Appeals Court Disqualifies Fani Willis From Prosecuting Georgia Trump Case

The panel overruled the trial judge, who had allowed Fani T. Willis to keep the case despite a romantic relationship that defendants said created a conflict of interest.

Georgia’s Court of Appeals on Thursday disqualified the Atlanta prosecutor who brought an election interference case against President-elect Donald J. Trump and his allies, a surprise move that threw the entire case into disarray.

In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel reversed the decision of the trial judge, who in March allowed Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., to keep the case, despite revelations about a romantic relationship she had with the lawyer whom she hired to manage the prosecution.

All three of the appeals judges were appointed by Republicans. Ms. Willis’s office swiftly filed court papers indicating that it would appeal the decision to the Georgia Supreme Court, which is also dominated by Republican-appointed judges. If the lower court’s decision stands, it could doom the case, which is the last active criminal prosecution involving charges against Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump and 14 of his allies are charged with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.

Judge Scott McAfee, the trial court judge, had rejected a defense claim that Ms. Willis’s relationship with the lawyer she hired had given her a financial stake in the case. But he found that the relationship had raised “a significant appearance of impropriety” that needed to be addressed, and he effectively forced Ms. Willis to dismiss the lawyer, Nathan J. Wade.

The appeals panel’s majority decision, written by Judge Trenton Brown, said that Judge McAfee’s decision “did not cure the already existing appearance of impropriety.”