on that I do okay so then tell us that Miss Willis uh paid you in cash all the money for the entire trip it was a gift for you for your birthday correct yes sir and I'm sure you probably have the d
eposit slips where you took the cash and deposited the cash into your account don't you I did not deposit the cash in my account you don't have a single solitary deposit slip to corroborate or support any of your allegations that you were paid by Mrs Willis in cash do you no sir not a single solitary one not a one now um when Miss Willis would pay you in cash would you scamper down to the T ATM with her and as she Drew money out of her account to pay you these thousands of dollars Mr Gillan mik
Scamper that there's been no evidence that uh Mr W does I object to the phrasing the argumentative nature of question uh on that issue over did you and this Wade Scamper down to the ATM machine and have her dry out uh for example on the bise trip just on on U your payment would have been uh $2,794 Miss wa for cl yeah thank you Pardon Me Miss Wade and I didn't didn't go to bise no I'm Excuse Me Miss Willis I'm I'm sorry did you go down to the ATM with Miss Willis while she Drew out $2,794 to pay
you in cash that you do did she did you go to the ATM with her no sir she didn't go to the ATM she carried the cash oh and so she would give you the cash did you have a little place in your house where you just stack up all this cash that you apparently got to repay you for these benefits that you bestowed on her Mr Gillan if I answered that I'm putting myself in Jeopardy if I if I tell the world that I have cash someplace in my home don't you think that that could be problematic no I don't I wa
nt an answer as to whether or not you have a little cash or in your house where you have allegedly taken the money that you got from Mrs Willis and went and put it somewhere where'd you put it no sir now just put it on the hip and can I walk around money did I put it on my hip and and yeah just walking around money where you would spend cash yourself let me finish did I put it on my hip in B and walk around with it when you got paid back would you take the money the cash that she gave you and wo
uld you just carry it around with you for spending money around town so we have to break down each trip because for example for the cruise she paid me the money before we took the cruise so I was here and I could put the money in my pocket or put it away wherever I wanted to do with it um other trips she would give me the money there so at that point I could either spend it or put it in my pocket or put it in the hotel Cate there there's no special place that you would have all this cash that yo
u would be getting from her that you've told us about that to pay back for the benefits that you have bestowed on her the only special place that that cash would have gone would have been to one of my children okay now are you aware um have you discussed these pleadings with Miss Willis no sir so there's been no discussion between you and Miss Willis about uh the allegation concerning the benefits that you have bestowed on her is that correct the phrasing the benefits he sted upon I don't believ
e that's an accurate reflection of the testimony and I don't think that's appropriate I think overoll you can answer the question okay when you said proceedings are you talking about the divorce proceedings because we were talking about the interrogatories to that question the answer is no if you're at go ahead I'm sorry go ahead with your answer I want I'll hear the complete answer then I'll follow up okay if you're asking me about this hearing the proceedings of this hearing have we discussed
the the financial piece based upon Mr Roman's motion yes so you have discussed the financial piece when did that where did that discussion take place conference room were you other people there or were you in this Willis discussing this about what your position was going to be of this Mr G the Elance has to do with with u suddenly we have a declaration from from Mr Wade In this case where he says roughly equal and then shows one alleged payment by Miss Willis no mention of cash none so I need to
find out a little bit more about how suddenly we have this this this Revelation about cash uh from the witness stand today overall so so we part company there when you say no mention of cash um if I provided one receipt that didn't amount to what you would think was roughly equal the rest of it is Cash well did you in your declaration sir it was filed in this case did you tell the court in that declaration that the expenditure that you had provided on behalf of Miss Willis was paid for uh back
by her in cash yes or no I believe that I did when I said that the expenses were split roughly evenly if you could point to me any place in your affidavit where you you use the word cash I would appreciate it take your time I didn't use the word cash no sir no you didn't use the word cash did you but I didn't say that she didn't give it to me in cash um no you just didn't tell anybody that you you allegedly got paid back in cash right no I I I told everyone who asked today yes sir now uh who els
e was uh was with you if anyone else when you and Miss Willis were discussing how you would be handling the financial component of the motion here today that is the personal benefits I'm going to object to the relevance of that your honor M well the relevance is if they know that they're going to be called as Witnesses that have been subpoenaed and they are discussing what they're going to say we need to know that the court needs to know that it goes to the veracity of Mr Willis and Excuse Me Mi
ss Willis and Mr Wade we didn't discuss how we were going to handle testimony my my question was when you were discussing with Miss Willer in the conference room when you were discussing what uh you perceived to be the situation concerning the the the benefits for the payments yes sir was there anyone else present no sir how long did the meeting take probably five or 10 minutes did Miss Willis tell you what she was going to say no sir did you ask her whether she had any with uh Bank withdrawals
that would corroborate the uh the assertion that uh that she would uh pay you back in large sums of cash for these these trips to the Caribbean bise California on and on and on you honor again I object the cerb when the last relevant subjection was made was that Mr Gillan needed to know who else was there these could be potential witnesses that he could cross-examine that that question has been answered okay I think it's still exploring possible bias or motive to shape his testimonies overrule o
n that ground thank you uh now now Mr Willis uh excuse me Mr Wade when uh you were having this discussion did you ask her did you ask Miss Willis do you have anything to support uh these cash withdraws no sir did you ask her uh where she got the cash here this this is the conversation I produced my credit card statement that showed what M Miss Merchant in her filing was representing that was the conversation um Okay so when she would pay you back in cash were you aware of what her financial situ
ation was do you know what no sir your I object to the relevance well your honor is relevant because um we've been uh bombarded with the book find me the votes in which uh what's an issue is the financial benefit and if that plays a material interest and a actual conflict of interests so I think that's relevant thank you now uh have you read the book find me the votes I have you have I have okay now now in that book Miss Willis is telling the authors U uh about how financially uh uh destitute sh
e was or kind of hitting down on on on the bottom as she was running for da you remember that part of the book so let me qualify the response i' I've read the the the book in in parts I haven't I I I hadn't had the time to sit and read the book in its entirety did you read that part about how she's telling the authors about how uh little money she had and how her financially she was in bad shape prior to when she was running did you did you read that part no sir did you ever have discussions wit
h Miss Willis about her uh financial situation which was um which was u in in apparently in rough shape prior to her being elected da no sir Miss Willis made it clear that her financial business was just that it was her business I I I know nothing about her financial status I know nothing about how she was fairing before or after the election or even now I know nothing about her finances telling us that she didn't sh share that with you but chose to share it with the authors of a book that's bee
n uh published and printed has nationally I think that's a fair question for cross I I I don't know that she shared it with the author I don't know that the author is telling the truth I don't know the author so I don't know sir okay now did you give an interview to um uh to the U authors of that book I've given no interview sir you so he haven't talked to them at all correct I haven't talked to any media all right n uh now as it relates to the I'd like to though as it relat than to again from y
our from your bank records that you're aware of there'll be no there'll be no cash deposits right I didn't say that are there cash deposits which line up with the money that you have allegedly received from Miss Willis to quote pay you back for her part of the trips so so here's the thing in my bank records you will see cash deposits you will see check deposits I can't say that you you look through the bank records and you won't see cash deposits because I have two sources of of income sir I inc
ome comes from my private practice my firm and income comes from the the contract here with with Fon County um during the course of Private Practice occasionally I will have occasion to deposit cash into my account and in preparation for this hearing and your testimony did you go through your bank records to find out if you could locate any cash deposits that would corroborate your your testimony no sir I I I didn't go through my bank records at all now um so what you would do the money that you
received of course the money that you received reive from your work for Fon County that's public funds correct no sir that's private funds that's my public funds pay you to do work for folding County correct tell me what the definition of a public fund is a public fund would be funds as in not fund but funds money public money as in money from taxpayers by in Fulton County or the state of Georgia pay you to do the work that you're doing here in this case yes or no one or the other I'm certain y
ou know which one the case I don't know which one no sir now those you would take those public funds and those public funds were then used deposited in your account and they were then used to pay uh for the on the credit cards for the trips that you would take with uh Miss Willis correct I object to the question as so far as the characterization of public funds the witness didn't testify to that and I believe there's been any evidence to that once it's paid to Mr wait it's private funds well the
point of it is is that you got money Mr Gill's rephrasing yeah I'll reph let's break it down you got money from fting County for the work that you do here right yes sir you would send in invoices and they would pay you money correct yes sir those money that wasn't private money that money was money from either the citizens of fing County or from the state of Georgia correct public that's what I mean by public funds agreed I I guess I'm having trouble with the the the the notion that the the the
citizens of Fon County have paid me any funds I'm not certain the funding source I can tell you that either the state of Georgia or fton county has written me a check so that would be those two entities are public entities correct yes would that would be public funds right right yeah yes and that those public funds are from the same source that you would then use to pay out uh on your on your uh your expenses for the trips that you took Miss Willis on correct no sir as as I testified to moments
ago I I have income coming in from my Law Firm I also have have income coming in from the the funds that we're here discussing now from either the state of Georgia or fton County Andor both I'm I'm not certain what it is so to say so to say I didn't mean to cut you off go ahead so to say that I'm paying a credit card statement with funds coming from Fulton County or the state of Georgia would would not be an accurate statement because the funds could have very well come from my private practice
what percentage of your income in 2022 came from money or you're working on this case or from your partners working for the Fulton County office in 2022 I would I would say 50/50 you think 50/50 in 2022 yes sir what about 2023 probably 6040 6040 yes sir so the money that would be in those accounts at least 60% of those in your view would be public funds that those monies were then used to pay for the expenses that you had incurred for the trips that you took Miss Willis on the cruises the uh th
e Napa valleys the uh the uh Bahamas correct right yes sir okay um and now what you what you did is that when you when you signed on in the in uh November uh 1st of 2021 that's when you signed on to be U Council for the anti anti-corruption matters right yes sir now as you know in your engagement letter it doesn't say that you're signing on and your scope of work is to work on the uh the Trump special grandury investigation does it no sir it says that you're signing on to work on anti uh anti-co
rruption the anti-corruption unit matters correct yes sir matters with a with a plural correct yes sir so in your contract there is no specific reference to any specific case isn't that right that's correct okay now um but you didn't sign on for the duration there was a period you have a contract and then it would then expire then you would have a new contract correct yes sir now of course the the extension that you received the first one was in November of 2021 and then U you filed excuse me th
ere was a renewal in in November the 15th of 2022 is that is that right sounds right oh okay now that was right after you got re reup by Miss will Willis right after uh you took U Miss Willis to Aruba um isn't that right on that November the 1st 2022 trip to Aruba and through November the 4th 2022 correct what does reup mean well reup means that you came back your contract was up and then on November the 15th you and Miss will signed a new contract for you right yes sir okay now when you were in
U taking her to uh the Aruba and on the on the cruises and excuse me the resort there did you discuss your reupping U of the signing an extension on your contract no sir but you but you make an excellent point um I'm I'm glad you pointed that out so the the the the trip to a Ruba the the contract was not in existence then so you're saying so you're saying that you were not under contract and your contract did you send any invoices in or work that you did after your contract your first contract
expired no sir you didn't no sir no when that expired that was it so and then you're saying that after the Aruba trip you get reup with a new contract correct I signed a new new contract yes sir was there any modifications on that contract did you get um an extension on the cap that you were limited on the first one were there any modifications at all Mr Wills excuse me I've done that again I I apologize I I've been called worse I'm sorry uh I've been called worse um now were there any modificat
ions on that um do you do you have the contracts in front of you where you could I don't have it in front of me but I think that uh brch because I believe as the work gradually um as the time of the work gradually increased the the hourly cap would would increase in other words starting out um starting out the investigation it was impossible to anticipate um the level of cooperation from during the course of the investigation from some of the Witnesses so if you assume that there would be great
cooperation um with the witnesses um in terms of uh interviewing and speaking and being voluntarily speaking with you it doesn't take as much time um so after getting into it realizing that most of the witnesses um were not willing to speak or willing to turn over evidence or information um quickly you figure out that this is going to take a little more time than originally anticipated and because of that you have to uh compensate for for those hours that's why there was a compensation on your e
xtension yes the cap the cap now did Mrs Willis excuse me did Miss Willis review your invoices with you when you would submit them never uh did anyone ever question whether or not you work 24 hours in one day and build 24 hours in one day I've never worked 24 hours in one day and build 24 hours in one day okay and I'm glad you asked me that question because I I like the opportunity to talk about that I think you should go ahead so if you look at that invoice where where it says 24 hours in one d
ay it it actually doesn't say one day if you look at the top of the invoice it says date completed the date that's reflected on that invoice reflects the date that the work was completed it doesn't say when it started it just says this is the date that it's completed so if you go through the invoices probably around the first five or six you'll see that that's the building format I would build only after that particular task has been completed that's why you see a 24-hour period with the one day
there I kind of wish some of the experts who had apped on that had called me and asked me the question but there was never a bill in of 24 hours in one day now probably around the sixth or seventh invoice you see the format changed I started using a range so that it got less confusing right I'm confused so maybe you can correct it okay um in in exhibit uh 14 you've got a you've got down uh a specific day prepared cases for pre-trial November the 5th 2021 24 hours at $250 an hour 6,000 no this w
asn't about this wasn't about a range it was about the work that you did on November the 5th no no Mr Gillan look at the top of the invoice where it says date completed yeah what I want you to do Mr Wade is focus on the on the date that you have down there and tell the court what you build for on November the 5th 2021 I thought it was already in I thought 14 14 is in again Mr Gillan it says completed date date completed the dates that you see here are the dates that that work was completed so on
November the 5th I completed the task of preparing the cases for pre-trial that's the date I completed it took me just read if you would then my question was read out loud the entry for November the 5th 2021 and how many hours you build that day just just do that for me if you would I can't do that excuse me I believe the witness is entitled to answer his question that certainly wasn't the question that Mr all right well the question now is to read a certain entry so I just read into the record
Mr Wade on on November the 5th 2021 how many hours did you Bill the citizens of Fulton County for on that day just read it out please I completed the task on November 5th 2021 24 hours was build at $250 now when you were you talked about your relationship with uh Miss Willis and your testimony is that it began in 2022 you remember that testimony no sir our relationship began in Ro your romantic relationship began in 2022 is that sir that your testimony yes sir um okay now when you were reup on
this contract you had a romantic relationship already established with Miss Willis yes or no in 20122 yeah you were reup on November the 15 2022 you had a romantic relationship with Miss will I signed the second contract yes sir answer my question please on I'm not going to use the words reup signed up U on the reup or whatever you want to call it your contract on November the 15 2022 you had a a romantic relationship already existing with Miss Willis yes or no I signed the contract The second c
ontract yes sir during the course of a romantic relationship yes or no you had a romantic relationship with her at the time that you signed up the extension on November the 15th 2022 yes or no the answer to that question is yes thank you now uh the this was before the special purpose grand jury uh uh released any uh any a report isn't that correct correct are you asking me if it's before the work was completed or before the the special purpose grand jury actually released publicly released the r
eport when they released the report your relation ship with Miss with Miss Willis already existed when the special purpose grandury released its report correct at the time the report was released yes sir but you understand that the report had the the the work had been completed prior to the release of the report you understand that and uh your relationship with Miss Willis of course was prior to the indictment in this case correct yes sir your honor if I may just ask uh my uh folks over here whe
ther there's anything I need to clean up on that's all the questions Ron I have thank you I do have questions well I think we went through no I had asked you the permission that he was going to go first on this and then I was going to follow up that's to The Firm to allow him to go first that's what I thought I had all right let me all right would with the understanding next time we're going to keep going in order and I skip around the order all right that's why I brought it up because okay all
right um Mr s down I'm going to try to keep my questions very specific yes sir okay yes sir and I'm going to also of course try not um to go back into specific questions that have already been asked okay yes sir when did your relationship with Miss Willis end 2023 can you give us an approximation of not by date but by month uh summer 2023 um for for give me I'm I'm a man we don't do the date thing um summer 23 I would say June maybe okay using the euphemism personal relationship did you have any
personal relationship at all with Miss Willis after the summer of 2023 I want to make sure that I'm answering your question are you because let me let me rephrase if I might the way it has been characterized in for example the response of the state and I believe in your affidavit is there's a difference between a personal relationship and a professional relationship correct yes sir okay I'm not talking about a professional relationship I'm talking about the personal relationship have you had a
personal relationship at all and you know what I mean by that after the summer of 2023 are you asking me if I had intercourse with the district attorney I was trying not to but I I guess the if you're going to characterize it as that the answer would be the answer would be no so it's been purely professional since the summer of 2023 so so that's where we're having issues um okay I you'll have to explain because I don't know what the issue would be no I I I will explain to you um you say personal
um we're very good friends probably closer than ever because of these attacks but if you're asking me about specific intercourse the answer is no how about if I change it from intercourse to romantic no okay during the direct examination you made a statement at least I believe I heard it correctly that you personal relationship and now I'm talking about that characterized the sexual romantic relationship was not a secret is that correct wait if you're asking me if people knew that we were havin
g sex no they didn't I'm asking you whether the people knew that you were dating whether you were romantically involved you said that it was not a secret oh it wasn't a secret it was just private my my my mother knew obviously did anyone in the district attorney's office that has worked on this case know that you were dating or had a romantic relationship with district attorney Willis I don't know what they knew well did you tell anyone no do you have any knowledge of whether Miss Willis reveale
d it to anyone I have no clue okay uh so as far as you know as far as you know from personal knowledge no one in the D team knew correct that's correct okay so if it was a legitimate relationship is there any particular reason why it was Kept Secret or private wasn't kept secret it was kept private and the purpose for that was it's what we chose to do I'm asking you why though not just because you chose what if you're dating someone why keep it private so few reasons the first one is and I want
to say this respectfully in the right way um there are some people who are in the public eye who just don't like it don't wish to be there um I have tried to have lunch or dinner with her publicly and I can't count the number of people that would approach the table or would accost us as we're trying to walk into a restaurant and just lunch or have a meal um it is not secret it is private we don't want the world the world uh asking questions or or interrupting that time so we weren't trying to ke
ep anything a secret Mr s um there's nothing secret or salacious about having a private life nothing not suggesting that there was I'm asking the questions when you went on the various trips that have been outlined by both Mr Gillan and by Miss Merchant did anyone in the district attorney's office know that the two of you were traveling on personal trips together to my knowledge Mr sow no okay and again that was for privacy according to your testimony privacy yes sir okay did you and Miss Willis
go to the Hapeville condo prior to your relationship starting beginning of 2022 prior to having physical contact prior to having intercourse did we go to the Hapeville condo again you keep going to intercourse I'm trying not to but fine the answer to that my question would be yes did you and Miss Willis go to the hayville condo prior to what I want to say November 1st of 209 2021 yes okay and the purpose for going to the Hapeville condo with Miss Willis prior to 2021 would have been what or pri
or to November 1 of 2021 could could have been any number of things because at at that time at that's what I'm asking to tell me yeah could have been any number of things because at that time um she had a friend living in that condo Miss Miss Yi lived in that condo okay it maybe it was my question was poorly worded let me try again your answer is yes prior to November 1st of 2021 you would have gone to the Hapeville condo and been there with Miss Willis correct yes and you would have been there
as you indicated for many reasons right yes can you give me just list a few of the reasons Miss YY resided there went to visit her um maybe went to talk about uh a document that I received um you would go to the condo to talk about a document that you received absolutely okay go ahead absolutely any other reasons none come to mind none come to mind no sir and uh would you say that was frequent when I say frequent do you think prior to November 1st of 2021 you were at the condo more than 10 times
no sir so it' be less than 10 times yes sir so if phone records were to reflect that you were making phone calls from the same location as the condo before November uh 1st of 20121 and it was on multiple occasions the phone records would be wrong if phone records reflected that yes sir they'd be wrong they'd be wrong okay did you where did you live during that time period the same place I live now which is not in Hapeville correct it is not in haille it is north of Atlanta the city of Atlanta c
orrect it is okay and the other any other reasons why you would be in the Hapeville area on multiple occasions prior to November 1st of 2021 let's see the poor experience is there I'm sorry the poor experience is there okay so that would have been one any other re um yes sir the the airport is there airport in Hapeville uh yes sir Delta Airlines is okay headquartered there um let's see restaurants there okay um if you have if that's your recollection that's fine I'm not asking you to try to reme
mber everything but if that's okay um did you discuss your affidavit filed in connection with the response with Miss Willis no sir did you know a personal knowledge whether Miss Willis um reviewed your affidavit before it was included with the response I have no clue so as far as you know personal knowledge Miss Willis did not know what you said in the affidavit I didn't give it to her that's what I said you have no personal knowledge no personal knowledge and as far as you know no one else has
told you that she did or didn't I hadn't asked anyone the and we we've kind of worked this up a little bit and the numbers could be off but according to our numbers um $10,000 give or take would have been reflected on your credit card statement in connection with things um of potential benefit to miss wilis okay I want you just to assume that of the 10 assuming that there was $10,000 that you had on your credit cards is it your testimony that Miss Willis paid you back $10,000 in cash not not ace
nt object the characterization of $10,000 for Miss Willis's travel I don't believe is an accurate reflection of what the numbers at least the summary that I've been provided by the defense to means that's joint travel um so I is that right Mr no it's not joint travel but all I'm trying to understand I'll rephrase because I don't want to get bogged down on specific numbers you would have received thousands of dollars in cash from Miss Willis correct yes sir okay and the thousands of dollars in ca
sh from Miss Willis do you know not I'm not asking you whether she took it out of her pocketbook or she took it out of a suitcase I'm saying do you know the source of the cash just that out of her pocket book yes sir you don't know where she obtained the cash I I didn't ask her and the whole time that she she was paying you in cash you never said hey why do you have this amount of cash why would Mr Mr say out in my practice people come to my Law Firm all the time with cash I never question where
they got it yeah but we're talking not about people that come into your Law Firm we're talking about the district attorney of Fulton County who I'm assuming receives a paycheck she doesn't get paid in cash so just like you assumed I assumed she got it from her paycheck I don't know okay but of course it's already been and I'm not going to go back into it you've not seen any records indicating withdrawals of cash from Miss Wiis at all why would I ask her I didn't ask all I said is you haven't ri
ght no sir okay now can you explain why you filed for a divorce one day after you were hired by Miss Willis you filed on November 2nd of 2021 you're hired on November 1st of 2021 why this the day after you mean one day before so you filed for divorce one day after you were hired right okay I'll I I'll answer your question okay please so in 2015 um when my wife had the affair um we had a conversation that we would divorce right then again the better practice um at least for my children at the tim
e was to stay in place until the youngest could graduate and matriculate into college we did that when she graduated matriculated into college at the time my wife had moved back and forth to Houston to Texas so she's in Texas we take our child off to college we come back to Georgia for a brief period of time divorce gets filed she gets served there we go now the reason that date was selected yes sir that's that's what I asked the the specific reason that that specific date was selected was becau
se she was only in town for brief honor this is attorney Cent privilege why he decided to file his and why do you have the right to object on his behalf for attorney plan privilege because well I'll make one more all right there we go uh and I I believe that she he's already attempted to answer this question and there was no privilege raised so he's given a partial answer and now he's about to finish that so first of all I don't think it's covered by attorney client privilege and and I'll deal w
ith that if you want me to but otherwise he's already answered part of it so he doesn't get to say now I'm going to stop so well it was a long preface but I don't think it ever actually got to what might have been an issue there so if you can lay the foundation we'll deal with the objection okay take a step back okay you realize that an attorney client privileges the privilege of the client correct yes sir and you in connection with your representation at least has been um proper to the court by
Mr Bradley that it's up to you to decide whether you want to what raise the privilege right yes sir it's not up to Mr Bradley yes sir so you have the power in order to get to the truth of the matter you have the power to wave the attorney client privilege do you not I believe that's an inappropriate question certain the privileg is there at the whether he uses it or not it doesn't matter why Mr S I think if we're trying to get to the answer to your question let's figure out whether it covers th
e question you were trying to get to and your if I may finish and your position is you have no intention of waving your attorney client privilege correct that's correct all right so now um can you answer the question question why you waited until November 2nd the day after you were hired by Miss Willis to file for a divorce I I can okay so again joyin had relocated to Texas and she had been in Texas for months she was only here for a brief period of time to drive my daughter's car back with her
and when she came here to do that I was able to then get her served okay so your answer as to why you waited until the day after you were hired by Miss Willis on which would be November 1st 2021 to file the complaint for the divorce on November 2nd 2021 your testimony underrot this because your she was here wife was here was here but had not been here in October had not been here in September had not been here in O in August of 2021 she had been in Texas taking care of her ailing mother and agin
g father so the first opportunity that I had after speaking with my lawyers to take care of that was the date it was filed and served because she happened to be here it had nothing to do with that was purely coincidental that contract I understand it's purely coincidence your testimony yes sir and understand that this was by agreement between between she and I she being my wife and I that we would divorce When the Children uh matriculated out and that uh there would actually have been an agreeme
nt attached to the filing um it became apparent that the agreement wasn't wasn't going to happen and and things got a little contentious so that's when the the privilege will kick in and and I was forced to do it when I did it okay so if I understood correctly again you tell me if I'm wrong is it your testimony that your wife was not in Atlanta Georgia or the metro area throughout October of 2021 no in octob in October of 2021 she was back and forth between here and Texas so she was at least on
some occasions in the Atlanta area but that was during the time when we were working through the consent agreement that that fell through again I think we're pretty far F on in relevance the answer to the question about the timing of the filing understood Mr Cross uh Mr s where we going from here we're we're about to finish this area since I'm not going to be able to go any any further about if we want to call the X we'll call the X for that purpose well we might have to disc discuss whether tha
t's a collateral issue alltogether no I'm just saying if I didn't say we will but we'll okay all right so um you said that you were aware of the contracts that Mr Bradley and Mr Campbell had with the Fon County District Attorney's Office correct yes sir and how did you become aware of those just through conversation they told conversation with who Mr Bradley and Mr Campbell so you were discussing matters with Mr Bradley which were not related to attorney client privilege correct related to the c
ontracts yes okay but you were having conversations that would not even though if I understood correctly Mr Bradley was your attorney at the time correct at what time at the time that that Mr Bradley received his contract from Fulton County which would have been beginning of January or in January of 2021 right is that the date of his contract pretty close I don't know what the date of his contract was but if if it it was after the date of the filing of divorce then then then yeah I'm not talking
about I'm not talking about after the date of the filing of divorce it's been represented to the court that you had an attorney client relationship with Mr Bradley from 2015 forward yes sir yes sir that is correct when Mr Bradley received his contract with Fon County that was in 2021 correct I don't know we can prove that through other evidence but at the time that Mr Bradley was doing work for fton County if I understand you still had an attorney client privilege at least you're claiming one w
ith Mr Bradley correct yes okay so when you talk to Mr Bradley about matters with his contract in Fon County those were not covered by your attorney client privilege correct they were not okay and that meant that not all Communications with Mr Bradley were covered by attorney client privilege correct well those certainly weren't well but my question was not all Communications with Mr Bradley were covered by at least as you've been represented to the court by the attorney client privilege correct
those Communications were not so there were Communications outside of the attorney Cent am privileged correct with Mr Bradley if you're asking me if I ever communicate with him outside of the attorney Clan privileg the answer is yes I communicated with him outside attorney CL privileg um let's uh finish this up and did you call it um Roman number four or just defense okay in defense exhibit number four and Mr Gillan went over with you your responses to certain interrogatories on May the 30th 20
23 remember that yes sir uh not going back into those the words and the interrogatories are already in evidence so we're not going to do that but the ones that we've gone that were gone into there were two of them and your answer to both of those was none correct yes sir okay now on January 25th of 2024 yes sir you again were in a position that you answered those same interrogatories the two that we're talking about I can get specific if we need to but as long as we understand we're talking abou
t the same two right yes sir okay and they are in defense exhibit number six and they are interrogatories number four and number five okay go ahead no I want you to be able to see it so it's a defense exhibit number six I don't does he have six up there all I'm told I'm told that you have six okay ah here we are okay you would agree with me that in defense exhibit number six and we're talking about interrogatories of January 2 2024 yes sir that as to interrogatory number four that's the same int
errogatory same words that were in the interrogatory that Mr Gillan went over which was dated May 30th of 2023 correct yes sir and your original response in defense exhibit number six was none correct yes sir your updated response was the plaintiff declines to respond to this interrogatory and asserts his privilege pursuant to ocga section 24-55 correct yes sir uh you know that 24-55 breaks down into two two privileges right which is why I was specific I said I asserted the Privacy privilege wel
l that's what I'm asking you but in your updated response there's no reference to privacy correct yes there is in the in the code section 245-5563 testify as to any matter which may incriminate or tend to incriminate such party or witness or which shall tend to bring infamy disgrace or public contempt upon such party or witness you'd agree with that right I'm not reading it I'm sorry I'm not reading it I don't have it in front of me if if I may Mr we can uh I can take judicial notice that is wha
t the rule says if you want to ask him any followup questions okay thank you you are not claiming that your answer to number four interrogatory number four on January 25th 2024 incriminates you that is as in Fifth Amendment privilege right that's correct you're claiming the second part that it would it would um bring infamy disgrace or public contempt correct I'm going to object to that I don't think that's the full thing that and also the witness doesn't have it in front of him so I don't know
how he could respond to that he several times privacy is why he inv that over I'm claiming privacy the privilege that you make reference to is to infamy disgrace or public contempt upon the witness right or party that's the section that you were relying on correct if that's what it says yes sir well I could show you but I I think the has already indicated he can take judicial notice of the statute so assume that what I'm telling you was accurate okay yes sir okay uh how would an answer of none b
ring infamy disgrace or public contempt upon you so as I explained um indirect of Mr Roman's councel um the minute she elected to intervene into my divorce proceeding I then started to understand the bigger picture which was that all the attorneys in the election interference case were colluding with Joy's divorce lawyer and because of that I said privacy I don't want my divorce proceeding to bleed into this criminal proceeding I just didn't want that so you raised a privilege if I understand th
at indicated that your answer would bring infamy disgrace or public contempt upon you right I'm going to object to the relevance of this ask answer several times Mr s where are we heading with this um I I think I can finish that up by saying you didn't say none again you asserted a privilege correct that's correct okay and you did the same thing did you not with number five that's correct ex that is you didn't say none again right correct okay is the answer to the interrogatory number four that
you have it in front of you is the answer none is that the truth the the the answer is to that interrogatory is as I placed it at the time I responded sir I'm asking now is the answer to that interrogatory the answer the answer is still privilege so he's apparently electing to apply the same privilege Mr sow to that exact same question and I have a case which indicates that we can get beyond that if the court deems that appropriate and uh to what end H to what end where that the privilege actual
ly does not apply and he he must answer the question and where does that get us even if he answers the question hasn't he already kind of said everything he has to say about the nature of the relationship how long it lasted when it ended no I think it would prove I think if he is forced or compelled to answer the question he will either answer it falsely by saying none or he answer it truthfully by saying yes and then telling us what it is that's what I believe that's why I'm asking but the inte
r rogatory you're referring to though the the question contained there two two interrogatories yes sir it's the entertaining one it's whether they were other relationships right with a specific language that's in the interrogatories sure haven't you already haven't we already covered that in all the other questions that we've had so far yeah but we have but again the court could if I could require a compelling answer from him as to whether his answer would still be none then we would know whethe
r or not he was telling the truth now if the answer is no then obviously there was a time in the past where he was not it simply requires him to now answer under oath what he refused to answer and claimed but I might suggest it's a bogus privilege and that you can Pierce that privilege because it's a material fact in connection with this case again it's a call that your honor makes I have case law that says you can do that but it's your discretion M cross you roner Mr B on stand now for several
hours he asked fa's been asked and answered very um personal questions that I believe cover the issues Mr is making argument and this is probably an argument to make for the um later to the court and not a question to the so as I see it the only relevance these interrogatories have to this case really whatsoever would be as either prior inconsistent or consistent statements and that and I think the question has been put to him again and again and again he's answered how he believes uh he felt hi
s answer should be and and why he answered a certain way and as it goes to credibility I think at this point we're arguing uh weight and I don't I don't really see the the value in pushing this this issue further so all right well just for the record the case that I was going to refer to is State versus Wakefield at 324 Georgia appeal 587 and specifically see it would be 590 in which they talk about this specific privilege this is a uh 2013 case and then a footnote to number footnote three and f
ootnote 3 says there are times when the materiality of the evidence outweighs the testimonial privilege and it goes and explains what that is that's what I'm bringing and I see what you're saying that we could say that you need to answer the question regardless of the privileg you asserted at this point though I think we've covered that ground and we're ready to move on okay based on that I have nothing else thank you okay Mr mccullock anything on behalf of Mr Floyd moving through defense Counci
l no no no I'm looking behind you Mr Mullin on behalf of Mr Floyd he's elbow in you sir okay um Mr Cromwell nothing right all right M cross thank you Mr Wade have you still got exhibit number 14 in front of you one with all of the invoices I believe I believe I have them all all right so you were asked Mr Wade about um a couple of the invoice items and your testimony I think was that the percentage of income post special councel appointment in November 20 21 the percentage of your income roughly
after that time was about 5050 fton versus other income from your um law practice correct roughly yes ma'am okay sometimes more sometimes less yes ma'am all right how about your time I'm interested in the percentage of your time from SE from November 2021 so let's say the close of the special purpose grand jury when it was dissolved in January 2023 you estimate for the percentage of your time that was spent on Fulton County Work versus other work oh gosh 99 one 99% of the time here in this buil
ding working on this case all right it was as I understood your testimony it was an intense period in terms of hours while that special purpose grand jury was meeting correct yes ma'am and uh who was head or manager of the election Integrity case during that time for the District Attorney's office I was you were coordinating the efforts yes ma'am and those efforts included not just the proceedings that were happening in this building correct that's correct um we don't need to go all through it b
ut is your representation that 99.9% of the time that's restricted to 2022 99% of your professional working time was devoted to this case yes ma'am and the remainder whatever it was was to some of your other cases that were on ongoing yes ma'am all right 2022 I want to focus on that a little bit because if we are looking at I believe the financial affidavits do you have those in front of you as well I do the financial affidavit that was filed in your divorce case in January 2022 you estimated yo
ur monthly income at that time was $14,000 a month right and 22 January 22 yes ma'am January 23 would that come to 9,000 what about 2024 I I don't know is that there in front of you is that one that's not one of the ones that's there in front of you no ma'am all right so as reflected in those financial affidavits your income decreased as a result of your work in this case correct significantly the structure of your firm we talked a lot about that and I don't want to go through it anymore but uh
than we need to but 2022 the structure of your firm changed is that correct that's correct in the early part of 2022 there were three of you you and Mr Campbell and Mr Bradley you split expenses is that right that's correct and you you profit shared among yourselves correct correct right after Mr Bradley left the firm then there were just two of you correct that is the cause of the significant change yes ma'am so now you have two people bringing in income correct correct and one of those people
you is spending almost all of your time devoted to um this election Integrity case correct yes ma'am and your income from this election Integrity case uh is less than what it was the year before yes ma'am we talked about the monthly Caps or we didn't talk about it there was talk about the monthly cap that was included in your um cont contracts indicating there was a a certain threshold that you could reach number of hours a month and over that amount you were not going to be compensated correct
that's correct all right and you kind of smil when you said that that's a little bit of sweet there isn't it that's bitter bitter all right exhibit 14 is that still there in front of you it is I want you to take a look please that's a collection of exhibits that includes all of your invoices as was represented I want you to take a look at invoice number nine yes ma'am is that there in front of you I have it invoice number nine Mr Wade indicates that you performed hours of work that you were not
compensated for because your cap had been reached yes ma'am want you to take up and what did you do in those circumstances when the hours that you worked per month were more than the cap the that was in your contract that you were permitted to be paid for I I was forced to to lose that time I didn't get paid for it okay and that's what exhibit number n shows yes ma'am all right and in exhibit number nine you've got a task hours that were completed and you just didn't bill for it you noted the ti
me and then a zero beside it because you didn't build the county for that time yes ma'am all right what about exhibit number um invoice number 13 can you flip to that for me I have it is that a similar situation yes ma'am it is and what is it on exhibit I'm sorry invoice number 13 this invoice makes me cry there are so many hours here um that I worked that I couldn't I couldn't get paid for so and you work those hours anyway Mr Wade oh absolutely this is not the type of job that you could walk a
way from just because you're not getting paid for it I think there's some professional rules of responsibility to an attorney who's engaged in a a case you you have to see it through so it's not like I could just throw my hands up and say well I reached my my monthly cap I'm done I I can walk away I can't do that this this is ongoing it's constant and I have to do the work can you look at invoice number 23 for me there in exhibit number 14 yes ma'am does that reflect a similar situation The Hour
s worked that you were not compensated for yes ma'am invoice number 24 and 27 can you take a look at those and let us know if that reflects the same situation are you trying to depress me look at how the money I'm looking it's the same yes okay and there's no work around to that you didn't attempt to work around that that um contractual cap on your hours oh no ma'am all right you were asked a lot of questions Mr Wade about the affidavit that was submitted correct you recall those questions I'm s
orry I'm stuck on this invoice you know if I was going to get a benefit I I'd like that benefit that that's the one I want that didn't happen that didn't happen okay all right and there was no renegotiating your contract um to reflect that those hours should be paid or anything no ma'am okay all right do you have your affidavit there in front of you I do the Affidavit of course was attached to and provided in support of the state's response to Mr Roman's motion correct yes ma'am all right and yo
u prepared that affidavit I did you signed that affidavit I did all of the allegations and the representations in that affidavit or true is that right Mr Wade every one of them every one of them you were asked a lot of questions about our line number 34 can you turn to that for me please it's on page four of that affidavit yes ma'am can you read it out loud for me please the district attorney and I are both financially independent professionals expenses for personal travel were roughly divided e
qually between us at times I have made and purchased travel for district attorney Willis and myself from my personal funds at other times district attorney Willis has made and purchased travel for she and I from her personal funds examples of district attorney Willis's purchasing plane tickets for she and I with her personal funds for our personal travel are attached funds Mr Wade as you understand the term funds does that include cash yes does that include credit yes does that include um reimbu
rsements yes you didn't represent in your affidavit Mr Wade that you were including all of the receipts from funds or uh travel expenses that were paid on your behalf by district attorney Willis correct that's correct you had I think your conversation with Miss Merchant was you produced the receipt that you had yes ma' are you aware of any other receipts what ask this I'm going to mark this as state number one you testified Mr Wade that district attorney Willis purchased and funded the entire tr
ip to B that was her treat to you for a birthday yes ma'am and you testified that she purchased the plane tickets for you correct yes ma'am and while you may not have had the receipts on hand when you filled out the affidavit they weren't in your possession are you aware now that there are receipts and um that it reflects that the district attorney go I've got a cop do you remember Mr Wade approximately how much and that's again say number one question do you remember how much the flight was U f
or you your flight to B and if you don't I'm not tendering it through I'm just um asking you to take a look at that and see if that ref your recollection as to the amount that that plane ticket cost that was um Extended by District you may keep it you keep it does that refresh your recollection Mr Wade it does thank you approximately how much was the amount of the ticket that district attorney Willis purchased for your travel with B $887 35 and I'm not tendering it your honor but I will uh leave
it with the court reporter for all right Mr Wade your testimony here in court today and consistent with your affidavit was that the personal relationship I think we' Called It Dating today as well the personal or dating relationship between you and the district attorney began sometime in early 2022 March I think was your testimony is that right yes ma'am and that March date isn't included in the affidavit the affidavit is is less specific but that was your testimony today yes ma'am and that the
re was no personal or dating relationship prior to that time right no right Mr W I'm sorry I'm going to direct your attention to 2020 in 2020 were you dating the district attorney no 2020 that was during the co pandemic correct it was uh was there a situation for you Mr Wade that made you particularly uh vulnerable during the co period yes ma'am and in 2020 um and a portion of 21 I was battling cancer um and that prevented me from pretty much leaving the leaving environments that aren't sterile
and I just I had health on my mind you particular particularly cautious during that time yes ma' were you dating anyone in 2020 no ma all right thank you Mr Wade that's all I have this merant recross on those points only yes thank you all right Mr Wade um the state asked you about how much money you're making Now versus before and you said you're making significantly less since you've started working for Fon County correct well I I I I did say that but what we're talking about is because this th
e now at this point the splitting of the financial obligations in The Firm are now there are two people carrying the weight of three so that would scale back on the amount of income right amount of profit well you're splitting the profits 50/50 though instead of one3 correct the the profits yes okay so um but you did testify that you make you're making significantly less now we heard about it for a few minutes significantly less now that you work for Fon County right yes okay um would you agree
with me that $236,000 is more than $184,000 absolutely would you agree with me that $262,000 is more than $236,000 absolutely um all of these years despite you saying that you were a three-way partner with Wade and Campbell and Bradley and now a two-way partner with Campbell all of your corporate tax are returns are filed in the law firm of Nathan Wade though correct my returns yes ma'am yes for your Law Firm well for my Law Firm because I also have personal returns right and I'm not talking abo
ut your personal returns I'm talking about your business returns yeah but but the the question contemplates that my my bring home money is more or less so I want to be clear that is reflected in my personal returns I didn't ask you anything about bring home money though I'm not sure what you're talking about what I'm talking about is is your question was the portion of my testimony dealing with earning significantly less money no no my question is during and let me I'll just break it down during
2019 you filed your business returns I'm not talking about your personal your business returns for the law firm of Nathan Wade only correct I file personal and business yes ma'am and even though you said you were partners with Bradley and Campbell later on you filed your business returns not with them but as a solo practitioner correct ah I see what we going there's a different return for that Wade Bradley Campbell entity and I'm not asking about that what I'm asking about is during the years 2
019 2020 2021 and 2022 you filed a business return for the law firm of Nathan Wade yes ma'am and in 2019 you said said that the law firm of Nathan Wade made $140 $184,000 correct no I I I don't know uh is that does that does that sound familiar does that sound about like what you made in um 2019 and reported on your taxes as a business law firm if that's what's on the return yes ma'am you're right okay and I'm happy I I can bring those up I've got one copy I'm not planning on admitting for tax r
eturns but all right may I approach judge thank you so in 2019 gross profit for the law firm of Nathan Wade is $184,000 correct let's see the second line number two gross profit yes ma'am 184 824 yes ma'am okay and then in 2020 you also filed Nathan Wade attorney at law and your gross profit was $230,000 [Music] correct yes ma'am in 2021 you also filed as a solo Nathan Wade D attorney at law and your growth profit was $236,000 correct yes ma'am and then in 2022 you filed as a solar practitioner
Nathan Wade and your gross income was $262,000 correct yes ma'am okay I'm not going to those got your um but nowhere in these documents you document that you receive cash payments from this will is correct I don't I hadn't looked through them I'd be surprised if if there were something in there that said that do you want to look through them listen to the answer I'd be shocked if there was something in there that said that I receive some cash from Miss Willis okay but there is um itemized expend
itures for travel in here you did itemize that I didn't itemize anything my account your accountant itemized it I hope so but you're responsible for your taxes even if your accountant files them right I agree um and so you itemized your expenses for travel on all these that you did not itemize you didn't put anything in there about you being reimbursed for half of that travel well those are those are business returns yes you use your business card to pay for the travel right but but I I wouldn't
put a a personal expense on a on a business return but you use a business card to pay for these I use a person travel I use a business card to pay for everything and what I do is turn over the statement to the accountant and the accountant then says okay this expense that's personal we'll put that over here this expense that's business we'll put that over here and they reconcile it so you wouldn't find a reimbursement from Miss Willis on a business return okay so they're not anywhere there nor
would you find well go ahead no I'm just asking so there's no there's nowhere for any of that cash to be reconciled there right on the business returns no ma'am okay um we talked a lot about the the financial affidavits I know the state asked you a couple questions about them you filed one in um 2022 in that one you stated that you only had $5,000 in Cash correct I believe you yes ma'am that was sworn under oath at the time of the filing yes ma'am okay and then in January of 2024 you filed anoth
er one that also swore that you only had $5,000 in Cash correct at the time of the filing yes ma'am okay so in 2022 and 2024 you only had $5,000 in cash at that time yes ma'am at that time Sor excuse um and then you also all of those interrogatories I'm not going to go through them in pain sticking detail but every single interrogatory you filed there four of them all verified ones every single one you said you didn't have any cash stored in a safe a safety deposit box or any other location plff
rarely carries cash if PL does carry cash is a nominal amount correct that's correct Okay so we've got what 2021 you said you don't have cash 2023 you said you don't have cash again in 2023 you said you don't have cash and then in 2024 you don't have cash right so so you're assuming that I I received the cash and I stored it I received the cash and I saved it what's wrong with receiving what's wrong with receiving the cash from Miss Merchant and spending it nothing's wrong with it but you didn'
t put that would contemplate why the response is what it is on the interrogatories so you spent the cash that's because before when when it was asked you said you didn't want to disclose where the cash was no no no no no no privacy reasons no well I said that if I were to store cash in my home then why would I share that with the the world is what I said I didn't say that I had some cash stored up in some place because that's not the truth and you've talked a lot about this um I split with a thi
rd I split with half um from let's see from the check you received from Fulton County July 15th 2022 so back all the way back for July 2022 not a single check that you've received from Fon county has gone into a joint banking account every single check has gone into your own personal banking account correct all of them with the exception of the checks that were going into the WBC firm went into my business bank account which is solely in my name right your business your your WBC account that you
're talking about that account was closed though in June of 2022 correct so so everything after June of 2022 was put in a Nathan Wade bank account not a corporate bank account with part you per to I think the the question right before that only needed a yes or no so so so no ma'am the the the checks were deposited into firm accounts Law Firm accounts law firm of Nathan Wade PC yes ma'am as a solar practitioner yes ma'am okay so they were not deposited into accounts with Campbell or Bradley no ma
'am they were not however there were checks written to Campbell and Bradley that will reflect the third the third the third and we've tried to get those B bank records but you've objected to those correct you've tried to get what bank records we subpoena bank records and you've objected to all of those right your honor I'm going to object to their relevance it's relevant if he's saying he has all these records but yet we've tried to get them and he's trying to keep them from us but he doesn't br
ing all of the records you can make an inference if he's there's a there's law that says you can make an inference if if some documents are within the party's control and they won't provide them that there's an inference that they're not positive corre you honor there was no obligation for Mr uh way to produce evidence that Miss Merchant couldn't find an admissible way to produce uh I I believe it's irrelevant we've covered the ground and I I um object any further questioning this all right I'll
uh sustain that Miss Merchant let's find some new ground here okay thank you um are you willing to wave your privilege with Mr Bradley so that he can testify I am not willing to wave Attorney K privilege okay thank you only on the question the health question questions that were asked on and I can ask you from here be very I don't want to get into the type of cancer I don't want to get into the medical condition itself did I understand you to say that you had cancer in the year of 2020 yes sir
and you explained that because of that in 2020 you were kept yourself in a sterile environment I tried yes sir now what about 2021 2021 just focusing on my health trying to get back to myself remember I asked you some questions about hatville yes sir in the condo yes sir and you indicated that prior to November 1st of 2021 you had spent time at the condo the the C Bill condo yes sir with Miss Willis right yes sir and with someone else you said Miss YY Miss y yes sir Okay so you were not concerne
d that was not a sterile environment was it are you inferring that Miss YY and da Willis is not sterile of course it's a sterile environment it's it's a a condo but don't you remember then I followed up and said where else might you have been to show your cell phone records from hate bille and you said the airport right not a sterile environment though the airport you agree it is not okay what about restaurants not a sterile environment right they are not and the Porsche you said something about
a Porsche What Porsche experience that doesn't sound very sterile to me is that a sterile environment well you're inside of your vehicle yeah but don't you mingle with others you can yeah and you were doing all that in 2021 before November 1st that's what you testified to correct yes sir so there's no reason why you couldn't be dating in 2021 is there you mean 2020 Mr s down say 2021 all right corre dating no no reason no reason got it thanks all right Mr Gillan okay Mr stocks stock stock excus
e me just real briefly you said you started dating early 2022 and you also use the term personal relationship uh and there was no dating and no personal relationship prior to early 22 is that correct help me understand I want to make sure I answer you so so let let's let's be clear 2022 was the start of any inter sexual relationship with the district attorney okay and that's what I was W to okay clear in your affidavit used the term personal relationship got it today you used the term dating and
your testimony today is that that includes the term basically physical or sexual or intimate relationship is that correct yes sir and there was nothing according to your testimony there was none of that prior to early that is correct all that all right not seeing anyone else Miss cross any redirect all right Miss Merchant can this witness be excused I'm Jud we ask to keep him under know we might need him come back after all right all right you may step down Mr Wade and uh please don't discuss y
our testimony with any other Witnesses she mentioned subpena judge let me just say this that was was an an inference made that I was somehow evading uh Service uh of a subpoena we can take that up I don't think we need to have that on the record of this he understood thank you all right Miss Merchant any other Witnesses yes we would call Fon wellis all right Miss cross if you H I am going to adapt and remove to the um motion to dist attorney there's been now lots of testimony from Easter w don't
believe that there can be a showing for the need for the district attorney to testify as well um for all of the the reasons that were cited in the state's motion to C initially it's a tremendously High burden to call opposing Council I don't believe it's been met particularly given the Comm nature that would be um the subject of of personal details that Mr W not testified to all right Mr Merchant why what do you think you can establish and have through the testimony of Miss Willis um and let me
put let me stop there conflict in the evidence judge um now that how Mr Wade has testified there's a conflict in multiple different issues for all the different issues um the first one is the re reimbursement issue um the cash um that open the door in and of itself to miss Will is testifying um what's what's the conflict there um that he that he testified that that he didn't have receipts but we don't know if Miss Willis have receipts so that's one issue so we don't we don't know so there's no
conflict we just don't know okay so it's a question not a conflict but what what else do we a question so and there's a lot of different issues with different reasons um the first one would be the receipts um you know whether or not these cash payments if there's any payment receipts um the bise trip whether or not she paid for the entire thing in cash um Mr way doesn't have knowledge of that remember a lot of things he couldn't remember so now he goes to missis unfortunately um that he testifie
s that she insists on paying her own way gave him some cash that's the quote some cash um Miami trip she booked it but thought it would balance out um couple other trips that we didn't get any information about Tennessee Alabama Georgia all of those um could be Financial benefits we don't know he didn't know he could he was very vague about that um y her best friend testified that it happened in 2019 and now Mr Wade has testified that the a relationship began to become romantic in 2022 I think i
s what it's testimony was so that is a conflict in and of itself um right there that's a big conflict we've also got um more receipts um but the the biggest thing about the conflict is when the the relationship started um he said he talked with Willis in the conference room after we filed our motion um he specifically didn't use cash the term cash in the affidavit but he told anybody who had asked about the cash um and he specifically discussed this and the response we have a right to go all rig
ht so you've highlighted the areas you'd like to go into uh I think the central question may be what is it other than I'm just really curious what she has to say you have to put on the record and so that's that's what I'd like to go through Miss cross I I think you've identified Miss Merchant hasn't hasn't um inconsistency you she identified areas of inquiry the testimony and the record from Mr Wade is not inconsistent it's unrebutted excuse and so that I I I don't believe given the testimony of
Mr Wade and the um extent of the questioning of him that there is any reason at this point to go into the district attorney herself again I I I I know the courts read all the meetings it it really is such a compelling need is the language of the case law a compelling need to call opposing Council given the record that's now before the court I I don't believe it's your honor Mr very briefly Miss uh Willis needs to testify uh her best friend or good friend has directly contradicted the Declaratio
n that was made by Mr Wade attached to the government's response and wasn't just the Declaration of Mr Wade was filed by the district attorney by and through her her uh her assistance here she owns that and so that affidavit is owned by her and and there are de concerns that that affidavit is false and that Miss Willis knew it was false and that she needs to come in here if she wants tell us about the cash first time we've heard about the cash oh yeah we got cash uh don't have any deposit slips
don't have any record of it maybe Miss Willis can say here all my records where I paid $10,000 in cash back uh to Mr Wade we need to know that also uh Miss uh uh Miss W's uh Financial disclosure we let's not forget that we're talking about two people who went to extraordinary lengths to hide their relationship to hide the nature of their relationship extraordinary the district attorney needs to take the stand and she needs to tell this court and this court room why she filed Financial disclosure
s in 2022 identifying a prohibitive sources which Mr Wade clearly is a prohibitive source did you get GI gift and benefits now we've seen all this we've seen the trips we've seen the all of the things that that total up to around $10,000 in cash yet on on the for the financial declaration for 2021 which was filed in April 2022 and the financial declaration for 2022 which was filed in April 2023 there is no listing of any uh any gifts whatsoever over uh over a $100 from a prohibited Source it cri
es out for her testimony she needs to be able to get after and say why didn't you tell uh on the disclosure form so that people will know the nature of the relationship between prohibitive sources and the public official in this case the district attorney who happens to then make a decision to hire someone that ends up being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars or his firm and him and none of that is revealed and the answer is oh it's unrebutted he's explained it's all in cash let her get up an
d let's and and obviously you know we are Advocates on in our position but that explanation of cash does not passed the smell test or the straight face test she needs to go on the record she filed this motion with his declaration we've seen what happened here and I'll just two or three more sentences we need to to have the full picture as we've gotten through Mr Wade of his false interrogatory serious business for a lawyer or anybody and then suddenly he's changing it she files her financial dec
larations same problems we need her in here to go over all of this and to explain exactly what happened so we was asked the court uh that that the that the court allowed this G to be called and interrogated on these and I will to your honor just a moment Miss Willis uh so miss cross I don't know if you want to speak with Miss Willis now it's sounding like maybe they're withdrawing the objection to the motion I believe the motion to um or or is Miss Willis want to take the lead here dra the motio
n to flash Miss will Bas on the I'll make okay so the um position of the district attorney at this point is that she's no longer uh contesting The subpoena Miss Merchant has called her as the next witness I would ask um I need three documents in front of me and there're the three filings of Miss [Music] Merchant does anyone have the three filings of Miss Merchant does the court have the three filings of Miss Merchant when you say the filings mean like the pleadings the pleadings yes your honor o
kay I think we could locate those for you I the supplemental I want the one filed on January the 8th the one filed immediately after we filed ours and the final one if you want to take a break to get them I can make a copy I think we have one you know the only copy I have is going to have my notes on so if we don't have a clean copy have a 5 minute break I'll all right I'll sit here wait who's did we elect someone who's actually making the copy you got it okay this cross is doing okay okay it lo
oks like they're going to take a quick five minute break fonny Willis came in asked for some documents left the courtroom we should start up again in about five minutes while they get those documents but so here's what we want to know what what is going to happen to the election interference case surrounding former president Donald Trump well we have no idea because the case has now been buffeted even delayed as you can see by this hearing that's centered around da fonnie Willis and and the da t
hat's going after Trump so the question here is should fonny Willis the Fon County DA the main prosecutor in the Trump interference case be disqualified for engaging in this romantic relationship which we've heard a lot about today uh with the lawyer Nathan Wade with whom she hired to help her with this case Trump's attorneys and a number of his codefendants you know clearly they hope to convince the judge that that relationship between Nathan Wade and fonny will has created a conflict of intere
st in the case let's bring in our contributor and former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons he knows everybody involved in this situation also our legal contributor and trial attorney Brian buckmire he's been following it from the very beginning our senior reporter Katherine falers okay Chris let's let's start with you um okay it was pretty cringey I think we heard far too much about you know the sexual relationship and their trips and this and that now after hearing all of that cringey yes but cr
iminal no so Kira I thought what was the most important thing and it was almost in his side to tell us where judge McAfee is heading is he said I'm not sure if this Bears on the financial relationship or if there's an actual conflict here and so that kind of tells us where the judge is looking and from what I've heard so far it's cringey we've seen some impeachment done of witnesses got some disputed testimony going back and forth uh but nothing at this point has risen to a level that I think th
at he's thinking is either a financial benefit or a conflict that would get her out of the case and one of the most surprising things I saw was they were about to they being an across was about to argue The subpoena whether she needed to testify and the da herself came in from outside apparently almost uncalled and decided you know what I'm gon to wave that motion to quash The subpoena I want to testify and that is highly unusual I've seen that twice in my career I've seen that maybe twice in al
l of Georgia it is highly highly unusual so Chris you know these folks you know funny Willis you know Nathan Wade um you have tried many of cases uh in this in this Courthouse you're you're there in Atlanta um so you say this surprises you you you know them don't you think they're going to fight this to The Bitter End what why why wouldn't I I would sort of expect the way she's been going after Trump um and and campaigning on it you really think she's going to sit and be quiet I I thought up unt
il this point when they filed the motion to quash the subpena the argument that they were saying was that she is not they that she doesn't have to testify she doesn't want to it's a little like you know a presidential privilege or something along those lines it's bigger when the da herself waves it and decides to take the stand and sometimes it's big than themselves but I think she's decided she's coming in she wants to testify in this particular case and that is what's surprising to me not that
she didn't want to testify but the fact that she'd waved the formality of her ability to not testify to kind of throw caution to the wind and come in and take care of it herself so for personality makes a lot of sense but sort of from a legal perspective that's what's unusual that she wants to testify herself and is willing to overlook precedent to do so all right and our investigative correspond Olivia Ruben was actually inside the courtroom she's ran out to call us on the phone now Olivia wha
t was that like did she s did fonny Willis surprise everybody what was the reaction kind of give us a feel for what it was like in the courtroom she did Cara I think surprise is really one of the best words to describe it because she quite literally barreled through the door as they were in the middle of arguments as you saw about her testimony and she just came Marching In sort of hand on hip clearly very determined that she was going to testify today and I will say one of our producers will Mc
Duffy was out in the hallway outside of the courtroom before and saw her coming in and in the hallway heard her saying I'm going to testify I'm testifying so clearly a very determin determined district attorney here and I will say I was speaking with a source just a couple days ago who was close to her and said the same to me said she really wants to testify and I couldn't understand it because there was this motion to quash they were trying to block her testimony here here today but now we have
it it's a you know probably two or 3 minutes until they're going to get underway and Ashley Merchant Mike Roman's attorney is going to start questioning her about the relationship about the cash she paid back about her disclosures what she put on there and what she did not so clearly like I said determined very surprising here so Brian let's talk about the cash conversation um yes attorneys when Nathan Wade was was testifying uh they asked a lot of questions about how did she G give him cash ho
w did he carry the cash how uh how much cash did she give him and then they went into receipts and his bank records and sort of lay out Brian why they went so heavy on all of that so it's a number of different things when you ask about the receipts we're actually talking about the interrogatories and the divorce proceedings because in those questions and that's just a interrog a special way of same questions it talks about whether or not they have receipts for extramarital interactions he said n
o uh then you talk about the cash now it seems that by Nathan Wade stance he paid for some of these trips he put his card down uh paid for some of the meals but that fonny Willis was always adamant that she was going to pay him back and she did so in cash now of course like any one of us if I paid you Kira back um for taking me out to lunch you don't know where I got that money from and so the question becomes for Ashley uh merchants and all the defense attorneys uh they representing their clien
ts is where did this cash come from how did you put it I think it's a bit of a tongue and cheek to say well did you you stash it somewhere in your home did you kind of Scamper around with it on your hip and walk around but they're trying to provide colorful commentary to Showcase uh the absurdity at least in their mind as to how this cash got involved and now the reason why it's so big is because did it benefit the district attorney in fton county that being fonny Willis because if she didn't pa
y him back if there's no receipts there's no way to show that this cash exchange from one hand to the other she received the benefit in hiring her kind of boyfriend special prosecutor and that would be an issue for disqualification I as as as Chris put am surprised and shocked I thought I was going to be gone here at 3:30 but I'm definitely staying for this because she's coming forward and saying I want to testify she wants to put forward answers in her own words to say that I did not do somethi
ng wrong here it's going to be extremely fascinating to see how this occurs I'm assuming they went back into the room to get the documents that she wanted and of course her attorney or the attorney representing her office is going to have a conversation with her to say hey this is your privilege to wave but are you sure you want to do this because I agree with Chris up until now I don't think there was enough information to disqualify up until now there wasn't a big Spotlight in terms of what sh
e said that can be used against her in the court of public opinion but now all bets are off and we'll potentially see what's going to happen so Katherine what is she going to need to prove then that she did nothing wrong right I think that's a good question question Kira and we know that through these filings they've obviously confirmed their relationship and Wade obviously did on the stand but they have said that they don't believe that it amounts to a disqualifying conflict of interests so wha
t's the bar there um what does she say about that for example does she contradict anything that Nathan Wade said in terms of when their relationship started those cash payments that you heard even Trump's lawyers and Mike Roman talk about so I think that will be interesting she seems um very intent on testifying there given that stunning moment when she stormed right into that courtroom as Olivia described being in the room so uh just a close you know eye on that detail if there are any discrepa
ncies obviously there were some discrepancies that some of the lawyers mentioned between some of the friends and what Wade said so keeping an eye on that and if she contradicts um any of that so then um so Chris let me let me ask you this and it sounds like you and Brian both from a legal standpoint think so far you haven't heard anything that would disqualify her from carrying on with this case against Trump so let's say did she did all right let me put out a hypothetical did she come in the co
urtroom uh very persistent very confident clearly angry you saw her expression very determined to sit down and tell her side because she also feels maybe after listening to to Nathan Wade and hearing the questions and seeing where the lawyers are going in all of this do you think that pumped her up to where she thought I'm going to go in there they are not I am not going to be disqualified I'm going to clear my name I'm going to tell my story and then uh as I go forward to go after Trump uh ever
ybody will look at me differently basically try and clean everything up here from her reputation to what happened Chris I'll let you start okay sorry yeah K I think you're exactly right I mean I think this is more of a political move a move aimed at the jurors than it is this particular motion I think she wants to come in I think she wants to take back the narrative that there's something wrong with this case because I think what what the defense has done is that they've done a good job of sugge
sting that there's something improper with the investigation because of her relationship with Nathan Wade and so what the general public is going to think well if there's an issue with the relationship if there's an issue with the investigation there's an issue with the prosecution then there must be an issue with the case the case must not be that good and that's those are two separate issues both things can be true there can be an issue with the investigation and there can be a guilty defendan
t on the other side um so I think this is largely political she's up this year for reelection so far haven't heard anything about her having opposition but she might if she doesn't defend herself here and then at the end of this at the end of the rainbow we've got a jury trial coming Kira and so if the jurors think there's something wrong with this case that's going to be a problem so I think she's there not just for this particular hearing but for those two issues one her reelection and two the
sanctity of the jurors in this case keeping the case alive what do you think Brian four oh she's coming she's coming back in so let's keep an eye on this uh actually you know what Brian let's just see if this this gets going right away hold that thought Brian let's listen in scy us let's go wait a minut let everyone get situated and then we'll go back on thank you have like tissue you can hear all right we are back on the record Deputy Scott if you could swear in our next witness I would and I
do apologize Anna [Music] you Canad and I hold yes District district attorney fonnie f a n i last name is Willis um Miss Willis when how did you know to comeing the cour room right then there were people I was pacing in my office okay and um I heard someone yell his testimony is done um it only made sense to me that I would be your next witness and I've been very anxious to have this conversation with you today so I ran to the courtroom so as soon as um you heard that Mr Wade was done testifying
that's when you just assumed you would be the next witness it only makes sense um did you listen to any of the testimony I've been in my office pacing ma'am um did you listen any the arguments I did hear the arguments this morning it's ridiculous to me that the you lied on Monday and yet here we still are and I did listen to that argument um um all right so that was it just the argument no testimony right I listened to the argument this morning where Adam AB body I thought did an excellent job
pointing out how dishonest you were with the court on Monday and um I'm actually surprised that the hearing continued but since it did here I am great um so let's talk about first let's just talk about what you did in preparation for today um did you meet with Mr Wade at all once the mo once the motion was filed did you meet with Mr Wade and talk to him about the motion that I filed to disqualify you on January this first January motion yes I don't know if you can say talked about um I probably
had some Choice words about some of the things that you said that were dishonest within this motion so I don't know that it was a conversation as you know Mr Wade is a southern gentleman me not so much okay but my question was did you have a conversation with him I have a substantive conversation you did not I read this motion skimmed it more so and um I've probably said some Choice things to him about some of the lies they were told okay and printed in the media because you know we used to be i
n a day in time where you had 60 minutes and people did stories and they verified information um and you had this great reporting but it seems today that a lawyer wres a lie and then it's printed for all of the world to see well I just want to make sure that you answer the question I asked though so my question was ask over Mr um I told you what happened I read the motion I am sure I told him what my opinion of it is okay and past that we had no substantive conversation you did not okay is there
something you didn't understand no I just wanted to make sure that that okay you did not have a meeting with him in the conference room to discuss the next question so in the in the conference room of my office within this week you produce some Financial document that Financial document was given to me some and I'm not even sure if it was given it to him by me or Mr AB body gave it to me um and I think he showed me a document in our conference room but as far as a substantive conversation I wou
ld not have I don't believe I've had any conversation with him that is substantive related to this okay um I have had conversations with him um since you filed the motion but they wouldn't be substantive to this he sent me a very nice uh sermons that that have been done and so we've had conversations about did you listen to that sermon you know things of that nature and I would say they were in relationship to this because I think he did it to be kind okay um let's start back in 2019 so um you a
nd Mr Wade met in October 2019 at a conference that is correct and I think in one of your motions you tried to implicate I slept with him at that conference which I find to be extremely offensive I stayed at that conference Mr Wade was my teacher I did not meet him when he taught the class I was standing outside talking to Lisa Reeds who is a judge me and her were just having a conversation Mr W walks up think they hug each other they have some brief conversation she introduces uson I'm I'm goin
g to object we kind of thought that when you ask a question you answer the question not a speech so I object to the speech I agre able to explain my answers that believe she's able to explain her answer that's that's M mer that's okay I can handle it m Willis I'll ask you just listen to the answer or excuse me the question and keep the answers confined to the question as best you can I think you'll have more than enough ample opportunity on uh when the state was highly offensive when someone lie
s on you and it's highly offensive when they try to implicate that you slept with somebody the first day you met with them and I take exception to all right well Miss Willis she'll be have the opportunity to explain all of that when it's the state's turn to ask more open-ended questions M Merchant thank you judge um so again my question was you all met at that conference though right we did the me he as I stated he taught the class I did not actually meet him when he taught the class I walked ou
t of the class and I'm not sure if it was that exact class or we had went to lunch but we were standing in the Vesti like outside of the class me and judge Reed were having a conversation she had worked at a law firm I worked at back in 1996 we're getting way a far I mean I don't mind her explaining her answers but I literally just asked if they met at that conference explaining how she met Mr Wade which was exactly the question asked by Miss Merchant these answers are more than appropriate um M
iss Merchant if you want more concise answers perhaps you could lead the witness I will thank you judge um isn't it true that you met Mr Wade October 2019 judges confence we has gotten to the point where Miss will should be treated hos I think we I'm very much want to be here so I'm not a hostile witness I very much want to be here not so much that your hostil will it be an adverse witness your interests are opposed to miss Merchants Miss Merchant's entrance are are cont contrary to democracy yo
ur honor not to mine all right let's proceed we can keep things moving M mer next question please um Okay so we've confirmed when you met um after that isn't it true no I I I need to explain this and I think I get to explain my answers when I met him judge Reeves introduced us he handed me his business card I'm unsure if I handed him my business card but we exchanged information he said if you ever need any help give me a call and he walked to the parking lot um so after after that you started d
ating shortly thereafter correct the lie that's one of your lies okay um do you know Robin YY I I know her as Robin Bryant I I knew her uh so Robin did not go to my college she went to the College of uh I went to Howard University she went to Morgan State uh I met her through some people I knew um in college we hung out a bit not much because she was in Baltimore and I was in Washington DC um but we hung out a bit after college I lost contact with her I probably didn't see Robin again until mayb
e seven or eight years ago a chance meeting here in Atlanta but we did not have a consistent relationship from when I left college and came to Emily Law School here in Atlanta but I 8 to 10 years ago um just by happen stance I ran into her she was in Atlanta you have been friends with Robin for 30 something years did you hear my answer Madam yes and I'm asking if you've been friends with her for 30 something years I've known her for 30 30 something years we certainly hung out and party together
in college um she was from the DC area she would come home we party together uh wasn't close but she was certainly in the girlfriends that party together um and then like I said I ran into her about 10 years ago in Atlanta Georgia so but we didn't talk throughout that time period I didn't see her I didn't even know where she was when I ran into her I was surprised she was in Atlanta and so yes I have known her probably since 1990 1991 but we have not maintained a consistent relationship that hol
ds on for the last 10 years or five whatever you'd like to classify it as have you been friends with her I have not spoken to Robin in um over a year I certainly do not consider her a friend now um I think that she you know there's a saying no good deed goes unpunished and um I think that she betrayed our friendship so let's narrow it down the time line now so my questions are going to be from the time period of 2019 until she no longer was employed for you the last time you all talked so all of
my next questions are just focused on that time frame okay yes ma'am up until she left your office yes ma'am um during 2019 you all were friends correct yes we knew each other in 2019 during 2020 you all were friends correct we were we knew yes we were friends during that time period during 2021 you all were friends correct yes okay and such good friends that when you needed a place to stay you asked her if you could take over her lease that's a lie you did not move into her apartment but that'
s not the way you characterize it is wrong I asked if you asked if you could take over her lease I did not ask if I could take over her lease did you move into her apartment I I moved into her condo in April of 21 but the circumstances around that were that Robin met her husband they wanted to move into a another and separate place she wanted to get rid of her condo my father was living with me at the house because of this case and because of my stance on gangs my life was being threatened regul
arly my father urged me to leave our home at the same time as luck would have it Robin wanted to give up her lease because she wanted to move in with this new man she met who eventually became her husband and so as life circumstances worked my dad was begging me to leave the house he was afraid for me afraid for his grandchildren she wanted someone to take over her lease so that she didn't you know have to pay a fee or get abandoned and so I don't remember when but probably March or April of 21
I moved in and take over her lease and did you pay her her or did you pay the um leasing agent no I don't even know who the leasing agent was I paid her you paid her did you pay her cash or did you just card um there were times that I would give her cash and there but mostly I paid her via cash app that would be the most convenient thing so I would not only give her her rent but then like when the utility ities would come in whatever the utility was she might be like I need 70 bucks I need $100
whatever it was and um we never had a problem with money I whatever she told me it was I never asked to see a bill I never questioned her I just gave it to her what um what percentage would you say you paid cash versus cash app oh most the the vast majority was Cash app I I don't know what percentage I'm not going to guess that but the vast majority was Cash app but there would be times she would say you know this bill came in at 70 bucks here go 70 bucks um did you have a monthly rent amount th
at you paid her I can't remember it was $14 $1,500 I can't remember what it was and it would vary which I I don't understand to this day but like I said I I never questioned her when did she said it was that's what I paid when did you Mo abruptly moved out in February uh either late January or early February of 22 22 February 2022 is that what you said January February 22 I I believe it is January but um I I paid her half the rent of February of 22 is what I remember and um because I was offerin
g to pay the whole rent even though I didn't live there I didn't think it was right um and she I didn't I ended up just paying her half the rent um so that's after you moved out you said you paid your half that okay and um the time that you said you had to move out of your house because you were scared um did your dad stay there at your house I was my father was concerned yes we were both concerned okay but he's he remained there my father's 80 years old he would have been 79 he was scared to de
ath of Co you have to go back to when this was my father is an older man um I wanted him to move out we had some discussions about him moving out and what he decided was the risk of covid was more dangerous than the risk of the people that were threatening um typical man more worried about his daughter and his grandchildren than his own safety uh you'll get to meet him and you'll understand he he doesn't scare too easily so your grandkid or his grandkids were living at the house as well at that
time well I don't know how old your children are but when you have adult children they leave and they come back they leave and they come back so there have been periods of time that they're there they come they do whatever they want to do children do what children do as long as their mother has a house they'll come to it unfortunately now the threats because of this case have gotten so extreme I just pay a mortgage and no one lives there um and that's what I was going to ask you so when you move
d out in I think you said April 2021 you left your dad and your two kids at the house my dad and my two kids were not at the house they were not okay so they didn't still live at your house my youngest daughter certainly did not live there my oldest daughter would come back and forth I can't say month for month when she was there when she was not there I know that she has been there um post me moving out at this time no one is at my house okay so at some point after you moved out for for the saf
ety reasons your at least one of your children did come back mer can we get two either the relationship or the financial benefit um so um let's see we were back at 2021 so you were still friends with Miss YY then um were you also friends with Mr Bradley I don't I've never been friends with Mr Bradley you've never been friends with Mr Bradley no I don't um I don't consider us to be friends I certain I don't dislike Mr Bradley but I don't consider us to be friends um is he someone that you would h
ave in your phone and you would message with uh I might have text messaged him okay um would you text message him and Mr Wade on the same conversations I don't recall doing that but if it happened it it wouldn't surprise me okay so that that wouldn't surprise you the three of you okay how frequently would you think that the three of you would have text text I wouldn't think very often but you're asking me to recall I don't even know what time period you're asking me to recall but I I'm not going
to speak to that because I just really don't know the answer to that so I don't want to speculate as to how often that would happen um but it's not out of my practice to text two people on one text message so if you told me that happened and showed it to me it wouldn't surprise me although I have no recollection of it but there would be some Rec record of it in your phone or the phone records would have some record of those texts cors um talk about you know you said that sometimes you paid Miss
YY cash um when you went Sor Sor when you went on vacation with Mr White um let's let's just go one by one let's um let's start with the first one what's the first time you went on vacation with Mr Wade I think the first time we went on vacation was around April of 202 and it's a vacation is a stretch but I'm trying to be comprehensive um I recall April of 22 his birthday is March the 18th um so that would have been his 49th birthday um I took him to like Tennessee for the day I think we went t
o a museum I think we might have stayed the night I'm not sure but I mean Tennessee is kind of hard to call a vacation but I just am trying to be inclusive and it like I said I don't think I know it wasn't more than a day um didn't spend the night I think that we did that's what I'm telling you I think that there's a possibility that we stayed that night in April of 22 who paid for the hotel I think I did it was his birthday um and would you have used a credit card probably maybe a de was his bi
rthday um and would you have used a credit card it was right around then um April 2020 22 yes it was around there I don't know like you know it's not like when you're in grade school and you send a little letter and it says well you be my girlfriend and you check it I don't know the day that we started seeing each other but it was early 22 is my recollection okay early 22 and you all went to Florida on vacation as well I don't recall going to Florida on vacation with him you never went to Florid
a with Mr Wade we went to when we went to get on the cruise ship we went to Miami okay that's the only time that you went to Florida with him I think we went to Miami and spent the night that's my recollection okay I think we spent one night so that we wouldn't miss the ship that's my recollection of our paid for that hotel in Miami I don't remember that and how'd you get to Miami we would have flown and we've done that so that I'm clear we've done that twice I think one time we stayed and I hon
estly can't tell you did we stay when the ship left or did we stay when the ship came back I also can't tell you so there's two Cruisers out of Miami there's one that's in that October time period that was with his mom and then there was another that was a New Year's Eve trip I know I paid for the New Year's Eve trip cu the tickets were $6.97 each and I thought this is ridiculous that the tickets are $700 to go to Miami but when you travel during New Year's Eve you know they get you um so let's
let's just back up and talk about the first time that you went to to Florida with Mr raade um that was the time that you said you stayed in Miami at the hotel the first night that's the time I told you I am not sure so I'm not sure of two things so I want to make sure that my testimony is clear I'm not sure if we stayed in Miami on the October trip I'm not sure if we stayed in Miami on the December trip I just can't remember that and I also don't remember so that the record is clear I don't reme
mber if the necessity was as we got on the ship or we got off the ship but I do remember there was a night spin in Miami because either whatever I don't remember but I think that there was a night spin in Miami that cruise is um the one that you took in October right ma'am I I if you have a something to refresh my recollection I'm intentionally trying to not be difficult with you but I don't want to make up something I know that on one of those two trips we stayed in Miami I am not sure right no
w you're asking me about oh I think I'm sorry you misunderstood I wasn't asking you which I was not asking you which night you stayed in Miami I'm asking if you took a cruise in October 2022 with Mr Wade yes and his mom and his mother that's what I was asking yes is that the first time you met his mother yes it was on that cruise and that was Royal Caribbean I believe you tell I honestly don't remember what ship I know we've taken two cruises I don't know what the ships were um but he paid for t
he flight and the cruise on Royal Caribbean that time so yes he paid he is the original one that does it he has something called Mr Wade is a world traveler um I'm not as versed as him he's been the sixth of the seven continents um and so he has both a personal travel agent and he also has a cruise travel agent I don't know anything about either of those kind of travel agents so he is the one that would book the travel but we need to be clear when we're talking about just because he booked it do
esn't mean like I don't consider him having taken me any place let me just be honest the only Point that's ever taking somebody someplace is for his 50th birthday I consider that I took him to beli and I took him to believ because um you know I don't want to discuss his personal business but I'm happy Mr Wade is still here with us and I did 50 big very big um so still on that October Royal Caribbean cruise um even though he had a travel agent I'm sorry if you do me a favor I don't know what crui
se ship what time so so if you'll help me and say October cruise with Mama or the New Year's Eve trip with his sisters I'll be able to we can communicate I just don't know which sh October cruise with Mama that's what I'm talking about he paid for the cruise and the flights for that trip so he called his Cruise agent and he booked that through them because he has a cruise agent right he also has a regular uh agent I don't know the cruise agent's name so I wasn't asking about his travel agent I w
as just asking paid for those he did not though because the reason I consider that he did not is I gave him his money back and I was about to ask that but initially he paid for that yeah he he called his Cruise agent like I think they have his card on record they do whatever okay so initially he paid for the cruise and the flight to Miami and the Royal Caribbean cruise and my understanding of that October cruise is like it was a package the lady did for him um so and I'll get to the reimbursemen
ts and all that I'm just trying to confirm he paid for the flight and the cruise in October and I think that when you say things that way I want this record to be abundantly clear that he calls his travel agent he calls his Cruise agent they do whatever he tells them he's like on a first name basis with these people they do it and then he tells me how much it is and I give him the money back I don't just like you're asking me about the money with Robin I don't do my friends like that so if you t
ell me it's a g then you going to get $1,000 if whatever it is I didn't ever make him produce receipts to me whatever he told me was I gave him his money back isn't it true that he paid for the cruise and the um the flight on his credit card I'm not asking about reimbursement or after he used his credit card to buy the cruise and buy the flight correct I have no idea how he paid for it uh if it's a credit card if it's a debit card but certainly he called his uh Cruise agent you know like how man
y people have a cruise agent he calls his Cruise agent tells them where they want to go they tell him what's booked you have to remember he didn't just he paid for that initial was me him and his mother um and then after that cruise you all flew to Aruba and spent a couple days in a hotel there correct right and his mother was not happy paid for that he initially paid for that for Aruba yes ma'am so let's talk about both of those I know he initially paid for it did you pay him back for the cruis
e and for Aruba yeah I gave him his money before we ever went on that trip you gave him cash before you ever went on the trip trip mhm okay and so when you got cash to pay him back on these trips would you go to the ATM no lady you would not go to the ATM no okay so um Fon County pays you direct deposit I assum yes fton County and the uh state of Georgia both pay me direct deposits okay so the cash that you would pay him you wouldn't get it out of the bank I have money in my house you have money
in your house so it was just money that was there when you meet my father he was going to tell you as a woman you should all always have which I don't have so let's don't tell him that you should have at least 6 months in cash at your house at all time now I don't know why this old black man feels like that but he does when we were growing up my daddy had three safes in the house so my father's bought me a lock box and I always keep cash in the house now I don't do it to the degree that my fath
er would do it so he would probably be uh ashamed with me but I always have cash at the house that has been I don't know all my life if you're a woman and you going on a date with a man you better have $200 in your pocket so if that man acts up you can go where you want to go so I keep cash in my house and I don't keep cash as good in my purse like I used to um I I don't go on many dates but when you go on a date you should have cash in your pocket so my question was where did that cash original
ly come from if it didn't come out of the bank Cas cash is uh fungible we had cash for years in my house so for me to tell you the sour wor of when it comes from when you go to Publix and you buy something you get $50 you throw it in there when it's been my whole life when I took out a large amount of money on my first campaign I kept some of the cash of that like to tell you I just have cash in my house I don't have as much today as I would normally have but I'm building back up now so you just
put money in it's a very good practice I would advise it to all women so you can't identify when you came into this cash or where the cash came from I didn't say I couldn't identify it no nobody gives me anything I am sure that the source of the money is always the work Sweat and Tears of me what you asked me for is when did the money go in there what I am trying to tell you is so I got divorced in 2005 from my husband and and no no no it's important you said where did the money come from and I
need to tell you where the money came from and so for many many years I have kept money in my house that money in my worst days has probably only been 500 or $1,000 at my best days I probably had $155,000 in my house at Kate cash at all times there's going to be cash in my house or wherever I'm laying my head the money that you paid Mr Wade the cash in October of 2022 you do not know where that money came from I do know where it came from it came from my swea and tears you know which job it cam
e from did it come from fton County or did it come from a private job it came from I don't I'm not what are you talking about so it could have come from a private job because before I was Da I was in private practice so I earned money during that time period that's probably in there it could have what do you mean I don't know where it came from I abut understand the situation we can move on okay thanks um same with Ruba you don't know where that cash came from either right ma'am you are mischara
cterizing my testimony greatly um I'm not going to allow you to mischaracterize my testimony I know that I keep money in my house the amounts of money I gave Mr Wade it was never that serious I don't think I've ever handed him more than $2,500 in a reimbursement so we're not talking about $20,000 in cash I don't have $20,000 in cash right now the most I ever gave him I know I gave him $2,500 when we went to bise because we went to one um hotel and then we went to a second hotel that $2,500 I act
ually gave him while we were still in believes I know that the Aruba trip the one that you described with his mom I think I gave him about $2,000 for that trip trip for like total his mom went to Aruba with you the Aruba trip so I consider that to be one trip so we got off of a cruise ship and then we went to Aruba which is why I cannot remember is that the time that we had to stay in Miami to wait for the flight for Aruba so I consider that one trip but we didn't like come back to Atlanta and l
eave we went we flew down to Miami we got on a cruise ship we spent a couple of days with his mama we came back to Miami when we came back to Miami either that day or the next day we flew to Aruba we spent a few days in Aruba and we came back that was really one trip even though we went two places it was one trip um so let's talk about the California trip um is that when you were moving your daughter out to California when you all went or did you have two trips California my daughter doesn't liv
e in California did she ever live in California I'm not discussing to you the location of my child um so how many times did you go with Mr Wade to California once and you all stayed in Napa Valley and he paid for the plane tickets in the hotel he paid for the plane tickets and the hotel um and what did you pay for on that trip I gave him much less cash that time probably $400 or $500 and then I paid for uh a bunch of stuff I think we did two different Wine Tours that you do which are pretty expe
nsive um I think I bought him he likes wine I don't really like wine to be honest with you I like gray boots um I bought him a bottle of wine while we were there and the sipping that you do I can't remember how like four or five different places you go I remember we went to um to this place that they do pairings um that was the most expensive thing that I think that we did while we were there so they would pair uh they they would pair uh champagne chocolate and champagne chocolate and caviar it
was a three and it was like three different things Sweden Russia someplace else I'll make that up but um that that was the most expensive thing we did that trip and I paid for I paid for that you pay cash for us doing that M yeah I think I but I that trip did not cost me a lot of money I might have took like $750 in cash on me because we weren't gone very long and then I I only asked if you paid in cash I don't need to know the amount when I travel I always say cash um and it's the cash that you
keep in your house or do you keep it at the condo that you were living in so at that point it wouldn't be at my house and I'm sorry if I was not clear the money would be wherever I laid my head so I wouldn't leave the money at the house but if I was unclear no money is going to be where I stay how much did you pay for your trip to Panama to where Panama I believe I didn't go to P I may have the location wrong I never went to Panama way went to uh Panama with his frat brothers oh he went to Pana
ma with his frat brothers so tell me about let's see so I want to make sure I've got him I've got Biz you already covered B you covered the so let me tell you our real trips in October we went with uh we went on the cruise with his mom we got back from the cruise with his mom and we went to Aruba I consider that one trip second trip New Year's Eve we went on a cruise to the Bahamas that's the second trip want to make sure I get this right third trip 100% on me I think he might have spent $200 on
that entire trip uh we went to B that was my trip that was you know his 50th and then Napa Valley we went around may I don't know the dates but it seems to me like it was close to Mother's day and those are the only trips um so that the record is complete I can remember one time driving to where were we South Carolina and we met my sister for lunch with her man um where didn't stay the I don't know but we didn't stay the night there but I guess people would consider that a trip if you drive som
ewhere and you come back that was insane cuz it was like 5 hours to drive we ate lunch and we drove right back um I can remember driving to some little town in Georgia I don't even know where I was um I had never been there before or after there's some boats you can get on over to and there like a slave thing if that gives anyone any reference we didn't do that um I remember doing that I remember driving one time to Charlotte we had lunch with one of my very close girlfriends and again we drove
to Charlotte met my girlfriend for lunch and drove right back so that's a trip we didn't stay the night there but I just want to be complete in my testimony we drove someplace had lunch drove back um I don't remember another driving someplace distant for um lunch and coming back to Charlotte to see a girlfriend to meet my sister uh in South Carolina we went by ourselves when I told you about that remote place in Georgia we could have driven someplace else and had lunch and came back but that's a
ll that comes to my recollection right now there could have been another place we drove and had lunch my um security team was very clear to me I'm not to be out and about in Atlanta without them and so for me to do something something just very normal that a normal person would get to do if they weren't Prosecuting this case I got to drive 4 hours to do it and that's I was going to ask you your security detail did they take you to in from your house they take well so I haven't been able to enjoy
my home condo I'm sorry where you lay your head do they take you to and from where you lay your head 99% of the time would they take Mr Wade to and from wherever you laid your head that has never in the history of ever happened ever okay your security team has never taken him to from my house that's a lie I'm asking if they've ever taken him any and I'm telling you that that's never happened so your security team has never taken Mr my security team has never taken Mr Wade from any place where I
have lived and brought him here never not once not ever have they ever taken the two of you together to where anywhere we've left this building and um for gone to lunch but I go to lunch lunch so rarely that that is a very rare occasion I am sure and let me be clear it wouldn't just be Mr Wade so I'm sure my security team has taken me to lunch probably been a time I've left here 7 o' G to get something to eat and I don't even know that they would have taken him or if he would have driven himsel
f but they've taken me to do that but we're talking very few very far in between most days I don't even eat lunch and when I do it's because my assistant has heated up some Bag something and I I eat through meetings and eat in my office it's not a practice of mine to go to lunch during the time period that you were dating would your security team ever take you two together anywhere no never if there was a lunch that occurred that I just described if there was a meal that I occurred that I just d
escribed anything outside of that and it needs to be very clear not often once twice because I want to be uh over inclusive I'm saying once or twice I'm not certain that it happened but I'd rather be over inclusive with you so your office objected to us getting um Delta records for flights that you may have taken with Mr W well no no look I object to you getting records you've been intrusive into people's personal lives you're confused you think I'm on trial these people are on trial for trying
to steal an election in 2020 I'm not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial so my question was do you have any problem I object to getting any personal records of mine we're not dealing with privilege through a witness and I'm not no no I'm not dealing with privilege what um we had offered to put them in camera for the court to review and I just want to know if she has any problem something to do with the witness okay um you have to file as part of your job something called the i
ncome and financial disclosure report correct that's correct and you filed your first one so you filed two today is that right is it two or three I probably would have filed 21 22 and maybe I haven't filed 23 yet cuz isn't it due like June of the next year April I believe so you filed let's see you filed your first one it looks like April 15th 20122 and your second one um April 17th 2023 does that sound familiar that I don't remember the dates but you're an officer of the court I'm going hope yo
u're telling the truth now may I may I approach the witness you may thank you um I already gave the state of copy exib 20 and 21 if you take a look at those part of the can somebody bring me some yeah guys are getting a little old yes okay yes ma'am those are the ones that you filed this this looks like me for sure yes ma'am yes ma'am judge we' move to admit 20 and 21 I think you need to delineate which one's is 2021 so it accounts for the time period your honor January the 1st 21 through Decemb
er the 31st 2021 that is defendants exhibit 20 um defendants exhibit 2021 it accounts for the time period January the 1st 2022 through December the 1st of 2022 all right any objection to exhibits 20 and 21 nope sorry from other Council admitted without objection yeah um when did your relationship your personal relationship with Mr W end our personal relationship ended in um this year so let's be let's be very clear so that we don't mix words I I don't want to mix words in here Mr Wade is my frie
nd right now um Mr Wade I would say has been my friend since 2020 think he started out as like a mentor and a professional colleague um he became my friend and somebody that I I really respected um I feel very indebted to Mr Wade uh for taking on the task of this job and um he is certainly my friend and one of the people that I respect the most um so if you ask about a personal relationship I consider myself to have a personal relationship right now Mr Wade I consider myself to have a personal r
elationship with Anna cross I consider myself to have a personal relationship with Mr AB body I consider myself to have a personal relationship with Andrew Evans let me I have a personal relationship with him as we speak right now I don't think that's what you're asking I think that's relationship when did your romantic relationship with Mr Wade end did it end me and Mr Wade um we are good friends uh my respect for him has grown over these seven weeks of attacks uh uh we are very good friends I
think but for these attacks it would have been a friendship that as life goes you would have stopped having um I think that you have SE minute that will be friends till the day we die do we just have an answer to the question I'm I can handle this say down let's have it she asked about a personal relationship she asked when the Romantic relationship ended that's the question it's sometime in um I'd say late summer of 2023 so I don't believe me and um what this is what you're really asking about
this is the salaciousness of all of this right no I'm just asking about your romantic relationship when you sto dating I ask I I think that me and Mr Wade so he's a man he probably would say June or July I would say we had a tough conversation in August so that men in relationships at the end of physical intimacy women in in relationships when that tough conversation takes place and where um when did he come to I guess the condo I'm not sure what you called it condo apartment um would he come an
d stay at that condo or visit you there I'm sorry visit you there what condo what apartment I want to be clear so not your house I know you classified one as house and one as condo so I'm trying to use those terms so but there's been more than see what you don't understand is because of this case I got to move and so I I if you could ask a more precise question please give me the time period that Mr Wade visit you at the place you laid your head when has he ever visited you at the place you laid
your head so let's be clear cuz you've lied in this this let me tell you which one you lied in right here I think you lied right here no no no no this is the truth it is a lie it is a lie Mr S I thank you we're going to take five minutes be back in five [Music] well there she goes the district attorney of fton County Georgia fonnie Willis one of the most powerful women in law in the United States one of the largest cities in the United States on the witness stand uh defending herself uh with fr
ustration at times flashing anger taking over the courtroom really in many ways despite the fact that uh that the attorney who was trying to get her disqualified was trying to direct her questions to damning uh potentially damning evidence and damning allegations fonny Willis seemed to be controlling that exchange no question about it what we learned in in this the real issue here is money so fonny Willis hired Nathan Wade to be one of the prosecutors in the case against Donald Trump that has be
en brought by her office the racketeering case for attempting to steal uh overturn the election in Georgia in 2020 and Mr Wade was paid $650,000 over the course of two years Wade and fonny Willis at some point entered a personal relationship uh they went on vacations together and it is the allegation of Michael Roman who was one of Donald Trump's co-defendant her his lawyer it's the allegation that Willis and Wade have a conflict of interest they want to keep grinding the legal gears in this cas
e because they make more money out of it that at least is the allegation that's why we're in here listening to at times salacious as fonnie Willis herself said salacious testimony let's let's get the uh the view of actual experts on this people know what they're talking about instead of uh just speculated ABC News contributor and former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons is with us and ABC News legal contributor Brian buckmire as well who's a trial attorney for us uh and let me just get your react
ions gentlemen first Brian it was quite a show she took over that courtroom uh but did she did she dispel the problem that she's facing that allegation of conflict of interest so Terry what I think from now until whenever this hearing is decided you're going to hear a lot of different words describing fonny Willis what I saw was passion and strength and vigor in controlling not only the narrative in this but answering the questions in a way that I think push back on a lot of what uh Ashley merch
the attorney for Mike Roman was trying to put forward this I don't think anymore is about disqualification at least in and da Willis's mind this is I think about is is about saving her credibility saving her ability to stay on the case uh not just today tomorrow but also for reelection she I would if I was her attorney I would advise her not to testify this is not smart but as you pointed out she is controlling everything in here I think she even objected or or or overruled an objection that wa
s made to her own testimony and even told her own attorney to stand down and she'll answer a question I think different reasonable Minds will differ some people will call her overly aggressive I'm calling her passionate um but I think so far in the court of public opinion she is helping herself for those who are going to be in her corner and for those that were never going to be in her Corner they're going to paint her negatively but I think she's helping to correct the narrative in a way that's
beneficial to her well she is thank you for for that BR so she is a politician seizing the narrative is important to her uh but Chris she is a witness in a case and she has to answer some tough questions at one point speaking from the witness stand like a politician she said uh to the to the lawyer questioning her on behalf there she is um you're confused you think I'm on trial these people are on trial she said gesturing to the uh defense table to steal an election in 2020 I'm not on trial no
matter how hard you try to put me on trial so that's the kind of passion that Brian is talking about Chris but I wonder about the money has she put to rest the the doubts that after hiring a man with whom she was in uh she might she says they both say that the relationship didn't happen didn't start until after he was hired but uh the money is the problem that they took vacations together after he received payment from the county from fton County and she benefited from those vacations that they
took she says she paid them back all in cash no receipts that's the way things work uh did she dispel doubts that people might have about that well I I think so I mean I think she did it enough to move the ball forward um you know at the end of the day this is going to be a little bit of a swearing contest who's telling the truth between YY um as far as the relationship is concerned but you're right you're absolutely right to focus on the financial piece of this and so far the only evidence with
regard to where that money came from was from fonny Willis herself that she paid for her own uh vacations we haven't heard anybody else say anything different um there may be some folks that think it's unrealistic that she paid cash for it but at the end of the day that's the evidence that's there and that's the only evidence that the judge can consider when he's moving forward with this so I think that you know she's she's been very powerful and you're absolutely right to seize on that moment
earlier today when she said look I'm not on trial your clients are on trial that was probably the most powerful thing we've seen in hours of explosive testimony I mean just super powerful coming from the da you know she's fighting for her political life but she's also fighting for the viability of this case and that's you know going forward that's what the jurors are are hopefully going to care about which is the guilt or innocence of the defendants in this case not the Romantic personal lives o
f any prosecutor involved absolutely and can I follow up just as a legal matter let's say the judge finds uh that there was a conflict of interest as you say the the evidence right now there isn't a lot of evidence that either the relationship began early wait let's listen to the judge here this being a room mostly full of lawyers who have spent their lives in a out of a courtroom we all know what professionalism looks like what decorum looks like and devoting ourselves to the rule of law and pr
oper advocacy I would urge everyone to keep those principles in their mind starting with the fact that we won't talk over each other and from there we'll get through this Miss Merchant thank you judge how often did Mr Wade visit you at a place where you were living between 2019 and 2021 so you want to start with the lie that he lived with me in in South Fulton in 2019 a home he's never been to that's one lie you told him document no judge I didn't ask her about that um M Merchant I want you to a
sk a very precise question question I think she's saying and answering that he did not live with her so why don't we break that up into smaller parts and I I didn't ask about living but you put in your while we're talking about professionalism no while we talking about professionalism she put in three different documents he Liv with me opportunity to respond in filed that with the court in 2019 he's never been to South Fulton in 2019 I lived in South Fulton he has never been to my residence in 2
019 ever not once 2019 he's never been to your Residence at any place I lived in my home in South Fulton before I started getting the threats that were here a house I paid for with my own Sweat and Tears I'm no longer able to live there but in 2019 I did and in the two months of 2019 that I knew Mr way three months the beginning of October all of November and all of December Mr Wade never came to my house in South fton let me help you out I live there in 2020 he never came to my house in 2020 le
t alone live with me as you put falsely in these documents in the first 3 months of 2021 when I could still enjoy my home Mr Wade never came to South Fulton and it is certainly a lie that he lived with me so in 2020 let's so you said 2019 2020 did Mr Wade ever visit you at a place that you were he has never been to my home in South Fulton 2020 was before I knew that a phone call was going to be made and I was going to have to abandon my home as a result thereof he never visited lived at came to
or have seen Southold you qualified that with your home in South fton I'm that's where I lived in 2020 20 did he ever visit you at a place that you resided okay I don't understand you going to give me guys in 2020 I lived in South Fulton that's the only place I lived in South Fulton that's before I had to abandon my home judge and at my home in South I never he never came there okay so if you don't come someplace you can't live there m that's I'm going to have to caution you that's this is going
to be my the first time I have to caution you we have to listen to the questions as asked and if this happens again and again I'm going to have no choice but to strike your testimony so to break this down Mr Merchant's question I believe was uh asking whether you lived anywhere other than South Fulton I did not live anywhere but South Fulton Georgia in 2020 that is before I began my prosecution of this case and I it was my plan to only live there did Mr Wade ever visit you at the condo that you
leased from Miss Yi he visited that condo yes he did yes did he ever spend the night at that condo no just visited yeah but he did visit for sure did you ever go out to eat together other than the lunches you talked about during 2019 for 2020 I would think that we probably went to lunch but it wouldn't have been let me think 2019 I'm going to say I don't know I'm I'm going to say we probably broke bread someplace in 2019 I don't remember it but it seems like we would have broke bread sometime i
n 2019 so I'm going to say yes although I have no recollection um but it seems to me like I I go out to eat and drink with pretty much everyone so I'm going to say yes so outside of the vacations that we've already talked about did you ever go out to dinner with Mr Wade I I mentioned to you that I I'm going to object as to what time period like we're asking very big questions I thought we were treating the witness as hostile under 611 we're no longer doing that so are we going to go back and for
th we need to be more specific with our questions if we're going to treat her as hostile all right M Merchant it's not so much I think you can elect between leading and open into questions but I think we are still wondering about and I think we need to get back on track of focusing on the financial benefit or the relationship and my next question about if you did go out to dinner who paid when you went out to dinner he paid I paid you both paid okay so let me be real clear we didn't say oh the b
ill is $102 you give $51 I'll get $51 I don't operate like that with my girlfriends I don't operate like that with anyone he C the bill I caught the bill whomever did you ever pay him through cash app no you only ever paid him through cash what yes we're talking about I'm very confused now given Mr Wade money through cash app no the only money you've ever given him outside of a contract is cash I didn't give him money in a contract so that was cute but I didn't give him money out in a contract w
hat happened no we're going to answer it since you said it he worked he worked more hours than he was paid and the county paid him for the work that he did so don't be cute with me and then think that you're not going to get an answer and I will ask you about the contract in a minute I asked you about cash did you ever pay him anything and I'm trying to qualify my questions I'm not talking about the contract with Fon County that that was paid I'm not talking about that talking about outside of t
hat did you ever pay him anything other than cash I've only given him cash a few times and in the course of what we're talking about if we would go to let herish if we would go to dinner I wouldn't give him cash cuz he paid for dinner or I paid for dinner I've given him cash only a few times in life probably four okay probably the most money I've ever handed him in is $2,500 the least amount of money I've handed him probably between $500 and $1,000 you never wrote him a check ma'am I don't have
checks okay um so you have no proof of any reimbursement for any of these things because it was all cash right the testimony of one witness is enough to prove a fact so my question tell is that what you inating right here I'm asking if you have any proof that you paid for any of the proof is what I just told you you have no written proof is that correct so I have some um probably some transactions like in B I probably spent $500 on my card uh in B I spent 800 I can't remember 900 bucks on each o
f our tickets to go to B I did the $700 I probably got some minor expenses in AR Ruba that would be on a card but for the most part for those trips other than so the two cruises I gave him money for those before we ever left um cuz they were pre- let me answer well the the question was if you had any written proof and so so I've answered you that I've had written proof we can move to the next question if you've answered if you had any written proof and that was my question um I want to make sure
that we're clear that for the two cruises I asked if she gave him WR Pro we're not going to talk over Miss Merchant she answered your question so we can ask the next question Miss Willis Miss cross will have plenty of opportunities to let you clarify your answers when it's her turn thank you judge knowing your role as district attorney you know that public funds are scrutinized and money is scrutinized and things like that you understand I'm sorry go ahead you understand you're under a microsco
pe you have reporting requirements all of those types of things um you have no record other than your testimony of the money that you've given Mr wake you've already asked that question let's keep going um when you took office you had a tax lean $4,600 did you pay that with cash when you made that tax lean hole I probably PID through uh however you pay okay so but you were saying that you had amounts of cash you still had that lean in 2022 when you were dating Wade and going on these trips so th
e cash that you gave him that could have been used to pay this tax lean off you going to tell me how to pay my bills this is not relevant as it relates to why we're here today Mr Merion um if you are you trying to establish that she was insolvent in some way um I definitely was trying to establish that that she did not have these Mass amounts of cash that she's talking about yes all right ask re ask the question um you had a tax lean in 2022 $4,600 did you say I did and you did not use this cash
that you had to reimburse Mr Wade to pay that off correct no I went shopping too when I not even pay at all and you talked about you gave you gave a lot of interviews to some authors of a book called find me right I would not characterize it as a lot I probably have spoken to them two or three times question relevant as to I I think it's already come up that finances are discussed in the book I'll overrule that thank you m will so you can continue your answer what came up with Mr Wade as it to
hear statements that he was asked about in relation to what Miss Willis may or may not have said in relation to an author so it's not relevant to the testimony that's occurring this at this time I think merch Miss merchin has said that inside the book she also makes statement as to her own finances and that's that issue so you gave interviews to the authors of this book correct once or twice okay and just to be comprehensive I don't know if it was three times two or three times I think you were
quoted in the book and I will give you a chance to say if this is a misquote you were quoted I really when they asked you about if you wanted to run for office for da you you were quoted I really don't want to be financially effed up again do you remember saying that so what that refers to so that my question first is if you remember saying that I remember saying something similar to that but I would like to be able to explain what that's their reference to that's not um in reference to anything
else it was a huge sacrifice to be district attorney of fton County huge I was doing just fine I had a municipal court judgeship that was paying me $100 something, a year and like you got to show up twice a week easiest thing I've ever done in life I also had private clients that were um paying me to represent them so I was able to have a law practice and that um raising two daughters by myself there were times in life where things were hard and so I was telling people I don't really run for da
I don't want to run for da I'm in a good position right now I got this easy job that I enjoy being the chief judge of the city of South Fulton I'm making money at uh the law firm and I'm not sure that I want to make this sacrifice and why does it always have to be me um eventually I prayed I think that I was the appropriate person I think that I did that so when you're referring to that what I'm saying is I why should I make a sacrifice again and what I was not talking about is being district a
ttorney once you get elected district attorney you're you're in a fine financial position I make over $200,000 a year what I was talking about is I ran for judge when I ran for judge I took 50 ,000 of my personal money out of my retirement and that money ended up being lost and I know when you bet on yourself you're going to have to bet money on yourself and so what I was talking about was not wanting to go through the personal financial expense of running for office by no means did I think that
I was going to uh be financially in a bad position once I won let's talk about what I was up against because it's important to understand that comment I had a district attorney who had been here for 24 years people no no no this is it's very relevant as to what my mindset was about this so I'm trying to answer your question so what I was saying is I Taylor so it's a finances right but it is about my finances if I I didn't nobody put me in this seat so I had already run for office once I had spe
nt $50,000 of my own money running and it was bamo nothing and so when I'm talking to those offers I'm talking about the contemplation of the sacrifice of the Run not the sacrifice of once you become da the odds were against me I was likely going to lose uh the election based on who I was running against so that needs to be in the the appropriate context isn't it true that the authors also wrote and you can dispute this if if you'd like um that you were broke after that race the 2018 race yeah t
hat was that was a hard race I wasn't broke like I didn't have any so broke is relative to depending where you are but that hurt to lose that $50,000 so I'm sure my mental mindset was like I just gave $50,000 away right so they characterized it from their conversations with you that you were broke you had poured your own money into the campaign and you weren't able to pay your own bills because of your I'm sorry your clients couldn't pay their bills to you and you had a poultry array of family a
nd asset forfeiture cases it says you were trying to make it month to month um is that an accurate depiction of your financial situation that point I would want to read that but I I don't I don't remember clients not being able to pay their bills or may I approach you can you may I have not read this book so so like this fact here her ex-husband Fred have run into a financial I have no information about I didn't ask you about that I just asked about if you were what they represent from their int
erviews with you that you were broke and that you had clients that weren't able to to pay their bills can you show me where that is because this is where you put the tab so that's where I read broke put it pay their bills yeah that that uh I am sure I characterize myself of broke as leaving that $50,000 I don't know that I had uh her nent law practice at part to I didn't have I I didn't I tell I thought I had a law practice I so this is not correct I'm sure it's just I I I didn't have any asset
forfeiture cases so I had one case where uh they had took one of my clients air money at the airport that's I don't know if that's what they're car I don't know um ptry array I did have family law cases I guess that's what they're talking about and I clients who couldn't pay their bills ain't clients so no so my question was just if this was a fair accurate representation where it says you were trying to make it month to month at that point in time no I don't think that that is actually a fair a
nd accurate representation but I am certain that after the 2018 election um I'm still not really happy about having given up that 50,000 you know when you paid your tax Lan I don't you don't do you know if you paid it I know I've paid some taxes I don't know I don't want to speculate um did you tell anyone at Fon County Board of County Commissioners about your relationship with Mr Wade no did you disclose your relationship to anybody at Fulton County no I don't think so um and as the chief law e
nforcement officer of fton County I assume that you're familiar with the county code and or ordinances I've said we're not going to cover that in this hearing M Merion um I'm sorry judge we we said we weren't going to cover the uh County regulations okay and I I I won't um let me ask you this then so are you aware that you're required to disclose any relationship with someone that you contract with in Fon County going to object is the court PRI ruling that you made this morning made would this b
e different because it's potential for impeachment yes what did you ask me I'm M Merchant if you could re ask the question okay um are you aware that Fon County requires you to disclose any relationship with someone that you're doing business with I'm not aware and I'm I know often that time things are confused with State constitutional officers in County but I'm not aware okay so it's not your so it's your understanding that you don't have a duty to disclose the Rel answer that question let's k
eep going um did you keep track of this cash that you paid him at all what are you talk I don't understand did you keep track did you keep a ledger did you keep track of it so I've only given him cash as I mentioned three or four times there's no Ledger this is friends handing money off to each other so the answer is no you I think you've already asked whether there was any written proof whatsoever and she's answered that okay so we've covered this let's move on um who were you referring to when
you suggested that Mr Roman's motion to disqualify was racially motivated we already said we're not talking about the forensic misconduct that's been alleged okay and okay and just so the record is clear I don't believe I said that his motion was racially motivated so I don't want that to stay there I've never said his motion was racially motivated so that that should not be true I think it would be best if we don't need to go down that road uh we're going to save that for argument um you once
said that you would not engage with a personal relationship with anyone that worked for Fon county is that correct uh an employee anyone that worked for fton County I think I said an employee okay so that's the qualification you give an employee you wouldn't I think that's the statement that I made so if you want to quote me quote me accurately so it's your position because Mr Wade was not an employee or it's your position he wasn't an employee correct Mr Wade is not an employee and he will tell
you that over and over again I'm sorry this statement just so I make sure I accurately quote you what you said was you won't you won't sleep with people who work under you do you not consider Mr Wade working under you I consider Mr Wade to be an agent agent and a point is what I really think of him as your point whatever Merit it has uh Miss Merchant is on the record next question all right do we need any moments in a minute Mr seow no I'm ready to go you all right I'm going to try to ask you q
uestions that you can actually answer without having to explain okay yes sir my comprehension skills are pretty good so we should do all right we shall soon see if I heard you correctly you moved into what I will refer to as the YY condo in either March or April of 2021 is that correct sometime between late February and April yes I don't just so we're clear yes but in that time period you're you're in the ballpark we're in the ballpark okay and is that yti condo would you say that it is in Hapev
ille it is in Hapeville yes sir and you moved in there for safety reasons my father uh yes I moved in there my we were concerned my father was terribly concerned about me continuing to live at the house and it so that were clear people came to my house at five o'clock in the morning um about the police brutality cases saying I was going to have a wakeup call uh there were security threats due to gang cases and there were concerns due to the um that was at the very beginning of this looking into
that and so for all of those reasons and what was happening my father wanted me out the house and um begrudgingly I left okay so the answer to the question was yes for safety reasons correct those were all of the things that caused the safety concerns I'm sorry I'm not questioning whether they are are not safety concerns I just asked that you moved into this condo y condo for safety reasons right yes okay at the time that you moved into the condo be it from February to April of 2021 was your fat
her still living in your house right because my father that's all I ask you but I I get to explain the answer so I don't know if there's an explanation if I asked you was your father still living living at your house the answer is either he was or he wasn't yes but you are going to get to argue at the end of this as we both know I'm not going to argue anything I'm going be able to explain why because my father is an older gentleman he was worried about covid and he stayed I'm going to have to sa
y that second time whenever we have to put a pause we stop testifying okay you'll have a chance to explain yourself the question was whether your father was not staying there at the time and you're clarifying that in your answer as well you can have a brief clarification but it shouldn't be something that reaches well beyond the question all right Mr s we can re ask the question we'll see where it takes us okay thank you was your father still living in your house at the time you moved to what I
would refer to as a YY condo yes sir he was due to his concerns related to co okay the safety concern was that there was potential danger at your house is that correct yes my address had been exposed so yes there was concerns about potential danger at my house okay so anyone staying at your house in the time period after you went to the yti condo was still in danger correct yeah what no no no I think you have to uh it's your attorney m um sorry Mr B your objection is speculation yes to the quest
ion of speculation whether someone was still in danger at her condo I can just let her answer the question Mr wants to rephrase I was a to I've got the objection and then I have I'll withdraw the objection okay so and I'm going remember the question so I can answer it you you can now that the objections been withdrawn can you try to answer that question yes there still a safe safy concern for people staying at the house I yes I was very concerned about my father still living at the house however
if you have dealt with an older gentleman he was not leaving the house despite my urging him that I thought he should leave as well he did not want to leave the house cuz he was particularly worried at his age about covid but that became a I don't want to say a I was not happy with that decision my father's but I can't ultimately make him leave and he stayed there too long in my opinion okay thank you during that period that you left to go to the yti condo did any of your children stay at your
house so I don't um I don't think that they were there at that point certainly my baby wasn't there I'm talking about this entire period we're talking about if I remember correctly and you'll correct me I'm sure you said that you stayed there at what I would call the year T condo until January of 2022 correct yes okay so I'm asking you in that period which would be February to April of 2021 until January of 22 did any of your children stay at your house and you don't have to yell at me I'm able
to understand so I would ask you to not yell at me that being said I don't actually expressly remember but I can tell you you since I have left my home there have been times my oldest daughter came in but I can't tell you with certainty the time window that you've said if they did or not and so I don't want to speculate to that but there was some time that my oldest daughter came back whether it was that period or after I left the Yodi residence I'm not sure okay okay so the if if I continue to
go into more detail on this you're not going to be able to give me an answer of whether or not in fact any of your children were still at the house or stayed at your house during that time period correct what I can give you Clarity of so that we are clear is from the time I moved out in February is of 2021 um after I left there there was a time period that my oldest daughter came back but if you're asking me was it in that window or after I just don't have a recollection of that cuz you know you
r kids come and they go and so I don't remember the specific time period and I apologize for that did you children ever stay with you at the yti condo uh like maybe a night okay like for a girl's night or something but live with no okay did anyone else stay with you at the YY condo including Miss yti never miss yti never lived in the condo she met her husband and they moved they weren't quite married but they moved nobody ever lived with me in the condo that was a my word was my word was stayed
not lived stayed with you at the condo I guess I don't understand the distinction but no one ever my I think my baby's my oldest child I think she spent one night with me maybe my oldest and my youngest but I think that whole time I was in that place other than that one night I don't think anyone ever um there was a very lonely period in my time life I don't think anyone ever spent the night other than maybe one night I remember a picture of my baby sitting on the couch in that place and I'm thi
nking she spent that night like but just a very lonely time in life okay we'll stay with the lonely theme just for a minute did Nathan Wade visit you at the yti condo from the time you moved in until he was hired on November the 1st of 2021 so I moved out uh of that condo but during that time period he yeah I'm sure he came to visit uh he came to visit I can remember us going I think the restaurant's licky split I can remember him picking me up going to licky split and ordering some food and com
ing and sitting at my table and eating so I remember times that he visited me at that condo yes could you give us an approximation of how many times Mr Wade visited you at the condo between the time you moved in and prior to November 1 of 2020 I don't think often but I don't I don't want to speculate can we say more than five more than 10 I'm going to tell you the problem I'm having here let's say more than 10 but I'm not sure that that's even accurate uh he certainly has come and picked me up w
ant to grab some food to eat I don't remember him being in that condo a lot okay that's I don't I'm sorry you want to number and what I don't want to do giving me your your current and best recollection is all I'm asking for that's all I can give you sir how many times did any of the prosecution team how how many times did anac cross come to that condo between the time you moved in and November 1st of 2021 I don't think Anna's ever been to that cond what about any other prosecutor that's involve
d in the prosecution of this case I don't think any of them have just Mr Wade that's correct sir but it was a lonely time oh my God that yeah that 2021 uh I have a lot of guilt about this time period in my life let me tell you why but yes it was a lonely time okay I was very appreciative to the citizens for giving me this responsibility and this duty but what I very very quickly learned is that this is a very isolating job and 2021 was a lonely time I turned 50 in 2021 that's probably one of the
worst birthdays I've ever had I SP it alone so I have a clear recollection of 2021 being lonely okay did Mr Wade ever come visit you at the condo the time period I'm talking about prior to November of 2021 When Miss YY was at the condo so miss YY and me were we didn't share the condo at the same time so the answer would be no well we never stayed there together so it's an impossibility it's an impossibility yeah okay now miss so that Miss YY because we need to get clarification on this Miss YY
stayed in that place there may have been a time that me and Mr Wade visited like went and saw Miss YY but me and Miss YY never lived there together just so we're clear well maybe that was clear but I'm going to have to try again okay was Miss YY still living in the condo when you moved in not a day okay so what I'm talking another misrepresentation in this we never live together I I never live with Miss Yi my question though I'm trying to understand that after you moved in to the condo Miss y ha
d been she was out of the condo right she got a house uh that's all I'm asking she's not in the condo she is we never stay Miss YY and I never stay a day together in the condo all of her stuff was out of the condo and all my stuff some of my stuff not all of it obviously was moved into the condo so we never stayed there together no sir all right so when I asked you about Mr Wade visiting the condo when you were staying there yes Miss y wasn't staying there correct that would be correct yes she w
ouldn't be at the condo correct no she would not have been it would be you and Mr Wade alone at the condo correct yes that is there weren't any other witnesses to Mr Wade and you at the condo correct yes no security none of your security details object she said it was just her and Mr Wade you made your point Mr s let's move on to the next one yes your honor who in the prosecution team prior to I guess the motion being filed by um defendant Ro Roman who in the prosecution team knew of your person
al relationship and now I'm talking romantic with Mr Wade so sir I am extremely private all I ask is who knew it's not if the answer is no one knew that's fine I ask you who knew answer answer it and then explain this wellis I am very private when I supervised Mr body and Mr McAfee they didn't know who I was dating but I can assure you I was dating somebody so that I kept something private that's my private life is not any mystery to anyone it it's it's it's like a a woman doesn't have the right
to keep her private life private and I'm speaking on this because there have been all these in intimations you just haven't answered the question Miss well I'm sorry what was the question in your honor is there anyone else who knew about it and then you can explain I I don't know I don't think so I certainly didn't um go out telling my business to the world okay so the best of your recollection you didn't inform anyone on the prosecution team that the individual that you had chosen to lead the
prosecution team had a personal relationship with you is that correct that's inaccurate your question is inacurate what cuz you you stated that the person I chose we had a personal relationship so we had a friendship we have to we have all these distinguishing factors remember when I chose him in November of 21 first of all let's get this straight Mr way was not actually my first choice that's no insult to him no no it is you because of the way you raised the question you said when I chose him I
didn't inform people of a personal relationship we have defined personal as romantic it is an inaccurate way to State the question and I will certainly restate it so it is very accurate okay and please do not yell it to me you hired Mr Wade for the first time on November 1st of 20121 correct of 2021 yes sir your testimony is what one accepts it or not your testimony is that at the time you hired Mr Wade there had never been a romantic relationship with Mr Wade before you hire him correct yes my
testimony is that we were very good friends but not we're talking about a sex so let's just don't no I'm not talking about I'm saying romantic relationship doesn't necessarily have to be just sex it can be dating it can be holding hands it can be any of those things that one might call romantic I'm asking you whether or not prior to November 1st of 2021 there was a romantic relationship with Mr Wade that's very simple it's either a yes or no I don't consider my relationship with him to be roman
tic before that I'm not a handh holder so no that's fine now let's move Beyond November 1st of 2020 2021 excuse me I understand your testimony there was no romantic relationship with Mr Wade until early in 20122 whether it be January or February or March early in 2022 correct I will say sometime between February and April yes sir all right now I'm asking you about that time period when it became romantic yes okay thank you okay you didn't see the need if I understand to tell any of the people on
the prosecution team when you had established a romantic relationship with Mr Wade that the lead prosecutor that is the people the man that was basically giving orders to others was dating or having a romantic relationship with you correct I'm going to object to relevance at this point Ron relevance just to prove we attempting to show that there is an issue on The credibility of about the relationship the failure to have informed anyone anyone on her team that she was having a romantic relation
ship with the lead prosecutor I suggest gives rise to that inference that's the relevance the inference that the inference that that they were concealing this because it was not as it's been characterized to the court and that it in fact it started earlier than what they say all right overall Mr say down I just want to make sure that we're clear from at least 2020 me and Mr Wade were friends at least that time period okay I'm not talking about so no no no I just I want to be clear because my cre
dibility is being evaluated here right we were friends we hung out prior to November of 2021 in November of 2021 I hired him I do not consider our relationship to have become romantic until early of 2022 cuz I don't know what date and time I'm saying sometime between February and April of 2022 and very early April of 2022 cuz I know that trip that I discussed with you was like the first week of 2022 that the relationship had become romantic I hope that answered your question but I can't have it
where you know we're saying something differently all right so you've established the timeline as you put it the question originally was uh at the time at that time did you tell any other prosecutors on the prosecution I never tell people at work who I'm dating all right Mr s okay did you take any trips to DC with Mr Wade never did you ever did you take okay so you have no what I would call personal trips or business trips to DC with Mr Wade I never went to DC with Mr Wade personal business othe
rwise never okay so I've never been in the District of Columbia with Mr Wade or Maryland Virginia the DMV as they called it so as I understand it just to be clear any trips that you would have taken to see DC that that was a pretty clear answer huh that was a pretty clear answer she just said no twice so do you have a variation or something new to bring up I'll ask it and we'll see did you take trips to DC that were nonbusiness during the time period perod that this case or this matter was under
investigation I'm going to object as to relevance as it relates to the matter that we're here before you on well again the the question already asked was take personal or business trips you said but I but that was that was with Mr Wade this I asked her alone whether she took okay what's the relevance and what would be the relevance of that trying to understand whether or not we we have an ability to show a personal trip in which Mr Wade is there at the same time I understand her answer okay I u
nderstand her answer but we have documents we have records that the documents the things well this could be something that's maybe not part of the record yet but if he has a I think there have been other things discussed in this case and they have evidenced that Mr Wade may have been in DC at the same time if you want to ask about that exact specific date Mr s you can do that I would reference to the court that that was not asked of Mr Wade anything about any trips to DC sure and so that's going
to limit it's Merit and impact in on credibility so Mr say I'll ask the question so I understand your testimony is you never took a trip to DC with Mr Wade that's correct personal or business that's correct were you ever in DC at the same time as Mr Wade on personal or business no me and Mr Wade have not been to DC at the same time however uh since Mr Wade has been on this case he's been to DC since Mr Wade has been on to this this case I've been to DC what has not happened is we have not been
in the District of Columbia at the same time now the only thing I'm not sure about with what you asked me is have I been to DC personally because I got a lot of personal friends in that area but I know that I um have been to DC uh I did an interview at Howard University I went to DC for that seemed like I've been to DC one other time oh I went to DC for the global Summit actually yeah those were two separate trips my next question is based on her opening the door and therefore I'll just ask it a
nd your honor can decide whether or not it's appropriate when you went to DC did you go to the White House I did not go to the White House no well apparently I'm going to get the answer anyhow there you have it next question okay you indicated your best recollection was that your relationship with Mr Wade the Romantic relationship uh ended um you left it at August of 2023 that sound right that's the hard conversation that's not the we've covered this next question and you characterized it as a t
ough conversation correct yes okay I'm not going to get into the conversation per se you should well he doesn't want to we won't go there so Mr SAR next question you know it's kind of hard to say no when when you've got that opportunity but all I'm going to say is it was it pre-indictment in this case so we know the timeline that the indictment was delivered and and so that we're clear the physical relationship ended pre- indictment and is that when you were talking about the tough conversation
but the pH I'm not sure that the tough conversation didn't happen till after but the physical relationship so I'm sure if you ask Mr Wade because he's a male he would say we ended June or July cuz physical contact ended then just in my mind being a woman it's over when you have that like hard conversation that's I just think women and men think differently and I think the answer Mr s to your question was she's not sure whether it was before or after the indictment I'm not I'm not sure that that
was her answer but but see if I can get specific that is what I said that's what I said I'll let you next question Mr St if you need to clear want to say one more the Romantic relationship ended before the indictment was returned yes or no to a man yes to a man yes to you no she's explained this St down she's explained this and did the and the did the forthcoming indictment have anything to do with that or was it just a coincidence Mr let's go on and have the conversation I just asked you whethe
r or not it was a Co had absolutely nothing to do with this it's interesting that we're here about this money Mr Wade is used to women that uh as he told me one time the only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich we would have brutal arguments about the fact that I am your equal I don't need anything from a man a man is not a plan a man is a companion and so there was tension always in our relationship which is why I was give him his money back I don't need anybody to foot my bills
the only man who's ever foot my bills completely is my daddy is there anything else you would like to add to that no sure but I'm sure we'll talk about it further no we're not going to talk about it further all right no back and forth Mr St down next question uh my next question is something that I would that has to do with the what I've characterized as the church speech let me just tell you what the question is cuz I know that's not pres it for the record huh you can preserve the questions fo
r the record but we then we'll move on that's correct thank you when you gave what I've referred to as the Martin Luther King weekend Church speech you know what I'm referring to a great honor of mine that's a historic African-American church yes I do okay did you have handwritten notes with you that you were reading from during the speech and and on second thought Mr s because you might have a number of questions about this why don't we just bullet point what you would want to cover on this res
erved for the record and then we'll move on to the next topic okay since I had laid out before that the forensic misconduct isn't a subject to not get an answer for that that's okay did you read your speech well no M St out for everything related to any for inst you just want me to stay out of it now we're just not it's we can do it in a bullet form if you just want to cover what you would have asked but it's not in a question and answer format okay so I should do that at this point or do it whe
n you're ready we can do it right now so it's I'm going to ask her about did she prepare the speech did she have notes on the speech did she read the speech um when did she do this when did she write the speech who was she referring to when she was talking about um others who was she referring to when she said they who she was referring to when she spoke in terms of their that is I would love to answer those questions well Miss Willis um you could certainly do that in some other form format but
for today that's what we decided we're not going to cover who was she talking about that was playing the race card and why she didn't tell the people at the church that she was that she had had a personal SL romantic relationship with the all due respect the way it was characterize the black man that she was referring to and was the black man she refer referring to was that Mr Wade that's that area of inquiry noted for the record Mr St down next topic okay I realize that you've testified that yo
u have no records um that with regard to cash payments yes correct mhm would your bank records reflect that you with Drew cash from your bank accounts during the time period of 20120 2021 2022 or 2023 I'm not asking you you I'm just asking whether they would reflect that you withdrew cash from any of your bank accounts so the exact amounts of course I withdrew money throughout that time period throughout my life I've I withdrawn money from the bank yes of course talking about cash from that is t
hat you go to a bank or you go to an ATM and you take cash out either that way or you go to Publix and you overpay or you go to another store and you overpay so yes both through that yes of course they will reflect that at times okay and so those records if we had them would show that correct that throughout the course of my life I took money I I was very specific I said of that time period I would have taken money out yes so do you have a problem with re I absolutely yes you don't want the bank
records to be made available for the court and the court alone I'm going to object as to the relevance and this has already been addressed earlier as it relates to other records this is an improper line question questioning he's doing it for the purpose of harassment I'm just going to sustain it on relevance Mr s that's something you want to follow up privately uh you can do that okay uh last area briefly yes sir you had contact with Mr Wade in the year 2020 correct ooh um I had some contact wi
th Mr Wade would you explain when you say some contact please tell us the talking about 20120 I had some contact with Mr Wade in 2020 um one of the reasons your allegations are so Preposterous or Miss Merchants that you have joined is ma'am I didn't ask you about the allegations I ask you about your contact it's all I ask you okay I appreciate that that you want to say something but I'm interested in did you have contacts with Mr Wade in 2020 and your answer so far has been yes correct very limi
ted contact because um Mr Wade had a form of cancer that makes your allegations somewhat ridiculous I do appreciate the characterization not going to emasculate a black man but I'm I'm just telling you I'm sorry what I'm not going to emasculate a black man did you understand that all right I don't think wether Mr say down next question trying to you're on would you tell us on the occasions in 2020 that you had contact with Mr Wade I'm sorry I thought I had answered that yes yes sir there were ti
mes in 2020 I had contact but 2020 was a year I was running for her office it was a year that he was going through some serious medical issues and I did not have much contact but I certainly had contact with him in 2020 did you go out to eat with him maybe probably did you did you visit him in any location his office or did he visit you in your office in 2020 I am sure he I'm sure that's a very good question I'm sure he came to 750 in 2020 750 is was my office okay um not often but maybe once or
twice uh uh maybe I went to his office once or twice but maybe once and the purpose for going to his office would have been what maybe we would have went to Mellow Mushrooms for pizza or uh maybe he would have come for lunch I'm sure we went by each other's office though but not often not a lot we we both grinding trying try to make I understand what you've said about the cancer and I'm not going into that but when you were going out with him to restaurants or when he would come to to your offi
ce right those were not sterile environments were they oh very sterile because it was the restaurants were sterile environments a lot of times we wouldn't eat there we would pick up something and go in but they were you I'm I'm listening to you you pick up and take it to where maybe eat at our office but it did not happen much that's what I'm trying to explain to you and my office in 2020 nobody was coming in I was Stir Crazy so I would still go into my office if you remember when I started this
I said I am not even sure if we came to each other's offices but I am trying to be over cautious so I think I can recall him at 7:50 a couple of times um I just think I can recall him at 750 once but let's say twice I have seen his office I remember all the awards in the lobby but I'm not sure in 201 20 I I went I'm not even sure I went in 2020 at all I just want to tell you yes cuz I'm not sure but I I have a I have a distinct recollection of him at 750 I actually don't have a distinct recolle
ction of me at his office in 2020 but maybe I went to his office in 2020 maybe did you have ongoing phone conversations during 2020 with Mr Wade oh yeah I talked to yes absolutely yes yes no question about that no question I talked to him on the phone in 2020 um I understood and this is I maybe I was confused the bise trip was for his 50th birthday his 50th birthday and that was in March he He Turned 1550 March 18th of 2023 if you look at the dates of the trip think we were there about 6 days um
we stayed at two different locations um and you paid for it 100% he said not only I mean I paid for the hotel I paid for the flights I had a birthday lunch in for him I paid for massages I paid for everything and would those payments be reflected on your credit card cash you paid them in cash cabs cabs I was telling you all the different things and I'm asking you whether or not those payments would be reflected on credit card bills of yours so there was about $500 that I think is reflected on a
debit card I what my recollection is I took about four in cash with me to that 400 or 4,000 4,000 but I remember I handed him 2500 and then the rest was just the money we spent I probably gave $300 or $400 to uh this guy who was a taxi driver he would drive us every day around the two or three days we went took him to eat like it was my it was my trip money and you had to be clear to end this up the 4,000 that you've just told us but I didn't give it all to him remember I only gave the 2500 to
him I didn't ask ask you that I was going to ask you that 4,000 is part of your my words cash horde that you had collected over time cash what hord h o rde e Oh I thought you said something different sir no I'm afraid I wouldn't say that any circumstances to you or in all right back on track the hord cash hord I would not classify it in that way but I have money at my house yes sir and the money when you had money at your house when I and I'm speaking too Loosely I had money wherever I was stayi
ng so I was not referring to my house in 750 I'm saying I had money wherever I was laying my head yes sir I that was my fault that I wasn't clear so when you were at what we said the year condo during the time period we've always discussed that's where you would keep your cash when I stayed there yes that's all I have thank you all right I want to see if we can get through a few more defense counsel possible for breaking for today Mr Stockton Madame district attorney I'm Alan stocks and I don't
think we've had the pleasure of meeting it's a pleasure to meet you sir um Madame da you described these various trips and U Mr sadal asked you about going to Washington did you and Mr Wade go to New York I've gone to new yor York um I've gone to New York twice um since I've been district attorney I'm trying to think of it's two or three times I went to do a domestic violence thing there for sure and I was honored and I went to the Apollo there those are the only two trips that come to mind I we
nt he was not with me you also said that he was a world traveler and been on many of the continents six have you been on any of those continents with him um besides this one uh where's bise what continent is that I'm not being funny I don't know let's say with the exception of bise with him I've been to the Bahamas with him I've been with fuba with him don't embarrass me I'm not sure what continent those are on whatever continents those are that's where I've been I'm sure if I gave it some thoug
ht I would tell you but whatever continents those are that I've been to those locations sir but not Australia or any other kind I don't even want to go to Australia I do know he took a trip in December to Australia I have no idea you know I don't know anything about that TR when Mr Wade began working with your office yes he had two other gentlemen that worked in his firm with him is that correct yes he uh Terrence Bradley worked for him and Chris Campbell worked not for him they worked with each
other did you understand what their partnership Arrangement was I no did did he ever make you aware of how fees were divided or anything no now since you have been district attorney the two gentlemen that worked with Mr Wade and his firm they also had contracts with your office is that correct I've probably had two I don't we already well I don't know if we've covered this to Miss Willis but I still don't know what the relevance would be of her testifying to this but I've had about 10 oh I'm so
rry do you want me to answer let's figure this out judge respectfully I think Bas on Mr Wade's testimony he had an interest in those contracts sure and then but how's that been imputed to Miss Willis I I don't know if whether or not she knew she was giving him that benefit that's what I was trying to explore okay uh well maybe we can start with that question and then if she doesn't know about it then the ins and outs of all the contracts wouldn't be quite as relevant go to lay a foundation for t
hat though I go ahead the the two gentlemen that were in Mr Wade's office did they have what I think's been referred to as a taint contract so let me be clear and um I may get the names wrong when I first became da this the office was not properly staffed and so I did I'm surprised any lawyer would take it but I did a contract for like $60 an hour to help us out with first appearance that lasted a few months Okay so I can't remember if Bradley or Campbell had that I'm sure we can have records an
d I can tell you which one but I just can't remember now um I like their experience one had been Bradley had been a probation officer and a defense attorney uh Campbell had been a police officer and a um defense attorney there's a reason I'm telling you this then um that that contract like I said it didn't last long it was just I was aggressively hiring hiring hiring hiring soon as I got where I felt like I had first appearance enough lawyers for that I let them go then we had what's called a fi
lter contract but it was not filter for this particular case I do have a lawyer um who does the filter for this election interference case when we're talking about filter the contract they had that neither one of them has any longer um I now have another lawyer that does that for me it was only for police brutality cases it's for what I call the um so when I first got to be the da I had um the whole unit was called anti-corruption it dealt with both elections and police brutality cases I actuall
y took a trip to Houston and visited the district attorney in Houston they divided their work up and I thought the way she was doing it was better than my me and so I I made a civil rights unit and so they did what we would classify as civil rights cases those are specifically the police brutality cases when I first took over I was told Paul had not filtered five cases that was a joke it ended up being the 101 cases they weren't filtered which is why I hired two of them eventually we got it down
enough that it was one of them um and then um now I still have one lawyer that does it but now I've been able to cut those cases down to like 30 can you tell me the and help me understand what the purpose of the filter is yes sir so what a filter is is police officers make statements in the line of Duty and you are not allowed as the prosecutor to know what those statements are if they're done in the furtherance of their employment and in fact if you know what those statements are you're basica
lly disqualified from the case you can't have it anymore so what our policy is I think I pay them like a $50 flat fee they pick the case up directly from the gbi because that's where those cases go to and then what they are to do is to re go through the entire file so um the body cam the uh which is important cuz sometimes they'll make a statement to their supervisor on body cam in the police reports where they write things but if it would be easy if it was just some statement of the police offi
cer but what you find out is these statements are embedded in it and so what your filter lawyer does is they go through it they either redact it out electronically or they cross it out and then once it is crossed out then they provide it to my team and then we're able to look at it um that was not being done appropriately when I became district attorney I thought that it had only been so Mr Howard had some Chinese wall thing that I didn't think worked at all uh where allegedly those cases were p
roperly redacted that ended up being a joke um and so the five cases really turned into I'm not going to say all 101 but a vast majority that is the work that Mr Bradley and Mr Campbell did for me they did a really good job all of those cases that we originally came with they're done those cases are they're not just done for Mr Bradley and Mr Campbell they're done through my office but obviously life is not stagnant there have been new police cases um I do have a lawyer that is doing that work n
ow that doesn't work for me that's same kind of deal I have another lawyer that does filtering to this case completely separate so in the same private office you had a filter contract then you had somebody else having handling first appearances and so forth and then you had a special prosecutor is that correct I'm I'm just not ultimately the answer to your question is yes but I'm not sure that they did it at the same time the first appearance contract was either $60 or $90 I don't know really ho
w I convinced them to be able to take that but I think because it was for such a short amount of time and then I think I pay my filter lawyers which I still don't know how I get away with about 150 an hour hour and I want you to understand the AG pay special prosecutors $1,000 an hour so um I'm a tough negotiator Paul was paying people up to 375 an hour um I won't pay anyone more than 250 is my Max I have a lot of lawyers that a lot for what I have that work at 250 and I cap them every month you
can't go past a certain amount of hours would you agree that if if Mr Wade and the two other gentlemen that were in his firm were splitting fees in equal thirds would you agree that he would benefit from the tank contract and also from the other first appearance contract I I would agree you would make money yet so to make money is a benefit just a thought got Mr Durham if you're still with us on Zoom no question joh Mr McDougal I do have a couple your h a little awkward from back here you want
yeah want you go ahead and make your way up [Music] good afternoon Miss W how you doing I'm very well how are you Mr McDougall I think this is our first in person meeting correct second second well I apologize for not remembering you more clear and S all right um I'm referring now to exhibit number 21 yes sir which was your financial disclosure form for 2022 yes sir and it has a question which requires you to disclose any gifts or favors from a single prohibited Source in the aggregate of amount
of $100 or more do you see that I don't but I believe you it would be on page two in the middle paragraph number three yes and what is your understanding of a prohibited source for purposes of this form I believe there's some classification of somebody you like don't have a personal relationship with that gives you $100 all right if you under there at sub paragraph 2 Roman net 2 it defines it as someone that you know or should know is seeking to do or is doing business with the county correct y
es but I yes let me yes that includes Mr Wade as of the date you filled out this form correct yes but he never gave me a gift of $100 or more um the only thing that I would say maybe went over that but but I don't think it ever did is if we went to dinner and my meal was $100 but I don't think I've ever eaten $100 worth of food at a restaurant cuz I I would not pay him back if we went to lunch or went to dinner um but trips I paid him back for you know I never thought about the money until y'all
brought it up and I would be less than honest that says I was giving him the money back because I was the district attorney um I didn't take gifts from him for a lot of personal reasons anyway I did not take gifts from him and so your reason for not disclosing any gifts from Mr Wade on exhibit number 21 is that the aggregate amount on a net basis was less than $100 in the year 2022 is that correct I did not accept a gift of him of more than $100 in 2022 the one exception to that if you cuz I wa
nt us to be clear is we probably went out to eat multiple times in the year if you're considering eating a meal you know because we went out multiple times that probably went to the level of more than $100 but if if we're doing tit fortat like that I probably paid for as many meals as he paid for and so I did not receive any gifts from him the question on the form right I understand the question aggregate in excess of $100 and your testimony is that you did not receive in the aggregate more than
$100 all right Mr MCD you can sit down now I don't believe she answered that question honor she answered as to specific individual gifts and you're not listening to my answer either so we're done very well okay Mr rice for the question Miss uh Mr Gillan good afternoon good afternoon sir um a few questions here U I want to you saw the book here find me the votes that was shown to you correct yes sir I would like to just tender this as an exhibit uh number 22 is that your copy it is all right wha
t exhibit is that going to be 22 all right I'm making the the uh the is that evidentiary contribution here um to this now well I guess you're tindering it is it with um position of the state I'm going objected the relevance at this point has to we Haven there's no relevance at this point um Mr G you are using this to conf with prior statements yes your honor and statements that she made conc concerning her concerning her financial situation and laying the foundation for that and that she gave th
ese interviews uh to the authors and so this would document that and ask her get this in the record to ask her questions about it uh we could mark it for impeachment purposes I'm a little wary of entering an entire 300 Page book because I don't know exactly what every single line if it would pass hearsay or relevance or etc etc but I don't think it needs to be admitted as a an actual evidence for the record for you to do what you need to do with it so well uh your honor I I understand I I just w
ould it's Mar 22 and I'll let you we'll move from there uh thank you honor now you were asked a little bit about this stroke before correct I think Mrs Mrs merch Miss Merchant did asked me some questions yes and and you gave about what about six interviews to the authors of this book in a sit down no sir you didn't was it she answered how many interviews she gave in her opinion how many in your opinion do you believe you gave and how long did they last two to three maybe 20 30 minutes so your te
stimon is at most you think that you gave maybe an hour to an hour and a half's interview to the authors of this book Oh you mean in total in total yeah maybe yeah anywhere between definitely not more than two-ish hours okay but you also were telling when when they were the title of the book of course is a hard charging Georgia prosecutor a rogue president and the plot to steal American election you you SE the title of the book relevant sir and I had I'm going to ask her whether or not that was
the the theme that they gave her when they talked with her the thing gave her what what do you mean by that well because they were they were sat down and they told her why they were there to interview her and why and why does that matter well I think it matters because it shows but the they they want her to give her version of what uh her life story this is a life almost a life story of her so that's why it's relevant but if the court thinks it's not then no no it's it could be relevant to your
issue of the forensic misconduct that has been alleged and maybe some of the the motives at play when it comes to forensic misconduct but I'm not seeing again what we're here for today was the relationship Andor any Financial elements of it correct well I think clearly relevant to the uh foric misconduct also relevant to the personal interest in terms of the finances let me if 10 cent off that book pardon me I didn't make 10 cents off that book didn't ask whether you made any money okay I just u
h didn't ask whether you made any money do you have any other statements that she hadn't already been confronted with by Miss Merchant well other than I want to to to focus on when you were telling them about your financial Straits and you're living kind of month-to month uh that is what your financial status was back in 2018 after election Mr we covered that at length and you just you're at the end of the line I'm sorry sorry about that but we got to find new ground well uh you know let me move
on to to my point here so the point is that what you're telling us is that um you were uh in financial Straits but really that your testimony today is you had a cash horde of maybe up to $110,000 in cash where you laid your head at night so that you would dip out and there would be no record of it correct that's not what I'm telling you sir that's not that's not at all what I'm telling you what I'm telling you is that throughout the course of my life I have always kept cash in my house that cas
h has ranged from times you know my father would probably be ashamed of this cuz he would say it should be more but that time that cash at times has ranged from $500 to maybe $99,000 and he he would be like that is not what I told you to do um I've always had that amount of money what I've told you is that when when I travel you do better negotiating when you travel if you have cash you can you go to get the cab they say oh we going to charge you 300 for the day well I got American cash will you
take it for 150 and so it's my practice to take money when I travel we're not talking about a whole lot of money we're going to the Bahamas 1,500 in cash is in my pocket or at the most 2500 Bel was actually probably the most money I've ever taken and it was taken because it was a big deal my 50th birthday sucked his 50th birth it sucked it was terrible no get back to some questions here I'm trying to answer it it would if we so so let's let's move to the specific yes or NOS here have you told u
s today that you would keep uh a cash hord in your residence up to about $99,000 yes or no and in throughout the course of my adult life and so let's even be more specific than that that probably from the time your honor I'm only asking for yes or no rather than and we have already covered this so I know you're laying the foundation but it's already been laid so the filibuster is here I'm trying to move through the filibuster yeah but but we're not talking about a lot of and so is it could be 2,
000 it could be500 it could be 7500 it just depends on how what you're doing at that time what I'm telling you is when I traveled I took cash I find that when you travel especially to foreign countries the American dollar does well and it's good to have cash you can negotiate with the taxi driver with the jet skis with the and it's not a lot of money we're talking about cut off the let's get to a question Mr and so you have cash in your house but you had a lean a tax lean on your property is tha
t right I don't believe I had a tax lean on my property you didn't have a tax lean on your property you got you got to talk up a louder Mr okay we we already covered that Mr Gillan I need new ground here I'm asking the question of I'm trying to figure out how someone can have uh have a tax Lan then ask that question but not use the money that they allegedly said they have well I think M Merchant asked that exact same question said you didn't use the money to pay your tax lead so what's your ques
tion that's new so so I was going to build on that to say no more building it's already built all right it's the same way you pay a bill just just put the top on it if you need to okay it's the same way you owe a bill and go shopping well uh now now have you ever used did you say earlier the used cash app I when I would pay Robin Bryant I use cash app what is Cash app for the record I don't need to know that for the record let's keep going well so if you're paying Robin with cash app why aren't
you paying uh allegedly paying Mr there's no alleged here why aren't you paying allegedly Mr Wade with cash app I don't think Mr Wade does cash app did you ask him I think he's told me he doesn't do cash app okay so that's the reason why you didn't use cash app he's sitting next to me I hand him the money because there would be a record in cash app of your making payments correct yes but I didn't think that I was making a record in a personal relationship because when you're filing your and and
I know that I'm going to move into this uh financial statement here you were asked just a second ago about your non-disclosure form or your excuse me your disclosure form of an exhibit 21 where um we agree that Mr Wade is a prohibited Source correct I don't I what I agree to is I don't believe he's giving me gifts you you would like to classify these trips as gifts but I've always paid my fair share on these trips so I did not look at them as gifts I don't think that what this is disclosing and
they can tell me if they mean something different I don't think it means that if you go to dinner with somebody over the course of a year and it gets to 100 supposed to report it if my understanding of that is wrong um I've probably been to lunches with a couple of people that over the course of a year they paid I paid let me prohibited Source means we already went over this Mr Gillan Mr McDougall well you're I have to I have to lay the foundation here before I can follow up with my next questio
n I don't I don't know why you can't you have to it's questions have been made then your two uh 2020 2 disclosure form did not list any of the thousands and thousands of dollars that Mr Wade uh paid for on trips that you were on isn't that correct that's because Mr Wade was paid that money back or he was paid uh due to the fact that I bought the plane ticket or I paid for the hotel there there were never money that he gave me that that wasn't the nature of our relation ship you know there's so m
any men and Mr Wade is one of them where the nature of the relationship is they're just paying a woman the nature of our relationship is companionship and friendship despite the way people would like to paint certain women it's just not true final question and not a single solitary documentary he surveilance showing that you have withdrawn the cash to pay back thank you Mr that's not accurate thank you okay Mr Mol on behalf of Mr Floyd all right and Mr Cromwell on behalf of Miss Le great thing a
bout the coming last is your questions I had one question Miss will can you hear me yes sir in the time period between February of 2021 in January of 2022 while you were staying at the Y cond did your father ever come and visit you during that time per at the he did not that's all I have thank you honor all right uh Miss cross I would imagine you have a number of topics to cover with Miss Willis that'll take more than 10 to 15 minutes I do okay and I think we've reached a stopping point for toda
y and so uh Miss Wills I'd ask you can step down now and i' uh also remind you that uh you're not to discuss your testimony or uh that of any other witness until tomorrow morning back here and we'll begin again at 9:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. uh we'll do 9:00 a.m. this time tomorrow before we uh recess for today I want to check in on Logistics and uh I'll ask Miss Merchant um once the testimony of Miss Willis has concluded uh how many other Witnesses do you anticipate [Music] calling um and then we Delta
record State objected we can we can handle that now M you can you can St down you're done for today you want me to leave the courtroom uh or you consider the council table we we don't Maj the witness box uh all right so two witnesses and then quering other defense Council um I know uh Mr Gillan there was a potential witness that was objected to by the state so there's another one there and we can talk about that were there any other Witnesses anticipated from any defense Council all right seein
g no show of hands and then miss cross uh any uh any Witnesses on your behalf I expect so your honor and I expect that to take um probably four to five hours okay and how many witnesses would you imagine without committing myself to a final number my best guess at this point would be 3 to4 okay all right uh we know who I mean I I gave them our Witnesses I I we're supposed to give Witnesses from evidentiary hearing from guessing that one is John Floyd but um I don't know anybody else all right no
I understand uh Miss Merchant uh however I don't think uh at this point there's any statutory requirement we have the standing order that for expert um Witnesses and if say uh doesn't want to extend that courtesy then I think you're stuck with it all right certainly happy to represent that Mr Floyd will be a witness and that the other witnesses will be in teing of Miss okay all right let's take up these uh last couple issues here before we break then uh the issue of the Delta Airlines records u
m miss the motion to quash was filed by the state on behalf of M Willis I believe I I didn't file a motion your honor oh excuse me what my representation was that I just got notice of them I think it was yesterday okay and so now I've had the review of them I object to the general fishing Expedition um I've introduced a a new record today that was from Delta my knowledge that there's going to be no further new production in the Delta Rec I don't want to burden the court with anything if the cour
t wants to take a look at it and see if there's anything um different than that I I don't have an objection I just I I don't like the idea that we're just looking for anything I don't want to um put an obligation on the court but I'm happy to agree to camera that's and so Miss Merchant I take it points all right so Miss Merchant I take it the purpose of this need you to step out St purpose is to show travel records right is it uh is it because you suspect there are other travel records or just y
ou think there might be something else in there it's well one is to um to prove some of the travel records they travel together and so we have no problem like I told the state putting the camera I don't even I mean what I'm saying is this we've we've heard about the the trips today in detail uh is there anything else that's in these records that you're saying is going to prove some additional trip or is it just further corroborating what really is kind of uncontested at this point um there may b
e some additional trip but you don't know of any specifically you just think there might be okay all right well then let's uh continue with that then if you want to send them uh or instruct Delta to send them to us in Chambers we'll take a look and um and I think essentially if there's you can tell us Miss Merchant what you think we should be looking for and what you think is relevant and we'll do that okay all right and then when it comes to Mr uh Schaefer's witness there was an issue uh raised
about this kind of being a summary versus an expert witness and so I reviewed the motions and and I think there was the um essentially kind of the sum mikachi in Washington you are watching ABC News live breaking coverage of fton County district attorney fonnie Willis in a surprise move taking the stand testifying about her romantic relationship with the top prosecutor in the Georgia RICO case against Donald Trump and 18 codefendants it has been quite a day in that Atlanta courtroom let's get r
ight to our team to break it all down starting with ABC News investigative reporter Olivia Rubin outside the courthouse in Atlanta Olivia you've been there for a good portion of the day today uh you inside that courtroom we heard some intense moments from fonnie Willis and Steve satow a trump attorney going back and forth to even the judge uh really seeming to lead to get annoyed uh take us inside that courtroom what was that like witnessing everything well I think you could use all of those adj
ectives that you just used it was heated it was fiery it was at times defense ensive and at times there were screaming matches I think what we saw from district attorney fonny Willis today was someone that came into that hearing swinging she clearly wanted to defend herself and she had not spoken publicly about these allegations for weeks since she first alluded to them back in January after they came out so it was weeks if not a little over a month of Silence like leading up to this moment and
she had a lot to say she accused Mike Roman's attorney of lying she accused Steve Z da you know of misrepresentations and she almost went after every single one of them while holding firm that the relationship with Nathan Wade started after he was appointed and that he never paid her way for the trip she said she kept cash that she paid him back and that she didn't expect any man to ever pay for her way in a relationship and that she sort of made it a personality and character tra of hers that s
he doesn't view men in that way so it seemed as if it was everything that she wanted to say but of course there were those tense moments she was you know giving more at times than the question asked for the judge warning her twice to just stick to the question or they would strike her testimony Fierce back and forth uh with Steve zow Trump's attorney and I think that's a real moment that we have hit on because imagine this is Bonnie Willis who has charged Donald Trump and 18 others and Donald Tr
ump's attorneys with the roles flipped it is fonny Willis on the stand and Trump's attorney questioning her and you could feel that tension in between the two just from the moment he first questioned her he said I'm going to try to ask questions that you can understand and answer properly and she said well my comprehension is fine so I'll have no problem and he said we'll see and that I think in a nutshell is sort of the high intensity sort of combativeness that we saw a lot in this hearing as f
onny Willis as I can't just emphasize enough really went to bat to defend herself against allegations that she said have been untrue and unchecked for week now like right that intensity really coming to a high point at the point when we heard Vonnie Willis even say to say out listen you do not have to raise your voice at me paraphrasing right now obviously so that contentious relationship between the two is is clearly uh right there for everyone to see you mentioned something before about how fo
nnie Willis was giving these long laborious answers to several of the questions that she was po poised uh to at some point even drawing the ey from the judge asking her to really be concise in her answers uh can you talk to me about the methodology she used in terms of giving those long answers when she was posed what do you think that was behind that well I'm not on her head so I don't know her exact methodology but as one source uh you know who knows her texted me and uh you know is close with
her she's pissed and so I think that was driving a lot of what we saw today and then I think if you could Zone in on one thing that she said which I think really encapsulate encapsulated a lot of what she was likely feeling is when she said to Mike Roman's attorney she said you're confused I'm not on trial these defendants are on trial for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election and you may think I'm on trial but I'm not and I think it was sort of you know a pointed moment about how
much of this case has come to be embroiled by these allegations there have been you know filings for weeks here hearings motions hearings subpoenas and it has derailed her case against Donald Trump and the other defendants so I think that was sort of a moment to say what is really at issue here and what none of these allegations change is or sorry none of the allegations against her change are the allegations against the defendants they are still charged in a multi-count indict indictment for t
rying to overturn the results of the 2020 election and that is what is at the heart of the case here despite these efforts to remove her from the case now I want to bring in ABC News contribut and former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons Chris you've been a part of Rico cases in the past give me your take on what you just heard here so I think what fonny Willis was doing was taking advantage of the wide latitude that the judge was giving her at least At first I think you know when you got the fir
st part of the hearing and the defense attorneys were asking their questions the other Witnesses the judge was giving them a long leeway because he didn't know exactly what they were going and so once he figured out where they were going and fonny Willis was on the stand he thought he might call it a little bit tighter he might not allow as much evidence to come in but I think he needed to balance it a bit I mean you got to remember there's no jury in the room uh but there is the wider jury acro
ss the all of Fulton County a lot of whom are going to be watching this but since there's not a jury in the room the judge has got wide latitude as to what he's willing to hear and what he's not willing to hear and so I think we saw a lot of information a lot of evidence that wouldn't necessarily be relevant to his decision at the end of the day but some of that was to even the playing field some of that was to allow the District Attorney's office to gain back some ground that they'd lost earlie
r in the day you know Chris there seems to be an Achilles heel in this hearing a lot of Trump's attorneys seem to focus and hone in on the money exchange between fonnie Willis and of course uh uh Nathan Wade do you see any kind of legal exposure that might have been really revealed throughout this hearing based on what we heard about those that money being I want the one filed on January the 8 no I I don't at all and actually that's the key quote we're hearing just now but I I mean so the the is
sue in the case really goes back to the financial issue I don't think they scored a lot of points there to your point I think the issue at the end of the day is did fonny Willis herself financially benefit in some way from this prosecution and what we heard today was a bunch of evidence about she may have traveled with Nathan Wade but she paid her own way both her and Nathan Wade were insistent on that point there's no other evidence coming into this case so far that we've seen that would sugges
t that that was not the case and so I I that's why they spent so much time on that issue but they weren't really scoring any points and so at this point based on what the judge said earlier in the day which was that he's looking for some sort of financial contribution or some sort of financial benefit and then also whether that benefit constitutes some sort of conflict of interest I don't think we saw either one of those things today although we did see a lot of fireworks in court and especially
that quote that Olivia honed in on that quote about she's not on trial that the other defendants who are in the room are on trial and they're on trial for stealing the 20 20 election that's the point that she probably intended to make when she first hit the stand earlier today well one of many staggering points made throughout this hearing right now I want to bring in ABC News executive editorial producer John santui John talk to me how do you think the Trump team is reacting to this hearing ri
ght now I I think if Donald Trump was drinking he's popping champagne tonight but of course he does not drink I you know look this is exactly what team Trump wanted they wanted to cause commotion they wanted to stir they want wanted to find a way to poke holes at da Fon Willis and they've successfully done that they not only poked holes at her but obviously earlier in the day we saw they poked holes at Nathan Wade and those questions from Steve sow listen this was a guy that Donald Trump did not
meet until just before heading to the Fulton County Jail to turn himself in Ike but he hired Steve sow for one reason he was told he was a killer and you saw the questions from Steve sow the way he just targeted pushed got that key answer from the former friend of fonny will saying oh yeah I saw them sometimes kiss and hug I mean that is exactly what the goal here was to begin with and look even if they're not successful in removing her which Chris and Brian buckmire and others have been talkin
g about in our air all day is probably unlikely they have damaged fonny Willis they have damaged Nathan Wade and that was the goal of Team Trump today and clearly that has succeeded and more of it to continue tomorrow John Olivia Chris thank you very very very much much more news ahead here on ABC News live in today's big story district attorney fonnie Willis in a surprise move testifying about her romantic relationship with the top prosecutor in the Georgia RICO case against Donald Trump how it
could impact the case against the former president who himself appeared in court for a separate Hearing in New York City today and in our Spotlight New York City suing social media companies are pel weighs in on accusations the tech Giants are fueling a youth m Health [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] crisis go Housewives the Beverly hill star Erica Jan celebrity attorney Tom gerardi this story was a nuclear explosion today several victims will get a ch
ance to finally meet Erica jity and that's sort of a loss for what to say did you see the documentary the housewife and the Hustler I did I wanted Erica to say I'm sorry face to face Erica why did it take you so long the housewife and the Hustler too only on Hulu this is ABC News live the crush of families here in Poland at Refugee centers in Putin Russia on the ground in Ukraine close to the front line from the capital destructive Cat 4 storm you're along I5 Boston is in the bullseye let's go A
BC News live America's number one streaming news anytime anywhere streaming 24/7 straight to you for free thank you for making ABC News live America's number one streaming news first thing in the morning there's a lot going on get another Avalanche warning that's up to catch you up with what happened overnight a dangerous ice storm is impacting the morning commute what's happening today escalating tensions in the Middle East what people are talking about the migrant crisis fast straightforward w
ith some fun in between how does billionaire sound sounds good to me the Moose started chasing a dog first thing in the morning America this morning America's number one early morning news on ABC News live why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with for Edward R meral Awards and see why the New York Times ca
lls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here I just heard gunshot breaking right now a US military member home for the holidays found dead every officer had their cameras rolling how on Earth did this happen he gleaves the door comes down the steps and boom I can see his eyes you knew he was gone yeah now Friday night exclusive interviews my wife al
most passed out and a father confronts his son's killer love honor and betray all new 2020 Friday night on ABC so the question is okay here we go are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and Cal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it is John Kus here I was here all the time the all new season of what would you do Premier Sunday night on [Music] ABC the dramatic moments during one
of two dueling Court hearings in legal cases surrounding Donald Trump am mik aachi in Washington in today's big story district attorney fonny Willis in a surprise move testifying about her romantic relationship with the top prosecutor in the Georgia RICO case against the former president how it could impact the case against Trump who himself appeared in court for a separate Hearing in New York City today and in our Spotlight New York City waging a legal battle against social media companies our
panel weighs in on accusations the tech GI are feeling a youth Mental Health [Music] crisis but we begin with our big story The Dramatic scene in one of two dueling Court hearings in legal cases surrounding Donald Trump starting in Georgia where fton County district attorney fonnie Willis stunned attorneys in a courtroom in Atlanta today in a surprise move taking the stand to testify about her alleged improper relationship with the top prosecutor in the state's RICO case against the former presi
dent Willis defiant facing down lawyers for Trump and one of his codefendants take a listen you've been intrusive into people's personal lives you're confused you think I'm on trial these people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 20120 I'm not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial the judge weighing whether Willis romantic relationship with Wade created a conflict of interest that could disqualify her from the case lawyers for Trump and his codefendants claim Willis
benefited from the relationship that's because Wade was paid more than $650,000 for his work the lawyers claim he used his earnings to foot the bill for expensive trips the pair took together Wade was married at the time and earlier he testified that Willis often paid him back in cash for their travel expenses here's an exchange between him and one of Trump's attorneys you would have received thousands of dollars in cash from Miss Willis correct yes sir you never said hey why do you have this a
mount of cash W Mr Mr seal in my practice people come into my Law Firm all the time with cash I never question where they got it yeah but we're talking not about people that come into your Law Firm we're talking about the district attorney of Fulton County the Romantic relationship between Wade and Willis now threatening to upend the case against Trump and his 18 codefendants over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election result in Georgia now to that other court hearing this time in New Yor
k City where Trump voluntarily appeared in court where a judge set a March 25th trial date in the former president's criminal hush money case that's where he charged he's charged with falsifying business records to allegedly cover up payments to two women including porn star Stormy Daniels in the leadup to the 2016 election Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and after today's hearing he called the charges a disgrace they want to keep me nice and busy so I can't campaign so hard but maybe we
won't have to campaign so hard because the other side is incompetent and I'm going to have to sit here for months on a trial I think it's ridiculous it's unfair the district attorney in this case Alvin Bragg in a statement saying he's looking forward to the start of the trial which would be the first among the several criminal cases against Trump joining me now ABC News contributor and Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons Chris let's start with the case where Trump made an appearance today uh in Tru
mp's hush money case in New York it set a trial date for March 25th effectively shooting down Trump's motion to dismiss the case is there anything else the former president's legal team can do to continue to delay this trial I'm not sure I mean unless the Supreme Court comes back with some sort of immunity ruling that would take out the New York case but no I think we're on track for trial at the end of March I think everybody's anticipating it one of the big things that Donald Trump did today w
as he talked about how legal Scholars said that he's not guilty of these charges that's intended for a potential jury poll and it's interesting because that's evidence that would never come in and so he was using that opportunity before the the case before the cameras today to talk about that information as well as being home is themed that all of these prosecutions are unfair now Chris the judge says jury selection for the hush money case will start in late late March now is this true that jury
selection in any case is crucial to a fair and partial trial we know that's true rather but what are some things lawyers on both sides will be looking for once the questioning of potential jurors begin sure so it's funny you say that I teach a class in jury selection at Georgia State here in Atlanta law school because it's absolutely the most important part of any trial think about it I mean you know if you're from a two parent home you go to Mom for one answer you go to Dad for another so it's
the most important part of any question is uh answer is who the deci is here they're going to be looking and and most of the questions are going to be aimed at what we think of as cognitive bias people who cannot set aside any information they've learned in the past but more importantly whether they can accept information coming at them some people have such strong opinions about Donald Trump that they cannot accept information either positive or negative depending on which side they're on so j
ury selection is really about can we find 12 people plus some alternates who can be fair in this case and that's going to take a while to develop the ultimate scale of V Dearing Chris now let's move on to the Georgia election interference case the judge overseeing that trial is hearing arguments over motions to disqualify Fon County district attorney fonnie Willis of course over accusations of a personal romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade now could all of this focus on the prosecu
tors actually help Trump in that Georgia election trial sure absolutely just like we talked about before with the jurors I mean every single case is going to come down to jury selection all four of the the cases that are leveled at this point in Criminal Courts against the former prosecutor are going to come down to the 12 people in each of those cases who are ultimately going to make the decision on his guilt or innocence so a lot of what today was about was throwing dirt on fonny Willis who's
the da and throwing dirt on Nathan Wade who's the chief prosecutor in the case what they're trying to do is score points with the potential jurors here in fton county and also scare score points across the country beating home that theme that this is unfair that the former president is being treated unfairly that the former president shouldn't have to go on trial and that in part is why fonny Willis testified today she wanted to shift the narrative back to the defendants and away from herself yo
u know Chris Shifting The Narrative is putting it lightly fny Willis she had some intense moments with lawyers during her questioning uh what's your take on her temperament during the time on the stand I I think for the most part it was good I think she seemed a little bit frustrated at times but I think that humanized her I mean we all you know if you were around in the in the 19 late 1980s the image of Mike duckus in a tank was ridiculous um here you know we're talking about somebody who came
across as a not just a politician but somebody who was under attack and she definitely wanted to portray that it was an unfair attack on her that we were getting into some of the most personal and intimate details of her life and she wanted people to remember that this case isn't about FIA Willis and Nathan Wade This is a case that's about the former president and his remaining codefendants and whether they to steal the 2020 election Chris Timmons thank you as always but right now let's bring th
e big story to our panel joining us today ABC News contributor and Serious XM host Mike Muse ABC News political contributor and Senior editor at the dispatch Sarah isgar Democratic strategist and president of NextGen America Christina cson Ramirez and ABC News contributor and oped columnist for the LA Times Elie Granderson thank you guys for joining me yet again but I'm going to start with Sarah you are a former Trump Administration official the Trump trial calendar is starting to heat up but so
is the campaign calendar will these ongoing trials hurt or help Trump on the campaign trial in terms of his chances with Independence and Suburban voters for sure I mean what we've seen so far is it has largely helped Trump I think there's plenty of evidence to suggest that if he were convicted that could potentially be damaging the problem is that this New York case I think legal scholar I've ever talked to agrees that is the weakest of the four cases against Donald Trump so there's a real cha
nce that something could go wrong in that trial it could get dismissed it could get overturned on appeal and that that could really help Trump now Christina turning to you how do you think Trump's current legal exposure will affect the rest of the Republican Party in the upcoming November election well at this point I think the Republican party is Donald Trump right we don't see Republicans breaking uh lock step with him on any issue really and so they're going to be behind him all the way to th
e end though as stated if he is convicted of a crime a large percentage of Voters have said they will not vote for him even if they have been back backing him so these trials he is intentionally appearing at these trials he didn't have to appear today he wanted to appear he wants to give the illusion that he is unfairly being prosecuted so he's actually things are going to continue to heat up um and I think that um ultim if he is convicted of any of these crimes it will be very perilous for him
in the election all right Mike turning to you we're seeing L Trump's legal team really trying to push back as many trial dates as possible do you think he's fatiguing the court system right now the question fatigue in the court system that I am not quite for sure in terms of fatigue in the court system um as it much as this is just where we are with the indictments that have come before it the mere fact of that you know indictments have to take place or a trial has to be had you have to have app
earance in court what I will say though is that this is actually part of his campaign strategy uh it's important for him to show up to these court cases because afterwards uh there are moments that he can actually go before the press and plead his case and then he can also to do campaign rallies afterwards so this is such an unusual time uh period that we are in in a presidential campaign cycle um that uh the former president is actually using court cases as part of a campaign strategy all right
and LZ I want you to give me the broader take on the effect uh these trials are having on the public talk to me what do you think people watching these trials are actually thinking right now am I going to pay for groceries uh do I have enough money to pay for affordable child care still TP still kitchen table issues that are driving uh political decisions we we forget that because you know Trump is a sensational figure and these are unprecedented times as Mike suggested but at the end of the da
y every single exit pole that I have seen since the election of President Trump goes back to the economy goes back to Kent table issues and so I think it's important that we remember that the American people are concerned about democracy but if democracy isn't working for them they aren't going to be too concerned about what's happening with President Trump that may not necessarily be something that people hear but that's just the reality in terms of what the exit Poes are showing Mike Sarah Chr
istina and LZ thank you as always we will see you soon but coming up in our Spotlight taking on Tech New York City sues social media companies accusing them of contributing to the youth Mental Health crisis but will this actually hold them accountable my panel and I get into it after the break whenever news breaks we are here in Israel a nation at war after that brutal surprise attack by Hamas on the ground in Ukraine reporting from Leon Maine the scene of a horrific match shooting ABC News live
is right there everywhere from the scene of that deadly missile strike in Dena Ukraine reporting from the earthquake in Turkey en rolling Fort This Tornado tore through this little town from the most devastating disaster in Hawaii from Charleston South Carolina on the 2024 campaign Trail in Iceland let's go traveling with the president in Mexico City wherever the story from the front lines from Southern Israel outside the Gaza Strip in Beirut from the FBI reporting from that nurses on the picke
t line here at 10 Downing Street in London streaming live to you wherever the story is wherever the story is wherever the story is we're going to take you there you're streaming ABC News live ABC News live you're streaming ABC News live ABC news live streaming free everywhere America's number one streaming news I have a point of contact they're expecting us this our secret world we have do you think we're going to be safe I don't know this is my pen inside that pen is a slice of human these are
assassinations of people are going to be murdered there's really no telling what some of them will do I I I I oh my God it's happening everywhere and anywhere [Music] wow so the question is okay here we go oh my God are you kidding me what would you do you just won't believe what people do when they think no one's watching and this season I brought Sarah Haynes and Camal Bell along for the rock all right let's break it it's John Fus here I was here all the time the all new season of what would y
ou do Premier Sunday night on ABC why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the now and get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R murl Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your
podcasts start [Music] here in today's Spotlight New York City filing a lawsuit against the company behind Snapchat Instagram YouTube and Tik Tok accusing the social media Giants of contributing to a youth Mental Health crisis now the city claims the platforms are intentionally designed to manipulate and addict children in teens exposing them to content that's not good for their mental health the lawsuit says these apps promote disconnection and disassociation taking a major toll on kids and le
aving the city left to struggle with the Fallout all this coming just weeks after New York city mayor Eric Adams declared social media and environmental Toxin and a public health hazard but the social media companies insist that the claims are misguided and that their platforms are designed with kids safety in mind let's bring back Mike LZ and joining our panel ABC News medical contributor Dr Alo Patel Dr Patel from a medical perspective what are the main health concerns associated with social m
edia and youth and what does research say the impact has been specifically on Mental Health well mental health issu is really is what the big concern is when it comes to the addictive nature how long kids spend on these apps and what they're actually seeing and there is research showing that they're might be a connection to anxiety depression body body Imaging disorders Eating Disorders self-esteem and so forth but I also want to address the fact that there is an issue with the quality of conten
t as well because there is still misinformation cyber bullying sex tortion and more dangers on social media that don't seem like they're really addressed by this lawsuit but that really will fall down on us helping teens and parents better understand how to navigate social media which also has a lot of benefits to it as well so I don't think teens are leaving the apps we have to help them become smarter in how they use them and Dr Patel you mentioned parents what should they be on the lookout fo
r if their kids are using social media I mean are there any signs or changes in behavior that parents should be aware of so they know when to act you know parents know their kids best so if you know your kids habits and how much time they're spending on social media you notice it's affecting their schoolwork their Hobbies how their inter with the family Behavior mood their sleep any of these things talk to your children about their social media habits how they're using it and help them practice
good as we call digital hygiene and the information they're sharing and whom they're interacting with and as always parents be a good role model you can't tell your kids to not spend so much time on the apps when you are sitting you were sitting in bed on the sofa or in the bathroom on the phone as well we got to put down the phones and stop scrolling and get to bed I hear you Dr Patel now LZ lots of reaction from those companies in the suit all claiming that they're doing their part in making s
ure the platforms are safe for kids but that doesn't seem to be the case are platforms like Tik Tok meta and YouTube doing enough to keep youth mental health in mind well I think the the proof is in the pudding right we're all collectively saying no uh first of all I just want to acknowledge that Dr Patel just read me about doing tiktock and bad I'm going to stop thank you very much Dr for that advice um what I will say in terms of the100 million uh lawsuit that's been filed as long as the city
can definitively show us that the money is going to be used to actually help young people and not go to administrative cost or sucked up by Executives uh I'm all for it you know my concern is that you know often times when you donate to charity you find out later that all the charity money is really going to people to to the executives and so as long as this money is going to help kids I'm behind it now Mike this isn't the first time these companies are being sued is this a law lawsuit that coul
d hold social media Giants accountable or give lawmakers more fuel to keep the fire lit and call for serious regulation this is all performative I think Rob was looking at this from the wrong space in place um I think that we need to address the totality of mental health issues within the youth and and in our society right now we have to think about how these youth are coming out during the pandemic era they were not socialized they were not in their uh in school they were not doing school activ
ities they were not doing football games cheerleading practices they were not part of doing the band or jazz B uh they were locked into their homes unable to soci lives unable to get out uh they had nothing to do we're also to not addressing when they do come back into school how a lot of our students are actually falling behind and are at almost a year to year and a half behind where they should be with reading comprehension and with mathematics and so we have to address the totality and we can
't just put this on Tik Tok Instagram or SnapChat we all two have to take consideration the video gaming as well and how much time our children are playing on video games how much time our children are also too playing on Twitch um we have to take this in totality and then for the New York City to sue for $100 million do I would ask what is the city doing because they did cut budgets to the library how are you getting these kids off of the digital space then what are you doing for them in the ph
ysical space can you create more programming for them in the library can you create more after school programming for them so they have an option if they're not going to be on social media then what are they doing in real life and what the city of New York City has not done effectively is provided enough opportunities of recre for them to once they do come offline the old stick ball huh play some baseball on the field that should work a little bit Mike LZ Dr Patel thank you very much we will tal
k to you again soon but coming up in our last call Welcome Home Franklin one of Charlie Brown's best friends is getting his moment why his new special has some historical significance that's after the break this is ABC News live the crush families here in Poland at Refugee Cent In Putin Russia on the ground in Ukraine close to the front line from the capital destructive cat story you're along I Boston is in the bullseye let's go ABC News live America's number one streaming news anytime anywhere
streaming 24/7 straight to you for free thank you for making ABC News line America's number one streaming news [Music] tonight the election interference case against former president Trump the hearing on misconduct claims against the Georgia da plus the latest on the victims of the Kansas City shooting more Americans turn to the most watched newscast on television World News Tonight with David mure why do so many people start their day here from ABC News this is start here to be in the know and
get a different take on the day's top stories a lot of news today so let's get into it listen now to the Daily News podcast honored with four Edward R murl Awards and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to start here ABC News make it your daily first listen now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming wherever you get your podcasts start here first thing in the morning there's a lot going on get another Avalanche warning that's up to catch you up with
what happened overnight a dangerous ice storm is impacting the morning commute what's happening today escalating tensions in the Middle East what people are talking about the migrant crisis fast straightforward with some fun in between how does billionaire sound sounds good to me the Moose started chasing a dog first thing in the morning America this morning America's number one early morning news on ABC News live from America's number one news source comes the allnew ABC News app breaking news
Incredible video faster smarter and it can customize to you and your interests if you love being in the know you're going to love this experience what all the buzz is about experience the allnew ABC News app download it now reporting from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas I'm Elizabeth schy wherever the story is we'll take you there you're streaming ABC News live [Music] time now for our last call a beloved Peanuts character will now shine in a new animated special that dropped last ni
ght Franklin Armstrong the peanuts gang's first black character will debut in a starting role in Snoopy presents welcome home Franklin it's on Apple TV plus the special highlights that first time he meets Charlie Brown when he arrives in town he's tired of a life constantly moving because his father's in the milit I have lived in a lot of different places but none that I can call home he says and in this new special we see him become a part of the gang take a look hey Franklin we saved you a sea
t over here you know you found your home when you're surrounded by good friends all right let's bring back our panel LZ Franklin first made his appearance in 1968 at the urging of a teacher who reached out to Creator Charles Schultz to essentially integrate peanuts what do you think of Franklin getting his own show you know it's funny when you were reading the introduction I was thinking that Franklin's always had his own show you know as as someone who finds himself the only person of color in
a lot of white spaces I've often looked at Franklin and thought about his life and so while he may not have had lines and he may not have had the character uh be the the focus of a plot um to me he's always been a focus of people who know what it's like to be the only one in an environment very profound very profound especially about talking about peanuts but uh you know right now it was quite the show it's going to be quite the scene we're going to see that later but right now Mike I want to ta
lk to you that clip we showed in stark contrast to the 1973 Charlie Brown Thanksgiving scene where Franklin is essentially sitting by himself on the side of the table remember that I do remember at this is all about writing the wrong and I I think about how that clip that you just played and the idea of Franklin have his own narrative how important it is for young children who are so impressionable uh um to see an inclusive uh cartoon and seeing Franklin this black young boy live this full life
of happy and joy uh and I think representation matters and this is just a good example of why it's important to have characters like Franklin Now Christina animated features are so much a part of our pop culture what do you take from this well you know I have a seven-year-old son a young Latino Kid and what we have to remember Mike just said representation matters the majority of America's children are now young people of col so this is just one step in the direction
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