Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s decision to move forward with an evidentiary hearing on Thursday is a blow to Willis, who had asked the judge to cancel the hearing and reject motions from Trump and other co-defendants who are seeking to disqualify her over her claims she had an improper relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

However, McAfee said he would not entertain testimony at the hearing related to Wade’s alleged lack of qualifications for his job, noting that it is at the discretion of the district attorney to hire anyone with “a heartbeat and a bar card.”