Donald Trump received some very encouraging legal news from the judge in his Georgia criminal case on Monday.

Fulton County DA Fani Willis may be disqualified from the case, judge Scott McAfee warned ahead of a Thursday hearing. 

Willis has admitted to having an affair with an inexperienced prosecutor whom she hired to work on the high-stakes prosecution of Trump and several others.

The prosecutor sought to have a misconduct hearing cancelled, calling the inquiry invasive and unnecessary. But the judge clearly disagrees.

“Because I think it’s possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations,” he said Monday.

Judge puts Willis on notice

The scandal is widely seen as having jeopardized Willis' case, but the comments from the judge have added a new impact.

The affair allegations were initially brought by defendant Michael Roman, who called for Willis to be disqualified over the conflict of interest.

Evidence already made public shows that Willis' lover, Nathan Wade, was paid over $600,000 for his work on the case. Wade also took Willis on lavish vacations using some of the tax money from the prosecution.

Willis is also seeking to get out of testifying after she and Wade were both subpoenaed.

Hearing Thursday

McAfee is waiting to decide on the subpoenas against Willis and others in her office until after the court receives testimony from Terrence Bradley, Wade's former law partner and divorce lawyer. Roman's lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, told McAfee that Bradley can share detail about Willis' relationship with Wade including when it began and whether they lived together.

The judge said the hearing will examine "whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues.”

"And that’s only relevant because it’s in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of their relationship,” he said.

The judge said he would not take into consideration Wade's qualifications.

McAfee warned he would stop the hearing from derailing into "harassment or undue embarrassment," but the hearing is certain to be unpleasant for Willis regardless. This is all sounding like music to Donald Trump's ears.