A judge in Georgia ruled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will not be disqualified from former President Donald Trump’s election interference case, allowing the case to proceed after weeks of scandal over Willis’ romantic relationship with her lead prosecutor and an alleged conflict of interest—though the judge did order Willis to either step down from the case or cut ties with her lead prosecutor.

If Willis chooses to step down, Georgia state law requires the executive director of the state’s Prosecuting Attorneys Council to appoint a replacement, either a district attorney from another Georgia county, a private lawyer or a member of the council. That director, Pete Skandalakis, suggested to the New York Times last month he could prosecute the case himself or appoint an alternative if no volunteers come forward. If a volunteer does emerge, Skandalakis said he would appoint a replacement with experience who has an interest in prosecuting the case, telling CNN the case “has a lot of people emotionally tied to it.”

Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted last August on charges stemming from their alleged bid to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to those charges, including racketeering, conspiracy to commit forgery, false statements and filing false documents. In recent months, the former president has blasted Willis repeatedly on his social media platform Truth Social and at campaign stops, accusing the district attorney of orchestrating a “witch hunt” ahead of the November election. The case took a new turn in January, when Michael Roman, one of Trump’s co-defendants in Fulton County, filed a lawsuit seeking to disqualify Willis over her alleged “improper, clandestine personal relationship.” Roman argued Willis’ actions constituted a conflict of interest and claimed she violated public money laws—court documents showed Willis and Wade went on two vacations together.

Willis and Wade both admitted to having a romantic relationship in court filings and in their testimonies, though both claimed their relationship started after Willis hired Wade—a key detail in the case that Trump’s co-defendants have argued to be false. In her testimony, Willis also pushed back against comments from Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for one of Trump’s co-defendants, with Willis arguing: “It’s highly offensive when someone tries to implicate that you slept with somebody the first day you met with them.” Willis acknowledged she met Wade in 2019, but maintained she only started dating him in 2022.

Cell phone records presented in the case also showed Wade regularly made trips to Willis’ neighborhood before he was hired, according to an affidavit filed last month by Trump’s legal team. Those records also showed the duo had more than 2,000 phone calls in a span of less than a year in 2021, before when Willis and Wade said they started dating. Trump’s co-defendants had also been hoping for a revelation from Wade’s former law partner Terrence Bradley, their star witness in the case. After he took the witness stand, however, Bradley appeared to backtrack, saying he was “speculating” when he previously said in a text message to Merchant that he “absolutely” believed the relationship began before Wade was hired.

Will Fani Willis Be Disqualified? Here’s What Would Happen Next If She’s Removed. (Forbes)

Fani Willis Admits To Romantic Relationship But Chides 'Offensive' 'Lies' About Timeline (Forbes)