Pictured is Fani Willis, District Attorney for Fulton County.

The Supreme Court of Georgia is leaving in place an appeals court decision that disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting President Donald Trump because of her romantic relationship with a special prosecutor on the case.

The divided Sept. 16 decision comes after Willis appealed to the state's highest court to allow her to remain on the sprawling election interference case. Willis' office brought charges against Trump and several other co-defendants, alleging they participated in a conspiracy to overturn former President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, including by replacing the presidential electors for Georgia with Trump supporters.

Four Georgia Supreme Court justices came together to form a majority in the decision to turn down the appeal. Three justices dissented. One further justice didn't participate in the decision, and one justice was disqualified.

The decision leaves in place a December 2-1 ruling from a three-judge Georgia appeals court panel that Willis couldn't remain on the case due to her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. That decision threw the prosecution against Trump into doubt.

Willis hopes case continues; Trump lawyer calls prosecution 'political'

Willis said in a statement Sept. 16 that she hopes another prosecutor will keep the case alive.

"While I disagree with the decision of the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court’s divided decision not to review it, I respect the legal process and the courts," Willis said.

Willis added that her office will make its case file and evidence available to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, a body that assists prosecutors in the state, "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," Willis said.

In a statement, Trump defense lawyer Steve Sadow praised the Georgia high court's decision not to take up Willis' appeal.

"Willis’ misconduct during the investigation and prosecution of President Trump was egregious and she deserved nothing less than disqualification," Sadow said. "This proper decision should bring an end to the wrongful political, lawfare persecutions of the President."

Trump told reporters at the White House the ruling was "a great decision." He called Willis "a criminal" who "should be prosecuted."

Willis and Wade's relationship

The relationship between Willis and Wade became public following allegations from a Trump co-defendant that the pair had not only been romantically involved, but also that Wade used some of his pay from the case to take Willis on romantic trips.

Willis testified the relationship started after Wade joined the case and that she paid her share of their trip expenses, including by sometimes paying him back with cash.

Trial Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March of 2024 that Willis showed a "tremendous lapse in judgment" by having a romantic relationship with Wade and failing to keep clear records of how they financially split personal expenses. McAfee said either Willis or Wade had to remove themselves from the case. Soon after, Wade resigned.

However, the December appeals court ruling determined that resolution wasn't enough. Willis herself needed to be disqualified "to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings," wrote Judge Trenton Brown.

Two other federal prosecutions against Trump were dropped following his 2024 election victory. A fourth prosecution, brought by state prosecutors in Manhattan, resulted in Trump's conviction in 2024 on dozens of counts of falsifying business records. Trump has appealed in that case.

This story has been updated with additional information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fani Willis must remain off Trump case after Georgia Supreme Court rejects her appeal

Reporting by Aysha Bagchi and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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