(Bloomberg) -- A Georgia judge ordered a two-day hearing this week to determine whether he should disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from the racketeering case against Donald Trump because she had a romantic relationship with the lead prosecutor. 

Trump co-defendant Michael Roman wants to question witnesses in court after accusing Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, and special prosecutor Nathan Wade of having an improper secret romance when she hired him in 2021 to lead the investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Roman’s attorney claims Willis has paid Wade more than $650,000 and they’ve received improper personal and financial benefits that require their removal from the case. 

The claim by Roman, which Trump and others have joined, has threatened to torpedo the sweeping case brought by Willis, an elected Democrat, in one of four criminal cases against Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to face Joe Biden again. 

Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said Monday he’ll hold an evidentiary hearing Thursday and Friday that will include testimony from attorney Terrence Bradley, who worked in Wade’s law firm for several years and once represented him in his ongoing divorce. McAfee made his decision during a hearing where he considered a motion by the DA to block subpoenas for a dozen witnesses, including Willis and Wade. 

The judge asked Roman’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, what Bradley would say on the witness stand. 

“The relevant information that Mr. Bradley has is that this relationship started prior to Mr. Wade being appointed to this case,” Merchant said. “He has personal knowledge that they had stayed together. He’s got information about all of that.” 

The judge said he would decide after hearing from Bradley whether Willis and Wade must testify as well. 

At the hearing on Monday, Merchant said Wade had said in a May 2023 affidavit in his divorce case that he had not had “relations” with anyone other than his spouse. Since she filed her initial motion last month, Merchant said, he updated that affidavit and “pled privilege under the Fifth Amendment” right against self-incrimination. 

Wade was one of three private attorneys hired to work on the Trump investigation for the DA’s office. One of those lawyers, Anna Cross, argued on behalf of the DA on Monday, urging the judge to block the subpoenas. 

“Even if all the allegations were true – and they’re not – that is not a basis to disqualify the district attorney or the district attorney itself,” Cross said. “There is no personal interest in the prosecution of this defendant and no financial interest.” 

Cross said: “The defense is not bringing you facts. The defense is not bringing you law. The defense is bringing you gossip.”

In a Feb. 2 court filing, Willis admitted she’s had a “personal relationship” with Wade, but denied they engaged in any misconduct, an assertion that he also made in an affidavit. In a Feb. 9 filing, Merchant said she would use a hearing to show that Willis was lying. 

Read More: Trump Georgia Prosecutors Admit Affair, Deny Any Misconduct

 

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