WASHINGTON (Reuters)

A Georgia appeals court ruled on Thursday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from prosecuting U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and several of his allies for attempting to interfere in the 2020 election in the U.S. state.

The ruling throws into doubt the future of the case, which includes Trump and 14 allies. The appeals court, in a 2-1 ruling, found that a romantic relationship between Willis and a former top deputy, Nathan Wade, created an “an appearance of impropriety.”

“While we recognize that an appearance of impropriety generally is not enough to support disqualification, this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings,” the court wrote in its opinion.

The court did not require the case to be tossed out, but its decision will require a new state prosecutor to take over in order for it to continue.

The case was already expected to be at least paused against Trump when he returns to the presidency next month. He has said it should be dismissed in its entirety.