Judge Scott McAfee said that while Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did not keep records of payments she says she made to her lead prosecutor to reimburse him for vacation trips the two took together, her claim that he returned the money in cash “was not so true. incredible to the point of being inherently incredible.”
“This refund practice may be unusual and the lack of documentary corroboration is understandably concerning. However, the testimony withstood direct contradiction and was corroborated by other evidence,” McAfee said.
Willis, the judge noted, did not provide any accounting of his alleged payments to lead prosecutor Nathan Wade “and the district attorney may well have received a net benefit of several hundred dollars.”
Despite this, McAfee said that “defendants have not presented sufficient evidence to indicate that the expenses were not 'divided approximately equally.'”
Some background: Throughout his testimony, Willis said he paid Wade in cash for trips they took together, saying his use of cash explains why there is no paper trail documenting reciprocal payments to Wade.
During his testimony, Willis faced questions about his claim that he reimbursed Wade in cash for trips to Aruba, the Bahamas and Belize, as well as for wine, chocolate and caviar tastings in Napa Valley.
Wade also testified that Willis paid cash for excursions on at least one vacation and paid him back for plane flights and other trips. “She paid for the excursions so the expenses would balance out,” she said.
