The Georgia Supreme Court has denied Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' appeal of her removal from the 2020 election interference case against President Trump and his allies.

In a 4-3 decision, the highest court in the state released a ruling that simply said it "denied the petition" in the case. One judge did not participate, and one other was disqualified.

In December, a majority of judges on the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that Willis and her office should not remain on the case, pointing to the "appearance of impropriety" caused by a romantic relationship between Willis and the special prosecutor she had hired to assist in the investigation.

Lawyers representing one of the defendants in the case alleged that Willis and Nathan Wade had improperly benefited from their romance, claiming that she had paid the special prosecutor a large sum of money for his work, which he used to take her to Napa Valley, Florida and the Caribbean.

Willis and Wade acknowledged the relationship but said they didn't begin dating until the spring of 2022, after he was hired. Despite Wade resigning from the case and a judge finding no conflicts of interest, the appeals court ruled that Willis should be disqualified to restore public confidence in the criminal proceedings.

Trump reacts to Georgia court's ruling

Speaking before a trip to the United Kingdom, Mr. Trump hailed the court's ruling as "a great decision," called Willis' prosecution of him and others for their attempts to overturn the president's 2020 election loss in Georgia "a rigged case to start off with."

"What Fani Willis did to innocent people, patriots that love our country, what she did to them by indicting them and destroying them, she should be put in jail," Mr. Trump said.

"We hope this will finally close this chapter," said Ashleigh Merchant, the defense attorney for co-defendant Michael Roman, who exposed Willis' romantic relationship with Wade.

Willis disagrees with decision

In a statement, Willis said that she disagreed with the court's decision, but would direct her office to help move the case to whichever prosecutor the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia determines will replace her.

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.

What's next for the Georgia election interference case

It could be difficult to find a new prosecutor in Georgia due to the complex nature of the case and intense public and political scrutiny surrounding it.

Whoever takes the case could continue on the track that Willis has taken, decide to pursue only some charges, or dismiss the case altogether.

Peter Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council, did not give a timeline for when a new prosecutor is expected to be chosen.

Mr. Trump and 15 other defendants still face charges that range from racketeering to influencing witnesses, though it is likely that the president will not be prosecuted after his victory against former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. 

Four defendants, attorneys Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, and Kenneth Chesebro, and bail bondsman Scott Hall, pleaded guilty in 2023.