The Georgia State Senate’s Special Committee on Investigations held a hearing on Wednesday in which lawmakers delved into allegations of a romantic relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

The inquiry, along with other hearings, casts a long shadow over the integrity of Fulton County’s high-profile election interference case against former President Donald Trump. At the center of the proceedings was testimony given by attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who is representing Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the case.

For several hours, the Republican chairman the George Senate’s Special Committee on Investigations, Sen. Bill Cowsert, questioned Ashleigh Merchant, the defense attorney for Michael Roman, a Trump co-defendant who was charged in Fulton County’s election interference case. The panel had subpoenaed Merchant for her testimony.

“We’re tasked with investigating and finding the true facts,” said Cowsert, explaining why they were holding the hearing. He added that the committee is tasked, if necessary, with amending or creating new statutes “to build guardrails” to “restore the public faith in our criminal justice system.”

READ: Closing Arguments in Fani Willis Disqualification Hearing Do Not Go Well For Her

While the Senate committee does not have the authority to disqualify Willis, the hearing sheds more light on her relationship with Wade. Merchant recounted how she discovered that Willis had been romantically involved with the special prosecutor. She noted that the romance began prior to Wade’s appointment in November 2021. Willis disputes this timeline.

This discrepancy is important as Merchant claimed that the relationship led to Willis engaging in nepotism and fiscal impropriety. The attorney told the state Senate that she found out about the affair from Wade’s former law partner.

Merchant reiterated that she wants Willis to be disqualified, alleging a conflict of interest exists as a result of Willis’ and Wade’s relationship, which they recently said in court had ended last summer. Merchant specifically argued that Willis shouldn’t have hired Wade as a special prosecutor in the election interference case, claiming it violated county policy on nepotism and relationships. And she again alleged that Willis benefitted from her appointment of Wade by accepting trips that he paid for.

Merchant alleges that their romantic relationship began before Willis appointed him as a special prosecutor in November 2021. The former couple, however, have denied that accusation and have stated it began in early 2022.

In her testimony Wednesday, Merchant said that it was Wade’s former law partner and former divorce lawyer, Terrence Bradley, who first told her that Willis and Wade were in a relationship. She said that data she obtained on cell phone pinging showed there were 12,000 voice and text interactions between Wade and Willis in 2021.

Merchant also accused Willis of using extra funding earmarked for homicide and COVID-19 backlogs to fund the case against Trump. She claimed Willis paid Wade more than other prosecutors – even those with more experience.

State Sen. Harold V. Jones, a Democrat, challenged Merchant’s argument in favor of disqualifying Willis, arguing that one has to show that “there’s an actual unfairness to the defendant in the trial” for such a move to be taken.

Merchant countered by pointing out that Willis and Wade were “sleeping together, and he was paying for trips for them to go on, and they were hiding it from taxpayers.

If this hearing is any indication, the allegations against Willis aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. It has not yet been decided whether she will be disqualified from the case against Trump and his co-defendants, but this scandal will surely tarnish her reputation as a district attorney.