But in a heated hearing on Friday (AEDT), a defiant and confrontational Willis furiously hit back, accusing Roman’s lawyer of spreading lies.

“You’re confused. You think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020,” she said, returning the focus on Trump’s charges. “I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.”

Willis admitted she had a romantic relationship with Wade, but she argued there was no financial or personal conflict of interest that constituted a legal basis for disqualification.

She told the court in great detail that she kept cash in her house and that she paid her own way by repaying Wade for any of the travel he booked.

“I don’t need anything from a man,” she said. “A man is not a plan. A man is a companion. And so there was tension always in our relationship, which is why I would give him his money back. I don’t need anybody to foot my bills.”

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Willis and Wade insisted their romantic relationship began in 2022 – after he was hired to help run Trump’s election interference case in November 2021. The “physical” relationship ended before Trump was indicted in August 2023, Willis said.

“We were friends; we hung out prior to November of 2021. In November 2021 I hired him. I do not consider our relationship to have become romantic until early 2022,” Willis said.

However, the timing was contradicted by a “former good friend” of Willis, Robin Bryant-Yeartie, who testified that she had “no doubt” the pair had a romantic relationship starting in 2019.

In the witness stand, Wade also stood by the timing of their relationship. Quizzed about holidays the couple took to places such as Belize, Aruba, Napa Valley, California and Tennessee, he also insisted that the pair split their costs and that Willis often insisted on paying her own way with cash.

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Asked if he continued a personal relationship with Willis after that, he replied: “Are you asking me if I had intercourse with the district attorney?”

“We’re very good friends. Probably closer than ever because of these attacks. But if you’re asking me about specific intercourse, the answer is no.”

The televised hearing, which is expected to last for two days, was another sign of an extraordinary election that will play out as much in the courtroom as on the campaign trail.

The Georgia trial accuses the US president and 18 allies of an alleged “criminal enterprise” designed to overturn the 2020 election result to stop President Joe Biden’s victory.

But if Trump and his co-defendants succeed in disqualifying Willis, some fear the entire case could be derailed. It still doesn’t have a trial date.

Meanwhile, in Manhattan, the hush money case will take up to six weeks, becoming the first criminal trial Trump faces.

His lawyers had sought to delay the trial, arguing it would unfairly intervene with his quest to return to the White House.

Trump reiterated this as he entered the courtroom, telling reporters: “I’m running for election – how can you run for election when you’re sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day long?”

The New York case accuses Trump of orchestrating a scheme to pay hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels to suppress damaging sexual allegations on the eve of the 2016 election.

He has denied all the allegations against him. The hearings continue.

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