The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a decision that disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office from the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, leaving the Court of Appeals’ finding in place.
The Court of Appeals removed Willis and her office in December, citing an "appearance of impropriety" stemming from her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who helped lead the investigation. The state’s highest court, in a 4-3 vote, chose not to take up an appeal; one justice did not participate and another was recused from the matter.
Trump's legal team hailed the decision. In a statement to The Post, Trump lawyer Steve Sadow said the Georgia Supreme Court "has correctly denied review of the Georgia Court of Appeals decision disqualifying DA Fani Willis and her office as prosecutors in the Fulton County RICO case" and added that Willis' conduct during the probe was "egregious" and warranted disqualification.
Willis issued a statement saying she respected the courts and would make the case file and evidence available to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council for use in the ongoing litigation. "I hope that whoever is assigned to handle the case will have the courage to do what the evidence and the law demand," she said.
The indictment returned in 2023 charged Trump and 18 others under Georgia's anti-racketeering laws in connection with an alleged scheme to overturn his narrow 2020 loss to Joe Biden in the state. Defendants named in the indictment include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and multiple attorneys and political operatives who were accused of participating in efforts to challenge Georgia's results.
Willis’ disqualification centered on her romantic relationship with Wade, who had been retained as a special prosecutor and worked closely with Willis’ office on the investigation. The Court of Appeals found that the relationship created an unacceptable appearance of impropriety, a finding that prompted the decision to remove Willis and her office from prosecuting the case.
By declining to review that decision, the Georgia Supreme Court left intact the lower court's order that the prosecution be handled by other prosecutors. Willis' office has said it will turn over the case materials to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council, a statewide body that can assign independent prosecutors or oversee continued litigation when local conflicts arise.
Legal analysts said the immediate practical effect is procedural: the prosecution will proceed without Willis and her team, but the state’s ability to continue the case will depend on decisions by the Prosecuting Attorneys Council and on whether any further legal challenges are lodged by defendants.
Defense teams have repeatedly argued that Willis’ removal vindicated claims of bias and misconduct in the investigation. Prosecutors and some supporters of the justice system have emphasized that the decision focuses on the appearance of impartiality rather than the underlying evidence in the case.
The disqualification and the high-court split underscore the contentious legal and political terrain surrounding the prosecution. The Fulton County RICO case remains one of several criminal matters involving Trump as he seeks national office, and its future now rests with the officials the state assigns to carry the prosecution forward.
The project's next steps include the formal transfer of files and the Prosecuting Attorneys Council's determination of who will handle subsequent court appearances and filings. Any new prosecutorial team will inherit the record developed to date, and further litigation over pretrial issues is expected as the matter moves forward in Georgia courts.
The divided nature of the Supreme Court's action — four justices declining review, three dissenting, one recused and one not participating — highlights the legal complexity of balancing conflict-of-interest rules with prosecutorial independence in politically charged cases. The case will continue to attract national attention as it proceeds without Willis at the helm.