Judge Scot McAfee on Thursday ordered Willis to respond to the allegations in writing by Feb. 2, and has scheduled a hearing on the matter for Feb. 15.

The accusation, first found in a court filing by attorney and Trump co-defendant Mike Roman, accuses Willis of hiring her paramour Nathan Wade - whose involvement, Roman argues, makes the indictment "fatally defective." Roman has asked McAfee to dismiss the charges, and to block the Fulton County DA's office from further involvement in the case.

Wade (who was hired without proper approval), is a private attorney in the midst of a divorce who "has little to no experience trying felony cases, much less complex RICO actions," according to a 127-page filing in former President Donald Trump's 2020 election trial in Georgia.

Wade ended up pocketing nearly $700,000 from Fulton county taxpayers - with which he allegedly took Willis on lavish vacations. He also billed taxpayers $2,000 to talk to the Biden White House about prosecuting Biden's political opponent.

Allegations surfaced last week from one of Trump's co-defendants, Mike Roman, a political operative who served as Trump's director of Election Day operations on his 2020 reelection campaign, who accused Willis and Wade of engaging in an "improper" romantic relationship.

Citing "sources close" to both Willis and Wade, Roman's lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, claimed the pair have been involved in an "ongoing, personal and romantic relationship," and went on vacations together. The filings argued the alleged relationship, which Merchant claims started before the election interference began, makes the indictment "fatally defective" and requests it be dismissed. -The Hill