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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been disqualified from her politically motivated case against President Donald Trump.
The Georgia Court of Appeals decided Thursday to disqualify Willis from the “election interference” case she brought last year against Trump.
The state appellate court ruled in an order that a lower court had “erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis.”
Willis brought Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act charges against Trump in an effort to derail his 2024 campaign.
Calls for the Democrat prosecutor’s removal came after Trump and several co-defendants uncovered a previously undisclosed relationship Willis had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
“The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times,” the appellate court ruled.
The ruling throws the future of the case into serious doubt.
The RICO case includes Trump and 14 allies.
The appeals court found that a romantic relationship between Willis and a former top deputy created an “ongoing appearance of impropriety.”
The case was already expected to be at least paused against Trump when he returns to the presidency next month.
Trump has said it should be dismissed in its entirety.
In the court’s ruling, Judge E. Trenton Brown III wrote:
“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office”