The disqualification by the Georgia Court of Appeals of the  district attorney of Fulton County, Fani Willis, from the racketeering case against President Trump and 18 others is a stunning  victory for the president-elect less than a month before he takes the oath of office. The indictment against him, though, still stands.

The ruling came after the appeals court mysteriously cancelled a hearing on the issue that was to be held earlier this month. Now, a panel of three appellate jurists, all appointed by Republican governors, have stripped her of her role atop one of the highest-profile prosecutions in American history.