CNN
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A Georgia appeals court on Thursday barred Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from pursuing the case against President-elect Donald Trump and his alleged co-conspirators over allegations of 2020 election fraud.

The long-awaited decision in a state criminal case against Trump that has already been put on hold raises questions about whether the case can proceed in court. The appeals court concluded that Willis’ office could not prosecute the case, so a new special prosecutor would have to be appointed for the case to move forward.

The appeals court concluded that a “significant appearance of impropriety” was enough to potentially bring the case into disrepute. However, the appeals court ruled that it would not dismiss the wide-ranging racketeering conspiracy case entirely.

“While we recognize that the appearance of impropriety is generally not sufficient to justify disqualification, this is the rare case where disqualification is ordered and no other remedy is sufficient to restore public confidence in the integrity of this process “Wrote the court’s opinion on Thursday.

The court added: “We cannot conclude that the record also supports the imposition of the extreme sanction of dismissal of the charges.”

Trump and some of his co-defendants have sought to have Willis removed from the case because she had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to handle the case. The defendants argued that Willis benefited financially from the relationship with Wade, who defense attorneys said covered several vacations for the couple.

This story is current and will be updated.