Fani Willis' father says he didn't know about Willis' relationship with prosecutor until recently

John Floyd III, father of Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis, enters the courtroom during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Atlanta. The hearing is to determine whether Willis should be removed from the case because of a relationship with Nathan Wade, special prosecutor she hired in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump. (Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP)

Georgia prosecutors sought to knock down misconduct allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Friday, calling her father to the witness stand to testify about his knowledge of her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she hired to lead Donald Trump’s case.

Willis’ father, John Clifford Floyd III, testified on the second day of an extraordinary hearing that could result in Willis and her office being removed from the case against the former president over her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Willis’ father testified that he had not met Wade until last year and didn’t find out until weeks ago that they had been in a romantic relationship.

Prosecutors also sought to bolster Willis’ testimony that Wade was not Willis’ first choice to lead the case against Trump. Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes testified that Willis approached him in 2021 about serving as special prosecutor, but that he turned it down in part because he had “mouths to feed” at his law practice and because he was concerned about potential threats of violence that could come with the job.